We are a group of 32 sustainably minded students, faculty and family from UVic's geography department spending 30 days travelling through countries of Northern Europe. Our journey will bring us to Iceland; Stockholm, Malmö & Lund in Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; Berlin and Hamburg in Germany and finally Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 

Our course is infused with critical optimism, asking more piercing questions about sustainability while looking for creative responses to the social and ecological challenges we face. We will be grappling with topics such as sustainable development policy at the city and national scale, urban agriculture and food security, active transportation and housing, seeking that which we can bring back to employ in our own communities.

Over the duration of our trip we will be relying primarily on sustainable modes of transportation such as public transit and cycling, however there will be the unavoidable emissions from the flights we will take to get there. In response to this we are working on a plan to make this trip net zero in terms of emissions, as well as working on legacy projects to bring back to our communities and ensure the knowledge we gain is passed on and put to use. 

This week we learn a variety of skills in class and in the field in our home base of Victoria to prepare us for our first stop in Reyjavik, Iceland!

Bless!