Pearson College UWC students marked UWC Day, AKA the UN International Day of Peace, on Thursday, Sept. 21 by engaging in service projects that focused on sustainability across the college campus along Pedder Bay.
Students kick-off UWC Day by taking in a presentation by Jason McBride, Head of College
“We’re restoring natural environments, beautifying and cleaning up our community as part of continually giving back to this land,” said Jason McBride, Head of College. “We are proud of contributing to the wider community for nearly 50 years outside our campus, but it’s also important to honour the fact that charity begins at home.”
Students collecting trash while being supervised
Around the theme of “Shaping A Sustainable Future,” students worked with their Advisors and other adults on campus to remove invasive species including Scotch Broom, recycle outdated library materials and travelled to Weirs Beach to pick up trash. Students also prepared individual and customized Orange Shirts for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation on Sept. 30 with t-shirts designed by students to show commitments to respecting the original inhabitants of this region and the land upon which the College is situated.
“It’s important that we respect Sc’ianew First Nation residency and stewardship of this land from time immemorial and establish a connection,” said Bella Zhou, a first-year student from China. “We have to continuously re-evaluate our impact on the land and take care of the environment in which we live.”
The day began with a gathering in the Max Bell Theatre that set the scene for the entire campus population. Throughout the day, students worked on group projects which also included cleaning up wood collected from diseased trees which were safely taken down earlier in the year and creating a UWC “globes” wall mural to beautify a south-facing deck space created adjacent to the Molson pool and the refreshed adjacent indoor gym area.
Year 48 grad Tomoka (pictured standing) took part in a UWC Day roundtable with her peers
UWC Day was celebrated at all United World Colleges across the globe by alumni, some of whom took part in virtual and in-person meet-ups organized by UWC National Committees, including UWC Canada in Vancouver and on the Pearson campus. Celebrations also took place at prestigious universities, including Princeton, where recent graduate Tomoka Ohmori participated in a roundtable with fellow UWCers from around the globe. These extraordinary moments of celebration show the boundless potential as our students and alumni embark on their promising journeys ahead!