Vital Impacts Awards $50,000 in Environmental Photography Fellowships for 2026
Vital Impacts, a nonprofit organization led by women and established in 2021 by Ami Vitale and Eileen Mignoni, revealed the recipients of $50,000 in Environmental Photography Fellowships for 2026, along with eleven mentorships lasting a year. These fellowships pay tribute to environmental pioneers such as Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. Sylvia Earle. Carlos Folgoso Sueiro from Verín, Spain, was awarded the Chico Mendes Fellowship for his project "Beyond the Lake," which highlights Galicia's challenges with drought, wildfires, and depopulation. In 2025, reservoir levels dropped by 6%, and wildfires reached unprecedented severity. His project also tackles issues of alcoholism and emigration, with 1.2 million Galicians having left by the mid-20th century. The panel of judges consisted of industry professionals, and the mentorship program aims to aid eleven up-and-coming photographers. Vital Impacts has successfully raised $3.5 million for conservation efforts.
Key facts
- Vital Impacts awarded $50,000 in Environmental Photography Fellowships for 2026.
- Carlos Folgoso Sueiro received the Chico Mendes Environmental Photography Fellowship for 'Beyond the Lake'.
- The project documents rural Galicia facing drought, wildfire, depopulation, and cultural loss.
- Galicia's reservoir levels fell 6% in 2025 compared to 2024.
- Summer 2025 wildfires were the worst in Galicia's history.
- The planned Altri factory would consume 46 million liters of water daily from the Ulla River.
- By the mid-20th century, 1.2 million Galicians emigrated.
- Eleven emerging photographers will receive year-long mentorships.
Entities
Artists
- Carlos Folgoso Sueiro
- Ami Vitale
- Eileen Mignoni
- Dr. Jane Goodall
- Dr. Sylvia Earle
- Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
- Chico Mendes
- Madonna Thunder Hawk
- E.O. Wilson
- Ian Lemaiyan
- Alessia Glaviano
- Azu Nwagbogu
- Evgenia Arbugaeva
- Kathy Moran
- Pat Kane
- Donovan Wylie
- Jonas Bendiksen
- Alex Webb
- Sarah Leen
- Magdalena Herrera
- Domingo Fontán
- Supratim Bhattacharjee
- Tommaso Protti
- Bruno Pereira
- Dom Phillips
Institutions
- Vital Impacts
- National Geographic
- Geo
- Stern
- Sunday Times
- The British Journal of Photography
- Hermitage Museum
- Canal Isabel II
- PhotoVogue
- African Artists' Foundation
- Lagos Photo Festival
- University of La Coruña
- Altri
- Lenscratch
- African Artists’ Foundation
- UNICEF
- Royal Photographic Society
- Visa Pour l’Image
- La Gacilly Photo Festival
- Climate Adaptation Summit
- Global Center on Adaptation
- Time
- The Guardian
- United Nations
- The Wall Street Journal
- Le Monde
- The New Yorker
- The New York Times
- TIME
- The Washington Post
- Saatchi Gallery
- Maison Européenne de la Photographie
- Benaki Museum
- University of Rome Tre
- London College of Communication
- Global Witness
- Pictures of the Year International
- Carmignac Photojournalism Award
- North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame
- Conservation International
Locations
- Verín
- Spain
- Galicia
- Zaragoza
- Vilar
- Curbián
- Sabucedo
- Atás
- Barcela
- Cualedro
- Santiago de Compostela
- Palas de Rey
- Aceredo
- Lindoso reservoir
- Portugal
- Iberian Peninsula
- Southern Europe
- Hanover
- Germany
- India
- Kolkata
- Sundarbans
- Frazerganj
- Bay of Bengal
- Jharia
- Jharkhand
- Dhanbad
- Maharashtra
- Madhya Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Odisha
- Sagar Island
- Mousuni Island
- Parsa-Besan coal belt
- Hariharpur
- Fatehpur
- Slahi
- Kenya
- Brazil
- Vale do Javari
- Brazilian Amazon
- Amazonas
- Atalaia do Norte
- Solimões River
- Colombia
- Peru
- Pará
- Santa Cruz
- Itaquai River
- Boa Esperanca
- London
- Paris
- Athens
- Rome
- United States
Sources
- Lenscratch —
- Lenscratch —
- Lenscratch —