Engineers Without Borders
2014 Spring Newsletter
Engineers Without Borders - Cornell University
Email: ewbcornell@gmail.com
Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/ewbcornell/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EWBCornell
Twitter: @EWBCornell
Summer Assessment Trip: Full Steam Ahead!
Our project application has recently been approved by EWB-USA! Our team is planning on sending a group to Bolivia this summer for an assessment trip. While there, our team will get to know the people in the community and experience their culture. We will also gain a better understanding of the problem and what types of solutions will work best for the community. To help our team, we are working with a number of professional engineers and mentors, including our partner US-based NGO, Engineers in Action.
The project we are starting has the potential to save thousands of lives. It involves working with other EWB chapters to remediate the water supply of the community of Calcha near Potosi, Bolivia. This water has been contaminated with poisonous levels of lead, arsenic, and cadmium by an old silver mine along the river flowing through the region. These heavy metals are harmful to the health of the people in the community. The community is based on subsistence agriculture and uses the contaminated water for irrigation and livestock, so all of their crops and livestock contain the heavy metals as well. This is an urgent problem in need of solving and without the help of EWB-Cornell and EIA, the immediate fate of this region is bleak.
Student Projects: Up & Running!
Could there have been a better way for EWB-CU to start the new semester than collaborating with Dilmun Hill Farm? Dilmun Hill is a student-run farm on campus where students practice sustainable agriculture. It’s fun, organic, local, and, most importantly, educational. In previous years, Dilmun Hill has launched its own projects, including their beautiful mosaic gardens, but this year, they decided to partner up with EWB-CU for a more engineering-based project.
On a beautiful September afternoon, our members went on an assessment trip, collected information, and came up with many ideas on how to improve sanitation and cultivation on the farm. After weeks of gathering information and research, our members presented our findings to Dilmun Hill and our projects were approved!
Currently, the sanitation group is creating compostable, portable toilet for Dilmun Hill. The team has created a design plan and begun the process of searching for cheap and environmentally friendly materials. They are looking forward to the implementation of the project later this spring as they learn invaluable research and planning skills to help a student-run project.
Northeast Regional Conference
Fundraisers Galore
Skate Night with EWB-Cornell
Engineers Love Cookies Too!
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, Anyone?
Catering to students wandering home late at night from the library and also to students enjoying the evening, EWB-CU set up a booth on a corner in Collegetown to sell crispy grilled cheese, warm tomato soup, and delicious hot chocolate! Our team had an awesome time preparing the food and attracting customers. The event was successful in raising over $100 that goes directly to our team’s project in Bolivia.
Tie-Dye Fun(draiser)
Year-End Giving Campaign
Engineers Without Border - Cornell University
Email: ewbcornell@gmail.com
Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/ewbcornell/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EWBCornell
Twitter: @EWBCornell