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News From CALL Mid‑April 2022
Photo by Henri Walhout from the Digital Photography Interest Group
National Volunteer Week – April 24 to 30
National Volunteer Week is our opportunity to celebrate all volunteers. As members of CALL we volunteer to share ideas, knowledge, interests, hobbies and activities whether we are coordinators, facilitators or participants in programs.
To emphasize the importance of volunteerism, we would like to recognize the contributions of our membership by periodically highlighting individuals and groups.
We begin by acknowledging the ZOOM HELP TEAM who have kept us rolling and on track through this unforgettable COVID experience. These team members have applied their knowledge and skills and learned on the fly to master the Zoom platform and its ongoing updates to ensure that programs and events could continue. To this we say BRAVO and THANK YOU!
Inspired by a challenge, Wayne Marshall and his team manage many behind the scene maneuvers to ensure successful delivery of CALL programs. They are always available to troubleshoot and solve problems.
CALL would like to recognize the ZOOM HELP TEAM individuals by drawing attention to some of what they do.
Wayne (Rocky) Marshall has an interest in computers and was seeking an opportunity to hone his skills and learn new skills. He stepped up to lead the Zoom Help Team.
Lilly Wong was one of the first CALL members to answer the request for Zoom support and is involved with training and mentoring new volunteers on the team.
Reg Brehaut has recently joined the team and is in the process of taking over the responsibility of Treks and Travels.
Joe Dort is involved with the delivery of Science and Environment programs, CALL Cafe and polling.
Bett Eggertson assists with editing of Zoom documents and works with Lilly Wong on setting up the Zoom help roster.
Peter Kehler is involved with the delivery of Science and Environment programs.
Susan Olson contributes to the delivery of Special Interest groups and is involved with CALL Café.
Michael Taylor took on the responsibility of setting up break out rooms and the surveys that appear in numerous programs.
Marje Wing works with the Science and Environment group and is involved with the delivery of Indigenous events.
It is important to acknowledge the significant contributions of Richard Farrand who spent countless hours as CALL’s AV guru and was involved with the transition to the Zoom platform.
A special recognition to Wayne Murphy who dedicated time and contributed to the successful launching Zoom.
As Director of Operations, Carrol Jaques has been dedicated to working with the ZOOM HELP TEAM in achieving its overwhelming success.
CALL thanks each of you for your important contributions enhancing our lifelong learning experience.
We encourage you, the members, to let us know about volunteers you would like to see recognized. Please contact the CALL Volunteer Committee with your recommendations.
April Events
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.
Tuesday Walks in the City – Beginning April 26
Tuesday, April 26
Happy Spring! the Tuesday Walks in the City of Calgary Interest Group is ready to start up anew. Thank you to Val Carels and Merv Graham who have stepped up to co-facilitate this group. The first walks will be Tuesday April 26.
All previous registration for this group has been cancelled. You must reregister. For further details go to the Tuesday Walks in the City page. To register, email tuesdaywalkersyyc@gmail.com.
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.
May Events
Science and Environment
The Return of the Bison
Tuesday May 3, 7:30–9:30pm online with Zoom
Speaker: Karsten Hauer
Tens of millions of bison, commonly known as buffalo, once roamed the Great Plains and Eastern Slopes but the rapid decline of this population more than a century ago almost led to their extinction. In 2017 Parks Canada initiated a five year project to reintroduce this keystone species into Banff National Park. This presentation will provide a progress report and update on this important project.
For more details and to register, go to the Science and Environment page.
It All Adds Up: Individual Responsibility in Fighting Climate Change and Pollution
Saturday May 7, 9:00am–12:30pm online with Zoom
Speakers from across Canada will participate in CALL's Fifth Community Conference. Focusing on individual actions in fighting climate change and pollution, the speakers will highlight the choices individuals make and why they make them. What motivates individuals to join this fight? When so much is dependent on government and industry action, does it matter what individuals do? What evidence is there that individual actions can lead to real change?
Register now for It All Adds Up: Individual Responsibility in Fighting Climate Change and Pollution and bring your own questions. To register and to view the full program, speaker bios, and online resources, go to the Conferences page.
CALL Café Online
Aging and Creativity
Monday, May 16, 2:00pm–3:30pm online with Zoom
Speaker: Sharon Butala
The author of 21 novels and books of nonfiction, Sharon Butala has recently published This Strange Visible Air: Essays on Aging and the Writing Life. In her presentation, she will talk about the creative process, especially as it appears in the elderly and how, it is sometimes said, that creativity is never so strong as in the aged. In the professional writer it takes many years to develop the necessary level of craft, while at the same time, the writer's ideas and wisdom are growing clearer and more assured, humility growing alongside these. But writing is not purely an intellectual exercise. It also requires the hard work of staying in touch with the source of creativity, and thus is an enterprise of the spirit.
Do you struggle with engaging your creative self at this stage of life? Are you curious about how others explore creativity as they age? Register now for Aging and Creativity. You must be a CALL member to register, but the registration process allows you to bring 1 to 4 guests. To register and for more information, go to CALL Café Online
“Mardi Gras” at 1421
by Elaine Strom
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‘Mid magnolias and palm trees, Victorian charm |
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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 29
- May 13, 27
- June 10, 24
Meanwhile, be well, stay well in every sense of the word.