CELL Iceland Study Abroad Program
Location
Iceland: Reykjavik
Description
CELL's unique study abroad programs focus on sustainability through community and are designed for students who believe that they can make a difference in the world: students who would like to play an active role in creating long-term solutions to problems facing our global communities and environment. Semester programs consist of a combination of structured course work, field-learning experiences, service-learning opportunities, and development of individual action plans for environmental stewardship. Our programs are interdisciplinary by design and fit any major or program of study.
CELL is partnering with Solheimar, an ecovillage of about 100 people renowned for its international, artistic, and ecological atmosphere. Solheimar is the first self-sufficient community of its kind in the world, where people with special needs and those without live and work together in a community committed to environmental sustainability. Inspired by the theories of Rudolph Steiner, Solheimar has focused on cultivating the individual and the environment and was the first community of its kind in Scandinavia to practice organic cultivation.
Through participation in a CELL/Solheimar study abroad program, you will work along with community partners to create appropriate and innovative solutions to issues of sustainability. You will become a member of a very special group of people committed to achieving sustainability through community.
We invite you to join us for an Icelandic educational adventure. During a CELL Iceland Study Abroad program, you will spend approximately 12 weeks:
* Living in a unique eco-village committed to achieving environmental sustainability through community
* Learning about the principles of sustainability from a country leading the world in the production of clean, renewable energy
* Living a carbon negative lifestyle and playing an active role in helping to reduce global carbon emissions
* Exploring some of the world's most geologically unique and breathtaking sites
* Learning that although the impossible may take awhile, it is, indeed, achievable.
Highlights
During your Iceland semester program you will:
* Immerse yourself in the culture of Iceland while living in an Icelandic ecovillage and fully participating in the sustainable practices and service-learning opportunities of this magical community
* Learn basic Icelandic (old Norse)
* Tour various Icelandic sites from mountain glaciers to coastal geothermal springs, from historic viking settlements to modern day Icelandic culture, including:
- Reykjavik, the capital city
- Museums and historical sites that depict everything from the hard struggle for existence in previous centuries to the technological revolution of the twentieth century
- Various cultural events including art exhibitions, theatre productions, concerts, and festivals
- Hiking in areas with some of the most captivating scenery in the world: vast barren expanses and green (or snow-covered) valleys, magnificent glaciers, mountains, and beautiful waterfalls, glassy-surfaced fjords with pristine beaches, geothermal springs with health-giving properties
- Icelandic power system - visit hydropower and geothermal energy sites producing environmentally friendly and sustainable power
- Viewing the unforgettable Northern Lights while immersed in a soothing hot spring
* Participate in real-life service-learning projects promoting community sustainability, such as:
- Developing an energy efficient community transportation plan
- Developing a community master plan for living sustainably (e.g. living a carbon neutral or carbon negative lifestyle)
- Research and provide suggestions on how the Solheimar community (individually and collectively) can improve sustainable living, healthy lifestyle, and alternative health care practices
- Research and develop a plan for improving the marketing of green products produced at Solheimar; etc.
* Receive 15 college credits in:
- Language, History, and Culture
- Service-Learning
- Icelandic Geology and Global Warming
- Sustainability: Secrets of Simplicity
- Crossroads Thinking: Problem Solving for the 21st Century
* Design your own action plan, working with a support team, to continue to make a difference after the program.