The Fall 2025 semester began with two faculty and eight students from the University of Malawi visiting UMD Carey Law September 1-13. The students and faculty began their trip attending classes and meetings with faculty followed by participating in the Environmental Law Program's International Environmental Law Clinic-NGO conference held September 5 –7 (https://www.law.umaryland.edu/content/articles/name-795613-en.html). Prof. Chikosa Banda (University of Malawi) presented at the conference and the University of Malawi students closed the conference with presentations from the conference workshop focused on creating a global network of Environmental Law Clinics and their NGO partners.
The second week of their visit began with a hike at Harpers Ferry, followed by trips to Washington D.C. Working with the U.S. State Department, we arranged a Supreme Court tour and a trip to the State Department to meet with State Department officials for discussions on UMD-Malawi bidirectional student-faculty exchange and presentations concerning the State Department's work in Africa on environmental and food security issues. The Malawi students then had the opportunity to present their research at the law school. Capping off the whirlwind agenda, we visited the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's (CBF) Annapolis headquarters where attorneys at CBF (including alum Taylor Lilley) gave the Malawi and Maryland students a presentation on CBF's work involving combined sewer-storm water permitting and environmental justice.