maya’s photo depicts a florida beach at dusk with storm clouds rolling in. the photo was selected by planet forward staff and interns for its striking composition and the direct connection to last month’s theme of “summer”.

the crab trap in destin, fl, is a popular “hidden gem” summer spot for the south. taken just after sunset, growing storm clouds creep in from the right as locals and tourists watch the last dwindling minutes of sun. born and raised in the panhandle, florida is home for me. i am “flogrown,” as locals say. most of the people from my high school stayed in florida for college, so when i came to gwu last fall, it was freeing, lonely, exciting, and alienating altogether. the movement of the storm clouds towards the shoreline parallels these pressures of adulthood — relishing in the last few moments of peace before the real world demands your life. but, it is also a promise of change. in a way, this photo resembles the transition to college: anticipating the storm, weathering the rain and wind, waiting for the sun. -maya delamater

we received submissions from multiple schools during our kick-off session of this contest, which will be continuing this month with the theme of orange! you can submit your best orange photo now that connects to sustainability and the environment.

check out some of our amazing runners-up from september!

new for this academic year are drexel university, florida state university, university of new hampshire, and university of richmond. they expand the planet forward network to 30-plus institutions empowering students to tell stories of communities and individuals moving the planet forward. 

“these partnerships represent more than institutional interest. these schools will work with us to amplify their students’ stories about environmental innovation and action from their campuses and communities. we look forward to these new voices and narratives focused on our planet and our future,” said frank sesno, planet forward founding director. 

“we invite other institutions committed to sustainability to join us in this mission of storytelling and communication.”

this expansion comes as planet forward launches a comprehensive storytelling curriculum designed to guide students from initial ideas to publication-ready submissions. all member schools gain immediate access to these educational resources, along with professional editorial support and experiential learning opportunities focused on solutions-oriented environmental storytelling. an abridged version is publicly available on the planet forward website, with a full 9-lesson arc available to all member schools. 

“our new curriculum provides faculty across all disciplines with tools to help students develop essential communication skills while creating meaningful content about sustainability solutions,” said kim ossi, associate director for planet forward.

2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 school students also can participate in the annual planet forward summit, apply for one of the correspondent program cohorts, and compete in annual contests like storyfest. these opportunities are geared toward students from a variety of backgrounds, while providing valuable networking and hands-on learning opportunities.

the four new 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 members bring diverse strengths to the planet forward network. some are integrating the platform into established courses, while others are building on prior student engagement through competitions and the correspondent program. together, they represent the range of ways institutions can leverage planet forward’s resources to support student storytelling across disciplines and projects.

• “planet forward is an opportunity for our students to share information about their real-world sustainability project work and the collaborative, innovative solutions that unh students are creating both on campus and in our local communities,” said elizabeth burakowski, ph.d., research associate professor at the university of new hampshire.

• “i’m really interested in incorporating planet forward into my ‘environmental activism through film’ class. it (will) be a perfect fit for our students’ capstone projects and could provide them with valuable editorial support and professional development opportunities they wouldn’t get otherwise,” said benjamin kalina, assistant professor of film & television at drexel university.

• florida state university has already demonstrated strong engagement with planet forward. recent digital media production graduate des lewis served as a planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 in the 2024-2025 school year. lewis’ short film, “untrammeled by man: how the miccosukee tribe fought the big cypress wilderness designation” was a finalist in the 2025 storyfest competition and screened at the 2025 dc environmental film festival.

• “i have enjoyed helping students submit their storyfest entries in previous years. we look forward to more fully benefitting from being a 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 member of planet forward,” said andrew ilnicki, director of experiential education & emerging technology at university of richmond. 

darcy gentleman, ph.d., planet forward’s education lead, has been vital at connecting with faculty and staff at not just these new 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 schools, but the entire pillar and 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 network. pillar schools invest directly in planet forward and their students are deeply engaged in our mentoring and experiential learning opportunities.

“these institutions are investing in their students’ professional development while amplifying important stories about innovations to help the natural and built environments,” gentleman said.

planet forward is hosted at george washington university’s school of media and public affairs and is a part of the university’s alliance for a sustainable future, which sesno also leads. member schools commit to promoting environmental storytelling on their campuses and encouraging student submissions that showcase solutions and innovations addressing climate and environmental challenges.

“the addition of these four schools demonstrates the growing recognition that storytelling skills are essential for students across all disciplines,” gentleman said. “whether students are studying engineering, environmental science, communications, or policy, the ability to communicate complex ideas to public audiences is invaluable.”

interested in joining the planet forward 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 ? learn more about membership benefits and how to bring planet forward to your institution at planetforward.org/our-2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 or contact dr. darcy gentleman at darcy@planetforward.org 

as co-chair of the house oceans caucus, bonamici dove into her work to introduce the blue carbon for our planet act, which was later strategically renamed to the coastal restoration act to further broaden support.

