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News From CALL April 2022
By Jan Walker
"This was an Artist Trading Card done for CALL Creative Projects Group."
From the CALL Board
IN PERSON MEETINGS: As of April 1, 2022, Interest Groups can continue to meet on Zoom or arrange to meet in person following CALL Operations procedures. Talk to your FACILITATOR about the options.
Frozen in Time!
By Carrol Jaques, Chair, CALL Operations Committee
A group of us met in Room 310 at cSpace recently to check out the technical equipment in anticipation of a return to in-person meetings. For most, it was the first time they had been there since early March 2020. CALL Vice President Linda Flanagan said it best when she commented that 310 was like one of those old villages that had been frozen in time. And so it was!
The beautifully lettered sign outside the door listed the groups that met in 310 during 2019/20. Inside the room, there were old notes on the blackboard in chalk as well as yellowed copies of photos of a CALL WordFreaks group, instructions for a bridge group, and other miscellaneous information. The clothes rack held a few lost, forlorn looking jackets, scarves, and hats on the coat rack, but missing were the dozens of water bottles, papers, and binders that had already been disposed of. The cupboards were full of “stuff” left there by various groups and committees. More on this later.
However, there had been changes which reflected the reality of the past two years. There was an official looking binder on a cart at the door with instructions to “PLEASE SIGN IN (AND OUT)” placed there by the CALL 2020 President, Ron Foyer, because cSpace might need the information to notify people if someone tested positive for Covid. There were a few Covid cases on the third floor before vaccines were available, but no one from CALL had been around at the time.
The next cart contained hand sanitizer, cleaning and sanitizing supplies, masks, gloves, sanitary wipes, paper towel, and strict instructions about masking and sanitizing hands, wiping down tables, chairs and other “touch points.” Ron Foyer managed to get boxes and boxes of free masks made available to groups like ours. There were arrows on the floor indicating a flow of traffic from the “entrance” door to a table with more hand sanitizer, to be used before exiting through the “back” door. And there were 11 stars stuck on the floor in a circle spaced 2 metres apart indicating where a CALL group could place chairs and sit for a discussion group.
Room 310 may have remained empty for two years, but there were times when it looked like CALL might be able to resume in-person meetings. A few groups wanted to return in the Fall of 2020, so the Operations Committee met in Room 310 to make plans. That was my first experience with wearing a mask and trying to stay socially distanced in an indoor setting. It made me realize how difficult that was. Robert Scott, Maryvonne Farrand, Patty Oxendale and I discussed ways to meet safely: masks, all aspects of sanitation, 2 metre distancing while entering/exiting cSpace itself, entering/exiting 310, and lining up to sign in, how to keep the pens sanitized(?), how to arrange chairs, and what to do with coats. We made plans. And we brought tape measures, placed chairs around the room 2 metres apart, designed and printed off stars which we taped to the floor to mark the spot in case the chairs were moved. But the 2nd wave of Covid hit and the room remained empty. By the summer of 2021, things were looking up, so we revved up again and scheduled many groups into cSpace, Rosedale, and Marda Loop only to be defeated by what I think was the 4th Covid wave – Delta. We were hopeful about possibly reopening in January 2022 but then Omicron hit.
Now it is the end of March and once again the word has gone out to “canvass your group, make a decision on zoom vs. in-person, and let Operations know….” I have removed most of the “frozen in time” evidence in Room 310 but the storage cupboards are still full of pre-Covid “stuff.” I am suggesting … but you know what I am suggesting. Thanks in advance for removing anything that is not needed in 2022.
Coming Events
Check the CALL website for details of the following events. Registration is required for all these events. You must be a member to register. Join or renew your membership now and watch for email announcements for programs and events.
For Zoom events, please register at least a couple of hours before an event to ensure the registration confirmation email with the event link arrives in your inbox in time.
March Events
Not So Common Law
Protesting and the Law: The Right to Gather and Protest
Monday, March 28, 1:00–3:00pm on Zoom
“When exercised as collective action, protests and civil disobedience can be particularly effective in motivating social and political change. The long history of civil disobedience, as practiced by different peoples around the world, is mirrored here in Canada.”
Leo McGrady Q.C. & Sonya Sabet-Rasekh, The Law of Protest Workshop, Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers 2017 Annual Conference
It is not necessary for you to re-register for this meeting or future meetings once you are on the mailing list. Everyone who is on the NSCL email list receives an email notice of each meeting with the Zoom link. If you are not currently a member of this group and wish to join, contact the facilitator.
April Events
Science and Environment
Earthquake Early Warning for B.C.
Tuesday, April 5, 7:30pm
Speaker: Bob Crosby
Because they operate the world's largest wired undersea observatory, Ocean Networks Canada is in a unique position to detect subduction earthquakes through the operation of sensor networks both on land and on the seafloor. Learn about the prototype earthquake early warning system already in place, and how it is being expanded and enhanced so that it can be used to provide early warning to the residents of southwestern B.C. Learn about how earthquake early warning will work and what the potential benefits are.
Bob Crosby helped develop the earthquake warning project at Ocean Networks Canada at UVic. He has a B.A. Sc. Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
For more details and to register go to the Science and Environment page.
