Pavel Cenkl, Associate Dean of Academics and Athletic Director for Sterling College, has been selected as a SHIFT (Shaping How we Invest For Tomorrow) 2016 Adventure Athlete awardee. SHIFT ranked Cenkl and his solo run across Iceland in the top 25% of athletes they reviewed.
Cenkl is being recognized for his efforts to connect his recreational pursuits to conservation issues. In 2015, he completed Climate Run: Iceland, a 250 km solo run across Iceland to reframe the conversation about climate change, focusing on resilience rather than resistance in response to the ongoing crisis.
With Climate Run, Cenkl has given presentations to hundreds of students, teachers, outdoor enthusiasts, and professionals in the United States and Europe to promote his mission. He said, “Climate Run is about how can we make thoughtful choices and intentional changes that can contribute to large-scale transformations in how we think about and how we get out and explore this world we share.”
He continued, “By leveraging attention on ultrarunning adventures like my 2015 run across Iceland, I am able to build community and have constructive dialogue with key stakeholders about the role of resilience and vulnerability in our relationship to the environment.”
Cenkl is currently planning a 2017 Climate Run.
The SHIFT Awards, which will be announced at The 2016 SHIFT Festival, October 13-15 in Jackson, WY, recognize individuals, initiatives, or organizations that make innovative, impactful and replicable contributions to conservation through human-powered outdoor recreation.
“SHIFT’s goal is to honor innovative work that leverages outdoor recreation for conservation gains, and that engages the next generation of stewards,” said SHIFT’s Director, Christian Beckwith. “This year’s Official Selections represent the best such efforts in the country.”
ABOUT STERLING COLLEGE
Founded in 1958 in Craftsbury Common, Vermont, Sterling College is the leading voice in higher education for environmental stewardship. The College was among the first colleges in the United States to focus on sustainability through academic majors in Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems, and Outdoor Education. Sterling College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is one of only eight federally recognized Work Colleges in the nation.