11 Jul A trip to Iceland!

This past week I was able to take some time off and travel to Iceland! I am incredibly thankful that EFTA and the USFS value their interns and allow us to take time off. It’s hard early on in your career to have the flexibility to travel and supervisors that support taking time off, and it’s meaningful that I was able to take this trip.
While I was there, I was able to do so many cool things! Iceland has it all, from glaciers to volcanoes; it’s really a nature person’s dream. I love hiking and being outside, so most of my trip was centered around it. While hiking in Skaftafell National Park, we came across an explanation of what was happening to the glaciers in Iceland. Surprise, surprise, the glaciers in Iceland, like many glaciers worldwide, are rapidly shrinking and projected to practically disappear by the end of the century. It’s a hard pill to swallow while enjoying the vast beauty of nature and juggling working in climate and sustainability. It’s complicated to have your passions focus within the outdoor realm and actively focus on your work, trying to preserve a rapidly changing outdoor environment due to climate change. It forces you to approach problems globally. By working for the Forest Service, work takes a large-scale approach to problems. I work at the Intermountain Regional Office, covering 12 National Forests and 4 states. This already seems vast, but climate change is truly a global issue! Our actions and solutions revolving around climate could have a massive impact on the natural environment throughout the globe. It’s simultaneously a scary and inspiring thought.