At BCIT, we are committed to supporting the people who shape and elevate our students’ journey. The People Plan: Caring for our people. Strengthening BCIT together guides how we support employee wellbeing, growth, belonging, and transformation.
Through the Our People series on BCIT News, we celebrate the passion, expertise, and impact of individuals who help shape a better future at BCIT and beyond.
Meet Alison Griffin and Deirdre Grace, BCIT Librarians, and BCIT 2026 Employee Excellence Award recipients in the Sustainability category.
What does it mean to you to be a 2026 Employee Excellence Award recipient?
It is a tremendous honor for both of us as there are so many people at BCIT doing incredible work, so to be recognized by our peers means a lot.
Looking back on the past year, what do you think contributed most to you receiving this recognition?
We feel very lucky to have been recognized for our various projects with Sustainability because so many of them are close to our hearts. We love building the Escape Room (this year with a sustainability theme), Food for Thought talks, Climate Action week events and more. We truly get to work on all the fun stuff!
Is there a particular project, initiative, or achievement from 2025-2026 that you are especially proud of?
We especially enjoyed the Climate Action Week activities in November. This is a grassroots movement started by BC libraries a few years ago, where each library creates their own events and then jointly promotes them under this banner, thereby growing awareness throughout the province.
We created a number of 5-minute climate focused games that were wildly popular with students. We also hosted the 4th annual plant propagation event where members of the BCIT community could exchange plants clippings (or just take a new plant for your desk!).
Lastly, we hosted a Climate Action themed Any Book Book Club where participants could discuss books they read on this topic.
How have your colleagues or team supported your success over the past year?
We could not have run these events without the support of the BCIT Green Team, Food for Thought team, and our library colleagues. Every time we ask for volunteers to help run events, many volunteers come forward, and we are grateful for their help.
We also have partnered with Indigenous Initiatives, facilities and Food Insecurity group on seed planting and harvesting via connections with the BCIT Seed library, which has also been very rewarding. There are so many groups actively involved in sustainability at BCIT!
What aspect of BCIT’s workplace culture has helped you thrive in your role or project?
BCIT’s guiding values include innovation and collaboration and we certainly see this among our colleagues in the library and on the groups and committees that we are a part of.
What’s next for you – any goals, upcoming projects, or aspirations on the horizon?
Deirdre will be retiring in August so it will be up to Alison to try to live up to the high standards Deirdre has set for library outreach and event planning.
Deirdre plans to spend more time in nature and catch up on her reading. Alison is exploring entering BCIT library into the Sustainable Library Certification program from the Sustainable Libraries initiative.
It is a huge honour to receive this award and share the stage with such amazing recipients. However, being nominated by the people I work with daily is what truly matters most. Knowing they recognized my work and took the time to submit a nomination is priceless.
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