Université de Sherbrooke
EN-2: Student Orientation

Every fall, the Université de Sherbooke holds Welcome Days at each of its three campuses, involving a variety of events, where students are informed of the university life as to make their integration experience as positive as possible. One such event is the Welcome Bazaar. Organized by the Office of the Vice-President, Administration and Sustainable Development, in collaboration with different student services and student groups, the Welcome Bazaar is meant to support the student community by assisting them to settle in Sherbrooke, while raising awareness on sustainable development issues.

The Bazaar showcases items such as kitchen equipment, housekeeping equipment, furniture, clothing that are exchanged or sold at a very low cost. In addition to providing assistance to the student population that settles in Sherbrooke and to welcome it in an original way, this circular economy initiative gives a second life to a myriad of objects that are still in good condition which could otherwise become waste. Not only the Bazaar event raises awareness on sustainability issues such as cost reduction and reusing, but it also demonstrates the value of equity and mutual support. All proceeds of the event are donated to the student group Campus durable, meaning Sustainable Campus, whose mission is to promote and supervise student sustainable development initiatives at the Université de Sherbrooke. In 2018, the four-day Bazaar was in its third edition and enjoyed unprecedented success. The same can be said about the fall 2019 edition.

Apart from the Welcome Bazarr event, new students are also informed of the various sustainable development projects occurring on each of the three University’s campuses. For instance, through student groups’ social media networks, they are invited to discover some of the initiatives implemented by the different student committees engaged in activities related to the environment or sustainable development. Under the supervision of Campus durable, some of these committees are: The Collective Garden, which allows everyone to garden organic fruits and vegetables; La Déraille, a bicycle co-op; Ruche Campus, which has developed a beekeeping on the main campus, etc. These committees offer several opportunities for students to get involved, and usually a call for volunteers goes out during the start of the academic year for those who are interested and want to take part in raising awareness on sustainability issues within the student community.