Cornell University Sustainable Design has a ring just to the name. What’s even cooler–it’s the only project team that has members from all undergraduate colleges working to make a sustainable impact in their own community and globally. The team’s past projects have included Cornell’s newly approved Climate Action Plan, Sustainable Neighborhoods Nicaragua, and Beebe Lake Redevelopment. Now, their sights are set on breaking ground on their latest project Sustainable Education Ghana (SEG).
SEG highlights all of the core values of CUSD and aims to “enable girls from communities with limited resources to attain an education that fosters personal, intellectual, and vocational growth.” The team partnered with the nonprofit Voices of African Mothers and is working to help them address the need for improved education in the Sogakope region of Ghana through building part of the VAM Girls Academy. Ultimately, girls will have combined training in ecologically friendly farming, conflict resolution, and health clinics which will prepare the students to become champions of equality and sustainability.
Sustainable Education Ghana seems like quite the feat– especially considering the global partnership, research, design, and teamwork that flows into the project– but construction is scheduled to start this summer. Before our students head on a plane halfway across the world, they’re hosting an event on April 13th called “Bridging the Gap Between Cornell And Ghana,” hoping to involve Cornell in their journey by walking students through the process of how the project came to fruition.
SEG seeks to empower the next generation of girls to become leaders in communities, and this ripple effect is evident in how the project is primarily led by female students here at Cornell. For these leaders, SEG is just one of the many projects that CUSD has completed and is working on. Their accomplishments highlight that the project team is truly a unique center of drive, passion, and change in our Cornell community whose impact makes a difference at home and abroad. If you’re interested in CUSD’s work and want to learn more about how to have a sustainable impact on the greater community, check them out!
