Hello! For this first blog post from the GCIL 2020 Biome team, I thought I would provide a quick introduction and summary of what we've been up to with Biome since we arrived in Bangalore.
Our team is made up of myself, Veronique, as well as Eric, Kayla, and Tessa. We are all students from the University of Washington in Seattle, studying/working in Bangalore from January until the middle of March. Kayla is studying Environmental Studies, Tessa is completing a Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering, and Eric and I are both seniors in the Civil Engineering department.
Our first in person meet up with Biome was when we toured the Visvesvaraya Rain Water Harvesting Theme Park. This was our first introduction to the rainwater harvesting efforts being done in Bangalore. We also got to see the Cubbon Park Metro Station mural, which was done in collaboration with a local art college to display the history of water in Bangalore and the importance of well diggers. The variety and depth of involvement which Biome has in the city is even better in person than online or over Skype calls.
Yesterday, on Monday January 28th, we had our first day in person with Srivalli, who took us to meet with local well diggers and view a 100 year old open well near Adugodi Police Station off of Hosur road. We got to hear for the first time how these wells are maintained, who maintains them, and what well diggers think of their careers and what it means for future generations. Panchayat is the organization who is in charge of these wells, and they hire out the well diggers to maintain specific wells. As much as these well diggers are necessary, they themselves do not want their children to carry on with the tradition. We also got to see the Biome Environmental Solutions headquarters, learn how they make mud concrete, and talk about the water systems around Bangalore and goals for Biome. Again, the exposure that we received to how Bangalore's water is treated further reminded us of the reach of Biome's efforts.
Today, we had a chance to walk around Kaikondhralli Lake, where we saw the impacts of letting untreated sewage flow into these ecosystems. The color of the water, and the smells and types of birds around the lake are indicative of the state of the ecosystem. We also got the chance to sit in and contribute on a meeting at WIPRO, developing an updated version of the Sustainability & Water school program. It was a program we had never heard of, but one that we quickly got attached to. It combines education, competitive, creative thinking, and collaboration for a topic that is very important for students in India to know.
After only three days with Biome, we have already learned so much, and are looking forward to the next six weeks of working on some of the amazing projects they have started and have in progress. We are eager to continue learning, contributing, and building the work that Biome does for the city we are lucky enough to live in for three months.
-Veronique
Our team is made up of myself, Veronique, as well as Eric, Kayla, and Tessa. We are all students from the University of Washington in Seattle, studying/working in Bangalore from January until the middle of March. Kayla is studying Environmental Studies, Tessa is completing a Masters of Science in Environmental Engineering, and Eric and I are both seniors in the Civil Engineering department.
Our first in person meet up with Biome was when we toured the Visvesvaraya Rain Water Harvesting Theme Park. This was our first introduction to the rainwater harvesting efforts being done in Bangalore. We also got to see the Cubbon Park Metro Station mural, which was done in collaboration with a local art college to display the history of water in Bangalore and the importance of well diggers. The variety and depth of involvement which Biome has in the city is even better in person than online or over Skype calls.
Yesterday, on Monday January 28th, we had our first day in person with Srivalli, who took us to meet with local well diggers and view a 100 year old open well near Adugodi Police Station off of Hosur road. We got to hear for the first time how these wells are maintained, who maintains them, and what well diggers think of their careers and what it means for future generations. Panchayat is the organization who is in charge of these wells, and they hire out the well diggers to maintain specific wells. As much as these well diggers are necessary, they themselves do not want their children to carry on with the tradition. We also got to see the Biome Environmental Solutions headquarters, learn how they make mud concrete, and talk about the water systems around Bangalore and goals for Biome. Again, the exposure that we received to how Bangalore's water is treated further reminded us of the reach of Biome's efforts.
Today, we had a chance to walk around Kaikondhralli Lake, where we saw the impacts of letting untreated sewage flow into these ecosystems. The color of the water, and the smells and types of birds around the lake are indicative of the state of the ecosystem. We also got the chance to sit in and contribute on a meeting at WIPRO, developing an updated version of the Sustainability & Water school program. It was a program we had never heard of, but one that we quickly got attached to. It combines education, competitive, creative thinking, and collaboration for a topic that is very important for students in India to know.
After only three days with Biome, we have already learned so much, and are looking forward to the next six weeks of working on some of the amazing projects they have started and have in progress. We are eager to continue learning, contributing, and building the work that Biome does for the city we are lucky enough to live in for three months.
-Veronique
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