UNCW Group Trip to Iceland Influences Sustainability in the Cape Fear

by Shelby Diehl

She’d led similar trips before, but only in the summer, never in winter. In early 2020, Amy Long, an environmental science professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), was inspired to lead a class to Iceland with The GREEN Program that December. However, this time her plans were delayed by the pandemic for almost two years. Then, in December 2021, she finally had the chance to embark for Iceland alongside seven UNCW students.

But what is The GREEN Program? The GREEN Program (TGP) is an award-winning, experiential education program focused on the world’s most pressing problems in sustainable development. The minority- and woman-owned business centers their programs around the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and balances sustainability-focused course work, exclusive industry exposure and bucket-list adventures in just 8 to 10 days.

“I first learned about TGP from an upper-classman who had taken their Iceland program back in 2015,” said Long. “I was looking for an applied learning opportunity to extend the course content of EVS 195 and/or 205 and TGP fit the bill. Good track record; shared goals and objectives; student endorsement; and safety of the country and trained guides all influenced my decision to partner with them.

I was fortunate enough to attend a faculty recruiting trip in June 2016 to see the program in action first-hand. Not only did I fall in love with the country, but working with Melissa Lee’s TGP and Iceland and Midgard [Base Camp] gave me the confidence to build custom program extensions for UNCW students from their existing program.”

Iceland is among five destinations offered by the company with more planned in the near-future. The Iceland program’s aim is to discover the successes and challenges of Iceland given that the country sources nearly 100% of its energy from renewable energy. Additionally, students witness the effects of climate change firsthand, gain exclusive access into Iceland’s renewable energy and biofuel industries and hike through Iceland’s highlands.

The GREEN Program students hike to the top of Sólheimajökull glacier in southern Iceland, located between the volcanoes Katla and Eyjafjallajökull.

photo by Neha Awasthi

The GREEN Program Experience

On Sunday, December 12, 2021, students arrived in the western region’s Keflavik airport and drove east to their first destination, Hotel Hjarðarból. The students explored the grazing lands and snow-capped mountains nearby while they became acquainted. After dinner, the students formed groups to brainstorm their capstone projects—assignments that act as a culmination of an academic and/or intellectual experience.

The group spent their first morning at Reykjavik University (RU) touring the civil and energy labs, having lectures from professors at RU and walking along the waters of Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach. That afternoon, the students visited Hellisheiði Power Station where they saw a geothermal power plant firsthand. Their day ended with a hike to a geothermal river—guided by headlamps, given that sunset was at 3:30 p.m.—through valleys and along mountainsides.

“As a rather shy person not having any friends going with me, the beginning of the program was, quite frankly, a little terrifying,” said Jess Elliott, a UNCW junior. “The excitement levels were palpable when the group did a round of introductions, and although the group became more comfortable around each other, I think the excitement remained throughout the day, and the whole trip.”

On the third day, students explored the Golden Circle, a popular route featuring Iceland’s most visited attractions: Gullfoss Falls, Strokkur geyser and Þingvellir National Park. The route included a stop at Friðheimar, a greenhouse/restaurant specializing in tomato delicacies such as tomato soup and tomato cheesecake. Their final stop was the Ljósafoss hydropower plant where students explored its educational exhibit.

The next day, the GREENies—students of The GREEN Program—navigated the crevasses, rugged ridges and sinkholes of Sólheimajökull, a glacier between the Katla and Eyjafjallajökull volcanoes, eventually reaching the top.

“Seeing the clear ice beneath my feet and understanding the unique effects of the volcanic ash on Icelandic glaciers made the experience truly once in a lifetime,” said Elliott, “and a memory that I will call to mind often.”

Afterward, they visited an Iceland soil conservation visitor center where they learned about the history of soil and Iceland and ongoing efforts to reclaim land.

Thórsmörk, also called “Thor’s valley,” was next on the itinerary. The journey consisted of crossing rivers and stopping at a stunning canyon covered in moss with a river rushing through it. Their final destination was a cabin deep in Thórsmörk where they set up base and explored with the remaining daylight: some took hikes up neighboring mountains; others played in the snow outside of the hostel.

The next morning, the students explored Stakkholtsgja Canyon in Thórsmörk, where they spent a couple of hours hiking the rocky riverbed to its end.

“The most memorable part of the trip for me was when we visited Thórsmörk,” said Sarah Brazil, a UNCW senior. “I really enjoyed the solitude of hiking all spread out but tagging along with buddies as you pleased....At the end of the trail was a cave with rocks to climb and a waterfall to find. Sitting up on the rock inside that cave was very powerful....It was like seeing all the elements work together in one place.”

The students continued on over riverbed and past glaciers, volcanoes and expansive grazing plains. Eventually, they found themselves at Seljalandsfoss. The end of their day was spent at a black sand beach with a shipwreck.

Shelby Diehl poses in front of Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall in southern Iceland that visitors can walk all the way around.

photo by Jess Elliott

On their final day with The GREEN Program, students completed their capstone projects and presented them to their peers. With their coursework completed, the group ended their night with a bonfire in a small patch of forest, one of the few that still exist in Iceland. The newfound friends connected on deep, emotional levels beneath the full moon while embracing what was the bittersweet end to the experience of a lifetime.

