I love technology. Every day it puts me in touch with colleagues and friends from around the world. Firing up Skype means being able to connect from Washington to people as far flung as Kabul, Sulaimaniyah, and Phnom Penh.

Erik has been able to send me photos that I’ve posted on Flickr and anecdotes from the hike with Skype. He’s been able to email short notes and quotes from the young hikers, like Kastro who kept thanking EPIC and our Iraqi partners Nature Iraq and Metrography for the opportunity to take part in the Hike. It’s was an experience he otherwise would have never had.

And just yesterday, Facebook enabled us here at EPIC to get a very nice surprise. (Have you “Liked” us on Facebook, yet? I promise, it’s painless!) Ahmed, one of the participants in our Iraqi Youth Hike, posted a picture of himself and EPIC Executive Director Erik Gustafson on the hike through Kani Shok.

Ahmed thanked EPIC for organizing the peacebuilding program saying, “I will not forget these times.” He called the experience wonderful and said he told all of his friends and family in Kirkuk about it.

But Ahmed hasn’t told only them, with Facebook and other technology, young Iraqis can tell their friends in Baghdad and Michigan about the great time they had. And, more importantly to EPIC, platforms like Facebook allow the hikers to stay in touch with us and with each other long after the program ends. Building understanding and friendship between different communities won’t end in Kani Shok, it will continue in Kirkuk and also here in the ones and zeros that make up the words, pictures, and videos we share with technology every day.

Most of us have been there: sitting in the living room with screws and bolts strewn around us, particle board leaning at odd angles. We were so optimistic when we saw the shelving unit on the display floor at IKEA, but we’ve got a challenge ahead of us. At least the wordless instruction manual assures us these pieces will all fit together into a sturdy stand for our old textbooks, our new tomes, and the DVD sets we’re maybe a little embarrassed about. (Less the “Battlestar: Galactica”, more the “Supernatural”.)

But in the end, all the hard work is worth it. We have a bookshelf we built with our own two hands (at a good price, too) and building it ourselves just feels good. It’s called the IKEA Effect, the tendency of people to place more value into something they’ve built themselves.

That’s why I think we’re all so excited here at EPIC about the Iraqi Youth Hike. This weekend, the young Iraqis taking part in our program met, got to know each other, and learned about the challenges ahead of them on the Hike and what they’re expected to get out of it. Next, they’ll learn about the natural environment around them and begin to document their world through photography.

The Iraqi Youth Hike is our first project on the ground in Iraq. Early on, it was just disparate bits and pieces of ideas and then–because over 130 people helped us build it with their generous donations–together we turned the Hike into a reality. We each had a hand in making the Hike what it is and we’ll each have a hand in ensuring it’s a sturdy success.

You can still contribute to making the Hike (and future hikes!) as exciting as an Expedit just by spreading the word about EPIC on Facebook and Twitter, making a donation, or buying a t-shirt.

Just like the bookshelf, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you helped build the Hike that’s right now empowering young Iraqis with the skills to be the future leaders of Iraq.

I know I feel that satisfaction when I see the photos and hear the stories coming out of the Iraqi Youth Hike. I know we couldn’t have built it without you. Thank you for helping all of us at EPIC give young Iraqis the tools they too will need to build a more peaceful and prosperous future.

Thanks to @cblatts and @markwbaur for the IKEA Effect link!

Lots of us remember studying Mesopotamia in middle school. What were those two rivers called? (The Tigris and the Euphrates!) Not everyone remembers that the Fertile Crescent still runs straight through Iraq, nourishing a rich cultural heritage and supporting a lush collection of wildlife and plant life. This has been the case since, well, the earliest civilizations.

These days, however, rising populations and the resulting increases in industrial production and the consumption of water have led to higher pollution levels throughout this precious region and the entire country. This video about Nature Iraq’s “Upper Tigris Waterkeeper Project” demonstrates some of the pollution problems facing Iraq as well as the direct, hands-on efforts to conserve the natural beauty and biodiversity of Iraq.

One of the Iraq Upper Tigris Waterkeeper’s duties is to monitor the car washing in rivers, a very common occurrence in the area from nature iraq on Vimeo.

Iraq’s ecological problems are twofold; lack of awareness is leading to the abuse and pollution of natural resources and Global Climate Change is leading to increased desertification. These have led to rising health concerns, such as dust storms in Baghdad that cause asthmatic deaths, and social concerns: such as increased migration rates, and greater numbers of resulting conflicts.

Fortunately there are organizations like Nature Iraq, Iraq’s first and only affiliate to Bird Life International, and one of the excellent organizations that EPIC is currently working with on the ground. Nature Iraq’s dedicated and hard working staff represents every sect and segment of Iraqi society. Their mission is to protect, restore, and preserve Iraq’s natural environment and the rich cultural heritage that it nourishes. Their task is not an easy one: after 35 years of war and sanctions, much of Iraq’s ecology has been neglected and abused.

One of their immediate priorities is to gather data and make a general assessment of the present condition of Iraq’s environment in order to progress with ecological preservation. Their hope is that as Iraq moves forward with reconstruction and socio-economic development, that they will also be addressing issues of water scarcity, sustainable farming, pollution, and environmental restoration.

I strongly encourage you to browse through Nature Iraq’s galleries and videos, the images are beautifully captured and show a side of Iraq that we don’t often get to see when we turn on the news. If you, as I do, appreciate the work that Nature Iraq is doing, then you will be pleased to find out that Nature Iraq will be working with EPIC to educate participants in our Iraqi Youth Hike. Nature Iraq will lead workshops during the course of the hike and discuss the importance of environmental conservation. In addition, they will also be giving EPIC and the youth hikers access to their Eco-Camp, a permanent camp built by Nature Iraq at the foot of the Peramagroon Mountain.

We here at EPIC are extremely proud and happy to be working with Nature Iraq as they mentor the hikers about the importance of conservation for the future of Iraq.