{"id":40333,"date":"2024-08-06t17:52:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-06t17:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=40333"},"modified":"2024-08-06t19:50:30","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06t19:50:30","slug":"storyfest-winners-circumnavigate-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/storyfest-winners-circumnavigate-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"planet forward storyfest winners circumnavigate iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


fixed between greenland and the faroe islands lies an island that is alive with spewing hot geysers, towering waterfalls, and volcanoes that stand tall above glaciers. iceland, an incredibly geologically diverse nation, is a haven for renewable energy and climate change mitigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on july 18, 2024, four planet forward storyfest<\/a> winners embarked on a 10-day circumnavigation of iceland, where they discovered unique and powerful stories to tell. the students were joined by dr. imani m. cheers, director of academic adventures at planet forward and elena mantilla, program coordinator and assistant editor. aboard the national geographic explorer with lindblad expeditions<\/a>, they engaged with naturalists and photographers, who shared their expertise on marine life, geology and the history of iceland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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laura isaza of university of california, berkeley won storyfest in the multimedia story by a media student category and is writing her story on the controversy over the presence of lupine in iceland’s ecosystem. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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delan li from the university of connecticut, who won in the written story by a media student category, focused on the declining puffin population while in iceland. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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micah seidel of rutgers university, who won in the video by a non-media student category, is producing a video on geothermal energy in iceland. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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danny stipanovich from the university of arizona won in the video by a media student category and is focusing on the effects of melting glaciers in iceland. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

after boarding the ship in reykjav\u00edk, the crew set off to explore the westfjords region for a few days, where they stumbled upon the tallest waterfall any of them had seen, dynjandi.<\/p>\n\n\n

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guests hike up to the base of dynjandi. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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water crashes down on a misty morning. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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storyfest winner delan li poses in front of waterfall. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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another westfjords stop at the island of flatey brought their first puffin sighting and students learned that \u201cey\u201d at the end of a name means, “island.” the bird sightings didn\u2019t stop there \u2014 at vigur island the next day, the students had a lively greeting from hundreds of arctic terns, more puffins, and vigur\u2019s very own eider duck. the eider is a staple on vigur, as its down is sustainably harvested and cleaned right on the island.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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puffins look out to sea. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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eider ducks rest on shore. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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walkers carry sticks to avoid getting attacked on the head by arctic terns. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

as the ship moved around the island, they stopped at the towns of siglufj\u00f6r\u00f0ur and h\u00fasav\u00edk, where the students witnessed a herring salting demonstration at the earlier stop and later explored lake m\u00fdvatn to the south. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

they journeyed through the waves up to the island of gr\u00edmsey, where they entered the arctic circle. finally, the boardwalk at the fjord, borgarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur eystri brought the most immersive puffin sighting of all, where students were close enough to have staring contests with the thousands of puffins around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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puffin pair “billing”, an act where they rub beaks together. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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puffin spreads its wings. (elena mantilla)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

just when the sights couldn’t get more beautiful, the most wonderful surprise came. one afternoon on the ship, the voice of expedition leader michael jackson emerged over the speakers notifying everyone aboard that there was a pod of killer whales at the ship\u2019s bow. guests jumped out of their seats and raced to the front of the ship, bursting out the door to climb the stairs to the top deck. there was one dorsal fin, then two, then many more surrounding the ship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“ooohs” and “ahhs” filled the ocean air as guides shared facts about these animals, including how their dorsal fins, saddle patches and eye patches can be used to identify individual whales. suddenly, a creature much larger than the orcas broke the surface in the middle of the pod. a humpback! guests gasped in unison as they heard the voice of their expedition leader again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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