The University of the Fraser Valley hosts two remarkable West Coast personalities at its Abbotsford campus on March 12.

Rex Weyler, UFV's writer in residence and a co-founder of Greenpeace International, gives his perspective on the state of the planet after 50 years of environmentalism at 2: 30 - 4: 30 p.m. in the Abbotsford UFV lecture hall, B101.

Weyler has served in the trenches to preserve rivers and forests, and to end whaling, sealing and toxic dumping.

He continues to be active in protecting water and forests in Canada and South America, and posts the Deep Green column on the Greenpeace International website.

Weyler's appearance is part of the UFV GreenSPEAK series hosted by the UFV Centre for Sustainability. It's free and open to the public. For more on Weyler, see ufv.ca/eng-lish.

At 5 p.m. Victor Chan, founding director of Vancouver's Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education, will speak on educating the heart, and the role of peace and education.

"Enlightened education for the 21st century calls for a holistic education, one that incorporates social and emotional competencies, creative, critical thinking, as well as academic excellence," said Chan.

A friend of the Dalai Lama for close to 40 years, Chan has co-authored two books with him, and was also instrumental in having the Dalai Lama inaugurate the Centre during the Vancouver Dialogues in 2006.

In 2009, the Centre and Chan hosted the Vancouver Peace Summit, which featured five Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and global visionaries. This free lecture is part of UFV president Mark Evered's Leadership Lecture Series and is open to the public.

Books will be available for purchase and signing following Chan's presentation. For more, see blogs.ufv.ca.