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Warren Stortroen
100 Cheers for an Extraordinary Volunteer!
After a 40-year career spent working in an office, Warren Stortroen decided to use his retirement travel as an opportunity to give back. Over the past 22 years, Warren has spent 1,089 days collecting critical environmental and archaeological data across 67 projects in nearly 30 countries around the world. Warren continues to think outside the box and take retirement travel to an entirely new level. In the summer of 2017, he hit his 100th Earthwatch expedition!
Minnesota native Warren Stortroen worked in an office as an insurance claims manager for nearly 40 years. While he stayed close to home during his professional life, he spent considerable time planning for his retirement travel. Warren joined his first Earthwatch expedition in 1996, studying bird species in Costa Rica. Since then, he’s traveled to the Peruvian Amazon, Australia’s Kangaroo Island, the Galapagos, and well beyond—sometimes visiting the same project two or three times.
Warren’s passion for combining volunteer and retirement travel, as well as his vast experience with Earthwatch expeditions, has led to a reputation that precedes him to the field sites. Other volunteers feel honored to be on the same research team as him. There’s even a fan club named the “Warren-ites.” In September 2017, Warren hit a major milestone: he joined his 100th expedition at the Crow Canyon archaeology site in southwest Colorado.
It’s incredible what Warren has accomplished over the past 20 years. At age 85, he continues to redefine what retirement looks like. He works alongside teens and millennials, tracking killer whales in Iceland, hiking through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and exploring an active volcano in Nicaragua. Warren is an inspiration—reminding us, time and again, of the importance of stepping up to the challenge. His story proves that retirement travel doesn't have to be just leisure and relaxation; it can be an adventurous and fulfilling chapter in life. Warren's approach to retirement travel can inspire anyone looking to make the most of their post-career years, whether volunteering or exploring new hobbies.
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These quotes from scientists and his fellow volunteers speak to the impact Warren has had across the globe throughout his retirement travels:
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Crow Canyon Archaeological Center started its Earthwatch partnership in 2013. One of our first participants was Warren Stortroen. While it was Crow Canyon’s first [Earthwatch expedition], Warren was already a seasoned veteran with experience from around the world, including archaeology! Warren is such a delight every week he works with us. Participants and staff love flipping through his photo albums and listening to his stories. He guides and inspires the other [Earthwatch] citizen scientists as well as the Crow Canyon staff
— From the staff at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
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My enduring memory of Warren was when we were surveying the Masaya volcano crater rim in February 2017—his 96th expedition, my first! We came across some paw prints in the (warm) ash, which with his naturally infectious enthusiasm and engaging erudition, classified them as feline and likely to be made by an ocelot. This being my first such encounter, I couldn’t contain my excitement as we followed them to a cacophony of prints around its burrow—where Warren calmly rounded off this unprecedented experience for me with a rich insight into the behavior of ocelots. Thank you, Warren, for being such a gentleman and a scholar—I hope you will continue to enjoy every one of your multitudes of Earthwatch memories as much as I will do of mine with you.
— Stephen Middleton, Exploring an Active Volcano in Nicaragua
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“He has always been a pleasure to work with: the smile of contentment never leaves his face and he is appreciative, interested in the work, and careful to get it right. An ideal Earthwatch volunteer; long may he continue.”
— Dr. John Murray, volcanologist on the expedition Exploring an Active Volcano in Nicaragua
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“I remember Warren as a particularly valued member of the team because he set an example to all of us, not just the other volunteers but also the staff. This was because this was our first Earthwatch field season, and we were a little anxious and stressed to make sure it would succeed, but Warren was experienced, calm, and unflappable. He was absolutely reliable and worked really hard to make the work a success. We all learned from Warren that we should keep calm, adapt to situations and keep working hard, and we would get the job done.”
— Dr. Christopher Joyce, lead scientist on the expedition Baltic Island Wetlands and Birds
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“I had heard about Warren long before I met him, but I did meet him, surveying meadows in California. He was a joy!… The stories of his many expeditions (only 94 or so back then) were fascinating—he gave me so many ideas for expeditions to go on! A great citizen scientist and a delightful person.
– Brenda Sullivan, Restoring Meadows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
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Thank you, Warren!
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