Moderator:  Don Santor
Registration Fee:  $20
Time:  5 weeks, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 PM, September 12 to October 17
Location:  Pine Dale Motor Inn
Format:  Presentations and Video

With the publication of “The Sea Around Us” in 1951 Rachel Carson forever changed our relationship with the oceans of the world.  From time immemorial humans have been drawn to the sea for food and recreation, as well as for exploring the world.  Throughout recorded history humanity has taken the oceans of the world for granted, failing to recognize them as the origin and sustainer of life.  In the ensuing years the oceans have suffered from our abuse and misuse.  But it is not too late for us to change our ways and restore them.  With a combination of videos and presentations this course will examine humanity’s love affair with the sea around us.

Moderator:  Mike Ash
Registration Fee:  $20
Time:  5 weeks, Monday, 10:00 AM to Noon, October 24 to November 21
Location:  Pine Dale Motor Inn
Format:  Presentations and Discussion

Technological innovation is directly tied to science and scientific research. While Canada has a great education system and directly funds research, our ability to turn this effort into “economic or social value”¹ has recently come into question. Let’s find examples of Canadian ingenuity and inventiveness and talk about them to discover the status of science and innovation in Canada. Can we hold our heads high and claim to be savvy in science and technology?

¹ Conference Board of Canada definition of innovation

Possible Topics to Explore

Moderator:  Karen Bowes-Sewell
Registration Fee:  $20
Time:  5 weeks, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 PM, October 24 to November 21
Location:  Pine Dale Motor Inn
Format:  Brief Information Gathering, Videos

We depend on our science-based medicine to solve our health problems. And it mostly does a good job. But what did our ancestors use before big pharma? How do shamans in eastern cultures work? Which medicinal and edible plants grow right in our own backyards yet are thrown out as weeds? Why do many alternative health practices consider the mind and spirit in healing while modern western medicine focuses more on the physical body? Join us to rediscover healing perspectives and prescriptions that have been long-lost and yet may still offer promising benefits, and have a look at recent research on some old traditions. To your health!

Here are some possible topics …

♥  Ancient Medicine – Prehistoric, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, or Ayurveda
♥  Hippocrates
♥  Galen
♥  The Four Humours
♥  Medieval Islamic Medicine – Al-Razi
♥  Medieval Pharma – Hildegard von Bingen
♥  Renaissance Medicine
♥  Enlightenment Medicine
♥  Scientific Method
♥  Rise of public health
♥  Development of hospitals
♥  Mental Illness
♥  Traditional Chinese Medicine
♥  Alternative medicine
♥  Complementary medicine
♥  Integrative medicine
♥  Folk remedies
♥  Indigenous medicine
♥  First Nations medicine in Canada
♥  Medicine men and women
♥  Shamans
♥  Edible and medicinal plants
♥  Diana Berseford Kroeger – “The Sweetness of a Simple Life”
♥  Mind and spirit in healing
♥  Jo Marchant – “Cure – A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body”
♥  Placebo effect as treatment
♥  Relationship between the nervous system and the immune system
♥  Meditation and inflammation
♥  Mind-body medicine: meditation, prayer, art therapy, distance healing, hypnotism
♥  Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction – Jon Kabat-Zinn
♥  Manipulative and body-based practices: massage, osteopathy, somatic practices, chiropractic
♥  Energy therapies: qigong, reiki, therapeutic touch, electromagnetic therapy
♥  Naturopathy
♥  Homeopathy
♥  Reflexology
♥  Bio-feedback
♥  Neurofeedback

Moderator:  Nancy Winters
Registration Fee:  $20
Time:  5 weeks, Monday, 10:00 AM to Noon, January 9  to February 6
Location:  Pine Dale Motor Inn
Format:  Videos and Discussion (no presentations)

Spain has produced some of the most startling and original art ever created.” In his documentary series, Andrew Graham Dixon, one of the world’s leading and most personable art critics, looks at the rich culture of Spain and its surprising edge. He takes us from Moorish art and the Islamic legacy on Spain and Europe to the beginnings of Modernism, and then provides a closer look at Picasso, Dali and Miro to illuminate their roots and influence. Spanish Cubism, Surrealism and even Magic Realism all come into play in Dixon’s fascinating presentation.

Moderator:  Don Santor
Registration Fee:  $20
Time:  5 weeks, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 PM, January 9  to February 6
Location:  Pine Dale Motor Inn
Format:  Videos and Discussion

Most people think the world is in a mess! Controversial current world events become issues that dominate the news. Headlines in the media are designed to attract our attention and irritate us.  Some even raise our blood pressure!  Some of these issues can be dismissed and ignored, but others impinge on our lives and make us anxious.  Not only do they affect each one of us, but they also affect our families and friends.  Consequently we worry about the future. We cannot remain bystanders, but how do we cope?  What should we do? Through videos and discussion this course will examine a number of controversial public issues selected by the participants. The goal is to probe the underlying causes and work out reasonable responses.

Moderator:  Mike Ash
Registration Fee:  $20
Time:  5 weeks, Monday, 10:00 AM to Noon, February 13 to March 20 (excl. Feb. 20th)
Location:  Pine Dale Motor Inn
Format:  Presentation and Discussion

“The post war years were a golden time in the Canadian economy …”¹  What was it about this time period that made Canada the best place to grow up for the boomer generation? As the immediate fall out of the WWII subsided, everything was upbeat and opportunities for jobs and a better standard of living grew. The cold war was warming up but we had a vision of a brighter and prosperous future for all Canadians, particularly the new generation of youth. Let’s explore this decade (+/- a few years) with a little research and by drawing on our own rich experience to discover the events and conditions that shaped us.

¹CanadaHistory.com

Possible Topics to Explore

Moderator:  Molly Russell
Registration Fee:  $20
Time:  5 weeks, Monday, 2:00 to 4:00 PM, February 13 to March 20 (excl. Feb. 20th)
Location:  Pine Dale Motor Inn

Animals, other than ourselves, have been our constant companions from the beginning of time. They love us, feed, protect, and sometimes still hunt us. Facing a challenging world, we have looked to them in their splendour to help make sense of the mysteries of life. And increasingly, we recognize the breadth of their intelligence, emotional lives, and individuality. Take a walk on the wild side to explore some of our feathered, furry, and scaly friends through their natural history, symbolism, and the roles they have played in our culture, science, cooking, and medicine. Using the “Animal Series” books as a resource, each participant investigates one animal and shares highlights with the group.