CELL  is an official Northland College partner and a nonprofit educational organization that inspires students to bring creative, systemic solutions and environmental stewardship to your life and leadership positions through their Sustainability Through Community program. Students can choose between two beautiful locations in the world to immerse themselves in sustainable living and learning.

Option 1

Go to the Land of Fire and Ice to experience life at Solheimar eco-village, one of the world’s oldest and unique sustainable living communities. Experience, up close and personal: glaciers, volcanoes, and geothermal hot springs while exploring Iceland, one of the most remote, geologically unique, and environmentally friendly countries in the world.

Throughout this program, you’ll learn how your life can make a big difference in the world and develop a leadership action plan to prove it. You’ll volunteer in a zero carbon emission greenhouse, plant trees, learn about Viking history and Icelandic mystical mythology, spend the night in a magical Icelandic turf house, and more!

Option 2

Live and breathe sustainability in one of the world’s most famous eco-villages, Findhorn, in Northern Scotland. Learn how to reduce your carbon footprint, explore concepts of sustainable design, and get inspired alongside people committed to living socially, environmentally, and spiritually fulfilling lives.

Throughout this program you’ll take a variety of field trips, including cultural and history excursions, castle visits, and hikes to the North Sea. You’ll learn from exciting classes that combine theory with practice and learning with doing, and development an action plan to implement what you learn when you return home.

Located in Osaka, Japan, Kansai Gaidai offers special programming in Japanese language and culture designed for international students. It is a four-year, accredited university that attracts several thousand students annually. Kansai Gaidai has cooperated in formal exchange agreements with more than 100 colleges and universities in the United States. Fluency in Japanese is not required as many courses are taught in English.

Round River is an ecological research and education organization whose goal is the formulation and implementation of conservation strategies that conserve and restore wilderness. To that end, they strive to develop and support traditions that sustain wildness. These efforts are anchored in the principles of conservation biology, supported by field research and community planning.

Round River semester and summer programs are entirely field-based, authentic experiences that offer the opportunity for small groups of students to contribute to actual conservation efforts in big, wild landscapes. Students from diverse backgrounds from the sciences to humanities study and work hard to immerse themselves in the ecology and culture of a place.

Round River has offered programs in Mongolia, Botswana, Chile, Belize, Costa Rica, Namibia, and British Columbia. Check their website for their current program offerings.

If you are studying primary education, environmental studies, or health and social policy you have an opportunity to study abroad with an equal tuition exchange at the University of Glasgow Dumfries campus in Scotland. Take advantage of small-group, innovative programming at their School of Interdisciplinary Studies. Northland education faculty are also involved in program collaboration with the University of Glasgow. Contact Kevin Zak for more information.