Chiang Mai, Thailand (May 14, 2007) – As part of the University of Georgia’s first Global Service-Learning program, eight UGA students arrived to VIP greetings at Thailand’s Chiang Mai International Airport on May 10, 2007.

The six-week summer program, led by Pratt Cassity, director of UGA’s School of Environmental Design’s Center for Community Design and Preservation, will begin with students spending four weeks in northern Thailand working with environmental sustainability faculty and students at Chiang Mai University. The students will complete service projects with the Lampang Elephant Conservation Center and Hospital and will work with northern Thai hill tribe villages on issues related to economic sustainability and natural resource conservation. The group will spend the final two weeks of the program with the faculty of architecture at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, focusing on urban neighborhood regeneration.

The Thai Sustainable Service-Learning summer program is supported by UGA’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, department of Agricultural Engineering, and Office of Service Learning. The program will become part of an increased focus on Global Service-Learning, especially in southeast Asia and other regions of the world where UGA has not had long-standing programs.

For additional information about Service-Learning, go to: http://www.servicelearning.uga.edu/
For more information on the Thai Sustainable Service-Learning program, go to: http://www.uga.edu/thailand/

This article was posted on Monday, May 14th, 2007 at 2:34 pm and is filed under News, Students.