Down To Earth: Cornell Conversations About

Julie and Marta took part in the Cornell University Wind Symphony service-learning tour to Haiti and the Dominican Republic last month, starting in Port-au-Prince, traveling up to Jacmel, and eventually making our way over the border to the DR. We were there to collaborate with Port-au-Prince’s Holy Trinity Music School Orchestra, the national orchestra of Haiti. The partnership between Holy Trinity and Cornell is an ongoing project organized by our conductor, James Spinazzola, and the Holy Trinity Orchestra conductor, Father David Cesar. We saw this as the perfect opportunity to learn a bit about climate change and environmental issues in Haiti, and as you’ll see, it also turned into a chance to make a few interviews on the topic. This podcast is split into two parts; first, a discussion of environmental, governmental, and international policy issues facing Haiti, and second, a more general discussion of approaches to human rights, dignity and the environment. Our journey through Haiti was an extraordinary o