Sunday Urban Walks
Date change
The next Sunday walk will be on April 10 not April 17. The group is accepting new members. Contact the facilitator if you are interested.
NEW: CALL to the Garden goes to the garden
Tuesday, April 12
The CALL horticultural interest group will be having a spring tour of Reader Rock Gardens on April 12. If you would like to attend please get in touch with Dave Leslie at david.leslie.calico@gmail.com for more details. Similar tours are being considered for later in the year depending on the group feedback. Among those on the list are Lougheed House, Silver Springs Botanical and Coutts Western Centre.
CALL Café Online
Why Haiti Should Be Rich
Tuesday, April 19, 2–3:30pm on Zoom
Speaker: Matt Robertshaw
Thanks to decades of news coverage, if you know anything about Haiti it’s probably the phrase “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.” This cliché appears in virtually every article about the country. Less well known is Haiti’s distinction as the first country to permanently abolish slavery. Less well known still is how responses to its abolition of slavery—an event of utmost importance in the global development of human rights—in many ways set the country on the trajectory that has led to its current poverty. In his presentation, Matt Robertshaw will examine the history of Haiti from its triumphant declaration of independence and abolition of slavery, through its alternating abuse and neglect at the hands of foreign powers, to its current instability, as well as what hopes the country has for a better future.
You must be a CALL member to register for Why Haiti Should Be Rich, but the registration process allows you to bring 1 to 4 guests. To register and for more information, go to CALL Café Online.
Treks and Travels
Egypt
Wednesday, April 20, 7:30pm on Zoom
Speaker: Jeff Zambory
Join Jeff as he tours some of Egypt’s best historic sights: Cairo, the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt Museum, Luxor, Edfu, Abu Simbel, Luxor and Karnak temples, Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and more.
For more details and to register go to the Treks and Travels page.
Walking Together with Our Indigenous Relatives
Thursday, April 28, 7–8:30pm Online on Zoom
Speaker: Jane Ferrabee
Outdoor spaces at the University of Calgary are undergoing a transformation. Rather than a monoculture of mown lawn, expect to see more prairie grass, trembling aspens, edible, medicinal, hardy, pollinating and interdependent plant material along with hardscapes that collect and recycle rainwater and snow melt. Integral to these changes is ii’taa’poh’to’p, University of Calgary’s Indigenous Strategy. On April 28, Jane Ferrabee, recently retired U of C Architect, will lead us on a journey of learning and compelling conversations. Join her as she talks about walking together in a good way with Traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders while setting a framework for continued conversations.
For more information and to register for this event go to the Speaker Events page.
It All Adds Up: Individual Responsibility in Fighting Climate Change and Pollution
Saturday, May 7, 9am—12:30pm Online on Zoom
Registration opens soon for CALL's fifth Community Conference, It All Adds Up: Individual Responsibility in Fighting Climate Change and Pollution. Unlike CALL's earlier Climate Change conference, this half-day conference will focus on the micro-level, that is, actions that individuals are taking and that others might take. Featuring Shawn Bath, subject of the CBC documentary, Hell or Clean Water, and a cross-Canada panel exploring the different actions individuals can take, the conference will provide inspiration and practical advice for how to live as responsible citizens in a world facing huge ecological challenges.
For more information, contact Special Programs
Volunteer Opportunity - CALL Coordinator for Science and Nature
Lifelong Learning starts here. Want to make a Difference? CALL urgently needs a volunteer Coordinator for the Science and Nature position. This is an opportunity that will benefit CALL members by coordinating a group who will provide new information and updates about the ever changing topics and endless possibilities of Science and Nature from electric vehicles to gardening. Contact us at volunteer@calgarylifelonglearners.ca
Interest Groups
World Events Discussion Group 4 is accepting new members for September. The group focuses on international current events and related background issues. Members take turns leading the discussions. They meet once a month. For details and to contact the facilitator go to the World Events Discussion Group 4 page.
CALL for Submissions to CALL Newsletter
The CALL Newsletter group invites members to submit photos, sketches, stories, poems, descriptions of projects etc. for use in CALL newsletters. We know that CALL members are creative. Do you have a photo taken on your daily walk or from your window; a poem written as you reflect on life; a sketch of a scene that catches your eye? Have you turned a memory into a short story or a response to something you have heard or read?
We will keep all submissions on file to use in future newsletters. Send submissions to newsletter@calgarylifelonglearners.ca, include your name and a sentence giving CALL permission to publish in the newsletter.
Your CALL Newsletter
The CALL Newsletter is our way to communicate what is going on in our community. It's a way to highlight events of interest, ‘peek behind the curtain of CALL’ and to give some general information about CALL groups and members.
You are invited to send your ideas and suggestions for future issues to newsletter@calgarylifelonglearners.ca. We reserve the right to edit submissions and to determine when submissions will be published.
CALL Newsletter dates for posting:
- April 14, 29 – NOTE: April 14 is a Thursday
- May 13, 27
- June 10, 24
Meanwhile, be well, stay well in every sense of the word.