Courtenay’s interest in India was peaked in her first year of law school when she attended the Public Interest Environmental Law Centre in Eugene, Oregon and learned about India’s National Green Tribunal.
Courtenay’s interest in India was peaked in her first year of law school when she attended the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene, Oregon and learned about India’s National Green Tribunal.
With the help of ELC Legal Director Calvin Sandborn, who provided networking connections, and CAPI’s Outgoing Scholar Program, who provided key funding, Courtenay was able to develop an internship opportunity in India. She travelled to Chennai for four months to work on environmental law issues at The Other Media, a small, social and environmental justice organization where she contributed to a variety of projects, including working on an injunction regarding the remediation of mercury-contaminated soils within a wildlife sanctuary caused by a nearby thermometer factory, the expansion of thermal power plants within an ecologically sensitive estuary, and working with data on heavy metal concentrations in the air, soil, and water to document changes over time in an area impacted by copper smelter emissions.
“I also participated in discussions and meetings, learned about several ongoing projects within the community, including the establishment of a sustainable, local fish market,” says Courtenay. “As a law student, I drafted prosecution notices and Right to Information Requests, and helped prepare documents for injunction applications. It was an absolutely incredible experience.”
Courtenay also spent two weeks in Delhi, where she had the opportunity to speak with lawyers at both the Supreme Court of India and the National Green Tribunal, India’s specialized environmental court. For more information about Courtenay’s experience, check out the blog she prepared for CAPI, which has funding to send another student intern during the summer of 2019.