About the 'Tiny House'

Dani McArthur (Year 6/1981) is the first alum in residence (read more about the Alumni in Residence program here) here at Pearson College UWC, she arrived in style! In April 2016, Dani arrived on campus with her "Tiny House" to volunteer her time and expertise as an English Language teacher.


Sustainability is at the heart of what we do at Pearson College.  It is in fact one of the two pillars that drives our mission: to make education a force to unite nations, cultures and people for a peaceful and sustainable future. The Tiny House, and living “small”, is another example of how we can contribute to the conversation about lessening our global footprint. The 250-square foot house on wheels is part of a growing trend of micro-homes that residents are choosing to move into as the impact of sustainable living and the high cost of owning a home become more evident. Read more about the Tiny House in the Pearson Times or Goldstream Gazette.

"The challenge of living in a tiny space is one that helps us limit our consumption of scarce resources like energy, but it also presents a very real limit to everyday consumption," Dani says. "In a tiny space, if you get something new, you have to give something away. I think at the centre of it all is the deeper question: what do we really need to be happy?".

In addition to many tiny but significant features stands the floating staircase, made from a 300-year-old cedar tree that died on the property of Paul Faber, a teacher at Pearson College, who donated the wood. Dani continues to find ways to be self-sufficient in her tiny home, and looks forward to working with students to design off-grid systems such as solar paneling, rainwater collection and grey-water recycling.