What is a Brigade?

Brigades defn groups of passionate volunteers mobilizing toward positive social change.

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Environmental Brigades are one-week experiences abroad that include hands-on work alongside community members to promote environmentally sustainable development. Environmental Brigades currently operates in Panama, each with a specific emphasis that enriches other Brigade programs in the region.

• Panama Environmental Brigade
• In Panama, Environmental Brigades complement Business, Law, and Architecture Brigades by focusing on socio-economic challenges linked to resource depletion, while implementing environmentally sustainable strategies for development. Projects include reforestation, rainforest preservation, energy-efficient design, eco-tourism and organic agriculture extension. Volunteers work in a variety of landscapes, ranging from virgin rainforests to urban beaches, each presenting different challenges for the survival of native species and future generations.

An important feature of the brigade is the ability to leave behind both immmediate and long-term impacts. After each brigade, you leave knowing you left both immediate support (the trees you planted, the service you provided) and long-term support (the education workshop you conducted, the study you set up). Brigades also build on each other, continuing projects through successive phases, year after year.