Three UArizona Students Named 2023 Planet Forward Storyfest Finalists
Three University of Arizona students are finalists in the annual Planet Forward Storyfest competition for their storytelling to inspire, motivate, and drive change in caring for the Earth.
Planet Forward, a project of George Washington University, teaches, celebrates, and rewards effective environmental and science storytelling through a variety of media. Storyfest is its annual storytelling contest that rewards winners with a global expedition to inspire new narratives. For the three UArizona finalists this year, the competition is also an opportunity to share their passion for environmental and cultural storytelling, be it through words, photos – or music.
Halley Hughes is an honors student double majoring in natural resources and urban and regional development. She is also co-director of Students for Sustainability, an advisory team member for the UArizona Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, a student researcher with Bridging Biodiversity and Conservation Science, a program of the Arizona Institute for Resilience (AIR), and a Liverman Scholar with the AIR Education Initiatives.
Hughes has two pieces in top categories: Radical roots: how a school garden creates dirty hands, full hearts, and hearty plates, in the Most Compelling Character category, and Reconciliación en mi Río: Stewardship of the Santa Cruz River, in the Most Creative Story category.
“I’ve found that creativity is medicine,” said Hughes. “Storytelling is a way to inspire and heal in a world that needs deep, generational, and expansive healing. Interweaving equity with my own personal experience and centering my stories around the experiences of marginalized groups has empowered me to write bolder stories that can inspire change.”
Robyn Iron / Votonae Photography
JoRee LaFrance is majoring in environmental science and minoring in the Indigenous Food, Energy, Water Security, and Sovereignty (Indige-FEWSS) nexus. She is a current Agents of Change in Environmental Justice fellow, founder and co-program manager of Ilíiaitchik: Planet Forward Indigenous Correspondents, a program within the AIR Education Initiatives. Her photo essay, Crow Cowboys: A Story of Responsibility, Respect & Resilience, is a finalist in the Most Compelling Character Storyfest category.
“This was my first time behind the lens,” LaFrance shared. “Luckily, my uncle let me borrow his camera because I was having a hard time renting one, and overnight shipped the camera from Minneapolis to Crow Agency. I just have to give a huge shoutout to Stephen Yellowtail who made this entire process so easy and for being patient with me.”
“This story was important to me because I, too, grew up in the cowboy lifestyle,” she added. “I was raised by people who spent grueling hours on the back of a horse in rain, snow, or shine…. I wanted to share the perspectives of Crow cowboys who spend their time outside with their kin on the land that they care so much about.”
LaFrance is also a member of the Indigenous Correspondents Program, of which three correspondents are Storyfest finalists in this, the program’s first year. In addition to LaFrance, Raylen Bark of Dartmouth College is a finalist for her photo essay, Indigenous plant sovereignty and Cherokee culture, and Shondiin Mayo of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, for her story, Indigenous energy and equations.
Chris Zatarain is majoring in music with a minor in environmental studies, and a former Liverman Scholar. His composition for English horn, The Sound of Mountains Melting: A musical meditation on emotions in a world in crisis, is a finalist in the Storyfest Most Creative Story category.
“To me, storytelling is a vital part of being a human being,” Zatarain said. “The desire to tell stories is inherent to the human spirit. Stories allow us to propagate knowledge, give us perspective, and move us to feel deeply. I believe that through our different modes of storytelling, including – but not limited to – written and spoken word, music, art, dance, and so on, provide opportunities for relating to one another and the world around us.”
Planet Forward Storyfest winners will be announced at the 2023 Planet Forward Summit this April 20-21, in Washington, D.C.