Tres Marias

Morelos, Mexico

In 2018, several representatives of Preparatoria Tres Marias, a community college in a rural village within the mountains of Central Mexico, visited Dawson College in Montreal to learn more about its Living Campus. They were part of a multi-year Sustainable Campuses project between several universities in Mexico and Dawson College.  

 During their stay, they participated in a Living School Symposium where participants reviewed Living School Attributes and helped a local elementary school develop practical projects that defined these attributes. 

 Upon their return to Mexico, the director organized a three-day workshop for Tres Marias staff titled “Sustainable Happiness and well-being in schools.” The workshop series was developed by clinical psychologist and Tres Marias teacher Luisa Montes. Staff reviewed their college mission, courses and teaching methods. They asked themselves the following questions? Are we a Living School? Do we want to explicitly develop more attributes together? If so, do we have the capacity? Will this be a positive experience for students and will they “buy in”? They discussed the importance of expressing gratitude and compassion as a gateway to open learning and were asked on the final day to each write a letter about their thoughts, feelings and whether they wanted to continue the journey towards developing the Living School Attributes with the entire staff and student body. The result was a unanimous ‘YES’ to declare themselves a Living School. They are now planning rooftop water collection to feed an artificial wetland, medicinal plant gardens, a solar-powered community radio station, and community theatre program that can express well-being themes.