“when i hit the submit button on my entry into planet forward’s storyfest contest, i had no idea the consequences. within months i traveled to washington d.c. for the summit (my first time in the city) and met an amazing group of young people, academics and journalists creating immersive content about the environment. months after that, i flew to iceland alongside my fellow storyfest winners, a truly inspiring group of aspiring storytellers. the connections i made and life i lived in each of my experiences with planet forward were so far beyond what i could imagine beforehand.”

“in 2019, i was absolutely captivated by the power of storytelling and its ability to inspire people at the planet forward summit. i later became a correspondent and decided to apply what i learned from the summit into my research in kenya. thanks to planet forward, i knew how to ask the right questions to help share the story of francis wachira, an urban farmer in nairobi whose methods are key to fighting hunger and climate change. my story ultimately won storyfest and was later shared at a un conference in nairobi, where decision-makers were able to learn from francis. ever since i’ve been discovering new ways to use storytelling in my post-graduate career.”

“planet forward has given me the tools and once-in-a-lifetime experiences to hone my environmental storytelling skills. from an internship at mongabay to a fellowship with comcast, planet forward has connected me with some of the most influential media outlets in the environmental space and given me the platform to share my stories with the world. most recently, planet forward gave me the life-changing opportunity to attend cop26, where i learned so much about the future of climate action and the role that storytelling plays in this movement.”