Care for Our Planet

As a university committed to the principles of the Okanagan Charter, we recognize that well-being is deeply interwoven with the health of our planet, our communities, and the places we inhabit. April brings Sustainability Month and Earth Day celebrations to campus, yet these are not just celebrations —they are calls to remember our responsibilities to care for one another and the Earth we share.

By adopting the international Okanagan Charter, we’ve pledged to embed well-being into all aspects of campus culture—supporting the health of PEOPLE, stewarding the PLACES we call home, and protecting the PLANET for generations to come.

Respecting Indigenous Perspectives

The Okanagan Charter calls on institutions to “reflect Indigenous traditions and knowledges,” in their practices, recognizing that Indigenous communities have long practiced reciprocal, relational approaches to land, water, and community care. Cornell University’s Land Acknowledgement recognizes the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫɁ (the Cayuga Nation). We show respect to the original caretakers of the land when we care for it and learn about its gifts.

Throughout the month of April, we uplift these ways of knowing:

• Planetary health includes harmony—between body, community, and environment.
• We humans are not separate from the natural world, or but rather a part of it.
• Honoring the Earth begins with daily gratitude, as well as a sense of responsibility, right relationship, and reciprocity.

We invite all members of our campus to reflect:

• What land, waters, and communities do you love enough to protect?
• How can your actions today sustain wellbeing for the future?
• How can we walk together in respect for people, place, and planet?