this year’s competition wasn’t announced from the stage at the planet forward summit as usual, in the name of social distancing. but we still wanted to share with you the amazing stories entered by students from every region of the united states in our competition this year — and, of course, announce our grand prize winners.

you can watch our videos below to see the variety of stories, and students from universities across the country, and which outline their outstanding work. and, learn who our judges have selected as the best piece of student-created content for 2020.

without further delay, we are thrilled to announce our planet forward storyfest 2020 award winners in the videos below.

best-written article

and the winner is: greta hardy-mittell, carleton college. “a society for the birds”

best multimedia / podcast

and the winner is: avery van etten, northwestern university. “sea-level rise threatens the florida keys” (3-part series)

best photo essay

and the winner is: cate twining-ward, george washington university. “clinging onto chimps: why you should think of chimpanzees during the climate crisis”

best short or shareable video

and the winner is: jake meyers, university of arizona. “can urban farming feed the future?”

best video

and the winner is: sarah sem, george washington university. “what’s the beef with meatless burgers?”

fan favorite award

and the winner is: deepti bansal-gage, george washington university. “wait! before you squish that bug….”

thank you!

storyfest could not happen without the tremendous support from our sponsors, including: lindblad expeditions, discovery, comcast, the walton family foundation, national geographic, the food and agriculture organization of the un, the arizona state university global futures laboratory, 3 degrees, middlebury college and, of course, the george washington university.

also, please make sure to mark your calendars for our rescheduled 2020 planet forward summit, which will be held oct. 8-10 at the george washington university. we look forward to seeing you there.

winners will travel to alaska, courtesy alaska airlines, for an 8-day voyage between sitka and juneau with lindblad expeditions aboard the national geographic sea lion with lindblad-national geographic photo instructors, naturalists and scientists to explore alaska’s coastal wilderness. 

“the planet forward storyfest winners brought together commitment, information, and storytelling to spark our imaginations and inspire us,” said frank sesno, chief executive at planet forward and director of the school of media and public affairs at george washington university. “they are already moving the planet forward.”

“sven lindblad’s investment in this initiative reflects his passion of the environment, his love of exploration, and his belief in the power of story. the stories our students we will tell aboard his ship will showcase the incredible ecosystems of one of the last frontiers,” added sesno. 

the grand prize winners are: 

most compelling character(s)

tutors for a farming illiterate society
shandra furtado, the george washington university

most creativity in the art of
environmental storytelling (tie)

changing minds in the age of changing climate
navya pothamsetty, university of california-berkeley

and

we’ve been ‘shellfish’ enough already: it’s time to take care of the chesapeake bay 
ashley gallagher and jordan mullaney, the george washington university

best use of science or data in
environmental storytelling

counting calories? count your carbon, too
katherine baker, columbia university

best scalable innovation

from waste to wetlands: a small town solution to water scarcity
vanessa moss, sewanee: the university of the south

most ambitious idea

new gadget helps find household leaks, save water & money
emily arnold, georgetown university

the gw prize

where does it go? composting at gwu
alex rubenstein

more storyfest 

see the full list of finalists and all of the storyfest 2018 entries.

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visit the solar decathlon category page!

looking to keep track of team new zealand?

click here to view the previous idea submission from new zealand’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of new zealand solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

visit the solar decathlon category page!

looking to keep track of team new zealand?

click here to view the previous idea submission from new zealand’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of new zealand solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

visit the solar decathlon category page!

looking to keep track of team new zealand?

click here to view the previous idea submission from new zealand’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of new zealand solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

looking to keep track of team new zealand?

click here to view the previous idea submission from new zealand’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of new zealand solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

looking to keep track of team middlebury?

click here to view the previous idea submission from middlebury’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of middlebury solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

looking to keep track of team middlebury?

click here to view the previous idea submission from middlebury’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of middlebury solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page

my name is chloe maxmin from the climate action club. we are a student-run at lincoln academy in maine. we have galvanized a green movement in our school and community by providing opportunities for direct action in the fight against global warming.

we are 1 of 15 finalists in the best buy @15 community impact challenge. we are competing for $5000 so we can install solar panels on our school. however, the winners are determined by a public vote. so will you support the climate action club? we need to be in the top 5 to get $5000.

you can learn how to vote at www.cac15.info.

thank you so much for helping us make a difference!