“We thought it would be an engaging opportunity for the community to learn more about the land they live on and its native ecosystems.”

It was on a trip to Charleston, South Carolina that Terralyn Yim first discovered pawpaw (Asimina triloba). 

The third-year Honours Biochemistry student was travelling with family when she tried the fruit, which is native to North America and was once a staple food source for Indigenous populations.  

She didn’t know it at the time, but that trip to Charleston would be the launching pad into a meaningful act of reconciliation that would see her collaborate with Indigenous leaders at McMaster to plant pawpaw trees on campus.