“blue carbon means the blue economy, the ocean economy, the water economy. but the word ‘carbon’ sometimes concerned people. and particularly some republicans who thought it was somehow a restriction on what they could do, rather than a positive step. so i don’t mind changing the title of the bill,” she said.

bonamici stresses the use of language that emphasizes voters’ financial concerns and everyday experiences, yet still supports broad environmental action. watch above!

this year, four planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 s had the opportunity to attend the forum and be a part of the conversation, along with director of academic adventures imani cheers and associate director kim ossi. while in rome, they reported on a variety of topics, from indigenous food sovereignty to the water scarcity. in addition to attending events at the conference, correspondents had the opportunity to explore the eternal city and connect with new and old friends. 

they say rome wasn’t built in a day. and that’s definitely because you have to walk so much! each morning, the students made the trek to the fao building, either by foot or by piling into the rome metro from their apartment in re di roma. the closest metro station was quickly nicknamed “dupont circle” by the district folks on the trip. 

upon their arrival at the event, and once the group got past security, everyone quickly learned that the fao is one gigantic labyrinth. the floor-standing maps of the building, set up in nooks and alcoves, did little to guide you in the right direction. it was a bit like a “choose your own adventure” — wandering down random hallways and hoping you weren’t walking into someone’s office! 

the forum began with the highly attended world food forum youth assembly opening ceremony. during the event, the world food forum global coordinator, kazuki kitaoka, spoke about implicit bias and demonstrated this concept by engaging the audience in a clever activity. he began by asking half of the audience to look at a photo of vegetables, and the other half at someone washing their hands. he then displayed the text “so_p” to the audience and asked them to identify the word. the ones who saw vegetables said “soup” while those who saw someone washing their hands said “soap.”

the message behind this exercise was that people’s experiences make them implicitly biased toward one answer, or way of life, over another. this was a reminder that forum attendees carried with them throughout the event while engaging with the international crowd.

other sessions included the fao science and innovation forum and the rome water dialogue. the event’s sessions emphasized youth participation, despite the median age of those in attendance being somewhere between 30 and 40. this age average was due to the many ambassadors and country representatives present.

events located in the plenary, or the main meeting space in fao, also lacked a youth presence as only those with special guest passes or diplomats were allowed inside. instead, young attendees convened to watch live streams in other rooms. this did not deter younger participants from getting involved, and many attendees made connections with others at these sessions.

participants weren’t limited to learning inside the fao building. to the back of the main hall, the global family farming forum was set up outside in a modern wood barn. inside, participants could play a modified version of minecraft known as farmcraft, learn about the farming forum, explore how climate change is affecting agriculture, and more.

in the front of the main hall were two indigenous tents serving up lively discussions, dishing out foods, and hosting musicians. the tents were also a place where people could relax for a few minutes in front of a crackling fire, sip on hot soup, ponder the latest session they attended, and chat with new friends.

around the corner from the tents were the food trucks, and food was certainly another highlight of the trip. outside of the forum, the planet forward group took full advantage of their host city and devoured fresh pasta and creamy gelato on a nightly basis during classic two-and-a-half-hour roman dinners. when in rome! 

the fao also invited the planet forward cohort to the american youth world food forum 2024 leaders welcome reception, hosted by the u.s. representative to the fao ambassador jeffrey prescott, at his villa overlooking rome. the group gathered in a beautiful garden under a moonlit sky and heard impassioned stories from the youth representatives and a special guest speaker: u.s. special envoy for youth issues abby finkenauer.

but the highlight of the evening might have been the familiar face in the crowd. upon entering, the group ran into 2018 planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 , alaine johnson, who is now a mickey leland international hunger fellow and fao world food forum youth representative. after the reception, johnson joined the group for dinner and shared all about her work as a fellow in ghana.

planet forward found that rome is full of stories, both old and new. our time at the forum fostered the kind of invaluable connections needed to help share them here with our audience. we departed the ancient city with our hearts, minds, and bellies full.

thanks very much for the fao’s support during the event. the group is so grateful for the experience and we hope you enjoy the correspondents’ stories. 

in the program’s debut, six student fellows will work in an intensive collegiate environment to create a video, multimedia presentation, photo essay, or written story from and about their community, on the front lines of climate change. 

the 2024 planet forward frontline climate fellows are:

• kimberlee blevins, a master’s student in environmental science from sitting bull college
• emiliano mclane, a master’s student in agricultural & extension education at new mexico state university
• alexia nastasia, a sophomore majoring in international relations and sociocultural anthropology from boston university 
• kwame okoro, a sophomore majoring in africana studies and political science at george washington university
• dre pedemonte, a senior majoring in english and journalism at george washington university
• sareya taylor, a senior majoring in creative writing from the institute of the american indian arts

fellows will be rigorously mentored and coached on career trajectory and professional networking as they research, develop, and publish their work over six weeks at george washington university, hosted by planet forward. student work will focus on how issues of environmental justice, gender, and equity take on new urgency in the context of climate change and its impact on life in frontline communities. students will perform on-the-ground reporting and research and provide important visibility for communities that are too often marginalized or ignored.

“these students will be the vanguard of environmental and sustainability journalism in areas that are too often ignored by other media,” said frontline climate fellowship director and george washington university professor jesse j. holland. “i hope these first fellows and subsequent ones are able to use their skills to not only tell stories but provide solutions in ways that only people who are intimately familiar with these neighborhoods and communities can.”

the program will run from june 10-july 19. each fellow will receive a $5,000 stipend and story mentorship from holland, as well as inside climate news reporter victoria st. martin, planet forward alumna and multimedia producer eva sideris, and guest speakers.

our panel discussions brought together speakers, students, and creatives from grist to national geographic to discuss the power of harnessing creativity in storytelling and how to communicate complex data in compelling formats.

an exclusive screening of the cnn documentary film “blue carbon” told the inspiring story of how combining music and science is key in averting climate change, followed by an informative discussion with the director.

on friday, attendees took part in workshops, followed by networking and lunch, generously sponsored by chaia tacos. the day was capped off with demonstrations from science and filmmaking students from rutgers university as they presented their dynamic and impactful science stories, as well as a collaborative planning session for future pillar and 2022年世界杯亚洲预选赛结果 school programming.

the summit brought together leading voices in environmental storytelling and provided two days of insightful discussions, inspiring stories, and innovative ideas to 2022年卡塔尔世界杯官网 .