Student Excellence in Audio Storytelling

Maya Fawaz, “Before It Gets Here,” Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

ABOUT THE WORK: This story reported on how members of Wabanaki tribes are grappling with the loss of ash trees in Maine. The tree is a key material used in indigenous basket making. The Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle, has led to the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees across North America.

While news outlets across the country have reported on the beetle's spread and how the loss of these trees have impacted local communities, there is little to no coverage on tribal land. There's also no in-depth reporting using audio as the primary medium for storytelling.

Indigenous communities are often presented as a monolith. The story shows differing views among members of a Passamaquoddy family as they mitigate the damage of the Emerald Ash Borer while continuing a practice that is thousands of years old.

Maya Fawaz is an audio producer and journalist living in Austin, Texas. She got her start at KUT, where she covered issues across Central Texas as a daily news reporter. This Texas girl braved the cold and attended Maine’s Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2025. Now, she's an Associate Producer for Click Here, a weekly podcast and public radio show about how technology is changing the world.

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