storyfest finalist and planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播  olivia urbanski, of loyola university chicago, talked about the video she made while studying abroad at ol pejeta conservatory featuring sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, who died on march 20, 2018.

harrison watson, of jackson state university in mississippi, and a storyfest 2017 finalist and amazon traveler, talked about the use of language in storytelling — how words can take us to a deeper place than images and sounds, and his interest in the intersection of religion and environment.

anna sumi a recent george washington university grad, spoke of her adventures to siberia in summer 2017, and the challenge of translating science. one major issue for these arctic urban areas is the melting permafrost, for their infrastructure is built according to the permafrost layer, and its degradation will disrupt the entire foundation of these cities.

alaine johnson of yale-national university of singapore, a 2018 planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 and storyfest finalist, talked about her studies, which have her looking at how patterns of urbanization are effecting the way we are linked with the environment. using yoga as an example, she said the instructor is telling you to feel the earth beneath your feet — but it’s kind of hard to do that when it’s 22 stories below you. 

zack smith of suny-esf, and also storyfest 2017 finalist, spoke of the magic of sound, and the power that vibrations have to transport the listener to a place.

up next: what’s your sustainability story? >

after this experience, i recognized there are a couple of small steps i can take to tackle climate change. one takeaway is limiting the use of single-use plastic. seeing the amount of single-use plastic float and remain trapped along the shore put a lot into perspective. according to the documentary plastic ocean we are producing 380 million tons per year and 50% are single-use plastic. also, 10 million of that is dumped in our oceans annually.” pollution is one of the factors that can contribute to coral bleaching. a few cayes have bases just for research. the researchers would test the coral for bleaching. at tobacco caye, i noticed a sign indicating “reef wisdom” to protect the reef for locals and tourists. some of the activities locals and tourists can do at the caye are snorkeling and kayaking. seeing that sign at the main entrance to the reef can prevent damages to the reef’s ecosystem. the last take away i would like to mention is to travel locally. some locals turned their homes into a resort as a source of income and rely on good recommendations. the resort had a certificate of excellence by the trip advisor. if many tourists are visiting belize through cruises, they may not notice the same practices as someone who is staying with a locally. i have become a better tourist after my time at the cayes. it has taught me how each of our actions has an impact on our environment. i thought it would be helpful to show ways in which we can all be better tourists.