The UNCW Extension

But this wasn’t the end for the UNCW cohort. While GREENies headed for the airport, the UNCW students were led east by their guide, Stefán Hrafnkelsson, with Midgard Base Camp. On the way to their lodging, the Iceland Bike Farm, they stopped at Kvernufoss waterfall and Reynisfjara, a renowned black sand beach. Then, they explored the ice caves of Katla. That night, they were treated to the vibrant, dancing bands of the Northern Lights.

“I felt like breaking away from the whole group made the trip end easier,” said Brazil. “It was like it faded out instead of an abrupt stop. It would have been a big adjustment going from being with 30 people in a different country to home by yourself all in one sweep.”

The next morning consisted of a beautiful sunrise; it was the first day of the whole trip that it wasn’t overcast. The group drove to Vatnajökull National Park and hiked to Svartifoss, a waterfall with hexagonal rock formations. Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon proceeded and was followed by the neighboring Diamond Beach. That night, they enjoyed a home-cooked Christmas meal by their hosts at the Iceland Bike Farm.

The next day, the students had a lesson on carbon sequestration in Iceland’s coastal wetlands from one of their Bike Farm hosts. Following this was a tour of the Iceland Bike Farm: farm animals, horses and the family’s personal hydropower generators. The crew said goodbye to the farm and headed for the promontory Dyrhólaey—a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water. Then, they spent the remainder of their night at an ax-throwing tavern, laughing and dancing their final night away.

On their last day, the UNCW group drove to Reykjavik to explore the city. Everyone had their thing they wanted to see: for some, it was the viking history and the historic Hallgrímskirkja (church of Hallgrimur); for others, it was quaint local businesses. Snow flurries danced around them as they reconvened at Harpa, a famed concert hall. From there, the students headed to the airport and boarded flights chasing the sunset home.

Back in the Cape Fear

The students will reconvene back home at UNCW during finals week in May 2022 to engage in their EVS 431 “Iceland: Sustainable & Renewable Energies, Industry, and Tourism” coursework. The class is planning to apply what they learned from their hosts at the Iceland Bike Farm to the Cape Fear region, specifically UNCW.

“We are still testing the equipment, but once we have it running, the plan is to select several sites on campus selected from the master plan document to determine carbon sequestration potential,” said Long. “Using the CO2 sensor and photosynthesis measurer, we will measure the climate mitigation potential of our natural areas and report our findings to UNCW Sustainability to help inform the UNCW Climate Resiliency Plan.”

The UNCW Climate Resiliency Plan (CRP) plan aims to address the anticipated hazards related to climate resiliency at UNCW and to build further partnerships locally, regionally and globally to further strengthen their mission. The development of the plan has been collaborative from its inception with students and professors alike having helped write the plan.

“Knowing how vital our natural areas are, it is critical that they are properly managed,” said Long. “We currently are not maintaining Bluethenthal properly (the understory is overgrown with invasive and non-native species, hindering forest regeneration of the overstory species) or our Longleaf Pine savannas with frequent low-intensity controlled burns. I hope our readings are the baseline to a long-term ecological study of the campus natural resources and my students in the future can continue the work to see positive or negative change in carbon sequestration.”

But for Long and her students, while they understand their contributions to campus will have a lasting effect, the deepest impact comes from the memories of their time abroad.

“Even long before this trip, Iceland has always been my dream destination, so to be able to combine my travel dreams and educational interest was the perfect opportunity for me,” said Elliott. “I signed up for the trip in a single day and am so glad I did as I met so many amazing people that are still in my life, and explored many different career opportunities. I loved this trip so much I’m actually looking for internships in Iceland for after I graduate.”

“The lasting impact has been the ability to trust myself and make friends with strangers,” said Brazil. “My circle had gotten smaller as my time went on here at UNCW, and it felt refreshing to spend time with so many new people. This will help me take bigger risks and leaps in my future because I know it will all work out in the end—probably better than I could’ve expected too.”

With the remainder of the semester, students “will get together during finals week for a final reflection of the course,” said Long. “We’ll put my Icelandic cooking skills to the test and share the research results and maybe Zoom with the TGP students as well.”

UNCW students visiting Diamond Beach, a strip of black sand beach covered with huge glistening glacial fragments that have broken off of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacial tongue in eastern Iceland. From left, Dillon Roberts, Sarah Brazil, Amy Long, Shelby Diehl, Marley Smith, Jess Elliott, Katy Johnson and Melissa Hastings.

photo by Stefán Hrafnkelsson

To learn more about The GREEN Program, visit thegreenprogram.com.

Shelby Diehl is a junior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington studying environmental science with a concentration in conservation and creative writing with a certificate in publishing. She is a Going Green intern and an alumni of The GREEN Program, having attended the trip discussed in her article.

* EVS 195/205: EVS is UNCW’s code for courses offered by their Environmental Sciences department.

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Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth—all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. These 17 SDGs form the basis of The GREEN Program described on page 14. Learn more about the goals at https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda. — source: https://sdgs.un.org