February 22, 2010

December 2009 Environmental Brigade Report now published!

We are proud to present to you our formal report of the very first environmental brigade at UCSD as well as at Global Brigades (GB). In working with GB, you can have the unique opportunity to not only travel to a foreign country to take on projects that have a direct impact on the quality of life of local communities, but also gain valuable hands-on experience not found in the classroom.

Our team of student volunteers, aka "brigaders", consisted of 16 UCSD undergraduates and alumnus. The primary objective of our week-long project was to install a photovoltaic system and implement environmental education at a densely populated island in Kuna Yala of Panama, home to the indigenous Kuna people. The project was developed by GB's Environmental Brigades Coordinator, who has established a fruitful relationship with the Kuna Cultural Congress as well as various Panamanian environmental organizations that have contributed to the success of this brigade.

We have worked on this report for many days and nights in the past several weeks, and although it is quite lengthy at 19 pages, it is also filled with memorable photographs from our wondrous trip. It should be noted that because the content was written by various people, the language style may differ from one section to the next.

Please feel perfectly free to spread the word to potentially interested friends. Look for an update within a week on the development of the upcoming summer brigade and how YOU can get involved or perhaps help plan it as well!!

- UCSD GEB team