Do you like to talk about the news stories of the week? If you do, we invite you to join  moderator Ray Pillar for lively, thought provoking discussion and debate about local, provincial, national and world issues. Whatever the news, we look forward to a range of views and great discussions.

At 19 and 20, Claire set off on 2 incredible journeys that shaped her as a young woman and solo traveller.  Join her to hear the countless lessons about resilience, cultural diversity and confidence that come with travelling the world as a young female.

Session 1 – This first adventure was a whirlwind 10 month solo adventure, four months exploring the diverse landscapes and cultures of South America, a month wandering through Europe and four months immersed in the vibrant corners of Southeast Asia.  In each region, she learned something new about independence, navigating the unknown and the beauty of being on her own far from home.

Session 2 – This second trip was a more slowly paced and deeply rooted experience.  Over 10 months, she settled and truly lived in a few special places, volunteering for 3 1/2 months in Croatia, followed by 3 1/2 months living in Northern India.  Afterward, she trekked through stunning trails in Nepal, visited Vietnam for a month and finally worked in Austria.  This slower journey provided an opportunity to connect more deeply with local communities and absorb the rhythm of everyday life in each place.

Cpl. Justin Yacoboski and Potter will introduce us to the  life and work of a police dog master.  Hopefully, there will also be live “quarry” so that we can see them in action.

You’ve a story that’s haunting you to tell, but you wonder; is it worthy? How do I begin? Is there a simpler way to make this happen? (Or maybe: Is my family going to disown me when they see what I have to say?) During this course, you will experience a variety of memoir writing options, discover your best way to get your story told, and create a doable plan to make it happen. And yes, telling your story is worthy…beyond a doubt

After years of mining, the land is often left disturbed. My project explores how we can bring these lands back to life using soil amendments, materials that have the potential of restoring soil fertility and reviving the community of native plants. I believe, with every native leaf, the story of healing begins. It’s a story of recovery of how science and stewardship can help ecosystems restore themselves, one handful of soil at a time.

This presentation will take us on an exploration of humanity’s historical relationship with substances, examining how drugs have been used across cultures and time.  Renee will discuss world events that have shaped substance use and policy, discuss the influence of culture, and scrutinize the development of laws, particularly those rooted in racism rather than in scientific evidence.  By understanding the historical context, we can better recognize how we have arrived at our current substance-related challenges, evaluate what interventions are working, and consider innovative ideas for moving forward.  When we truly learn from history, we are less likely to repeat its mistakes.

This presentation will discuss the scientifically established benefits of, and the many resources available with respect to whole food plant-based (WFPB) eating.  How it can increase the chances of avoiding chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, as well as improve our chances of increasing not just our lifespan, but our “health span”.

Join an expedition ship sailing from Iceland to Greenland in the Wake of the Vikings. Then enjoy a land add on with a trip to the Greenland Icecap followed by a visit to Illulissat, the iceberg capital. Learn about the history and culture of this land so much in the news recently.

This presentation will introduce you to the history and the work of the BC SPCA.  Their work is much more than animal protection.  The BC SPCA’s community work provides resources such as low-income spay/neuter programs and food banks for pet food to enable people who are struggling and their companion animals to stay together. They fight for better laws for all animals: domestic, wild and farm.  Dora will share with us some stories of animal rescues they have performed.  The tour of the facility will allow us to experience the daily life in the busy Community Animal Centre.

What do Alzheimer’s and early childhood education have in common?  At first glance, you might say, “nothing”; however, as I lived through Alzheimer’s with my family members, I realized that many of the principles that I learned and practiced in my professional calling could be implemented to help navigate through the changes in my loved ones and support them as the disease progressed.  In this talk, I will share ideas and concepts from early childhood education, along with practical examples, that helped me as I adapted to my mom who lived with Alzheimer’s.  Participants will come away with a greater understanding of ways to adapt and adjust to a loved one who is living with Alzheimer’s.  

In this class, we examine the relationship between colonialism, law and the modern human rights regime.  It offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the structure and scope of law and the emergence of global institutions in an era of globalization. We further discuss how violence, elitism and power have come to shape the world in which we live today.

This talk will explore the underlying science of many common things you have, see or do (or should not do) around the house or backyard. These include equipment, appliances, gadgets, processes, materials, food, drinks etc. It will also point out things that should be treated with caution.

In the first Come to the Concert class of the new year we will preview music that spans the centuries: from Bach to Brahms and Bernstein to Coleman. This concert turns the stage over to the brass and percussion sections of the Kamloops Symphony, who will perform an arrangement of Bach’s most well-known organ composition, his Toccata and Fugue in D minor.  Brahms’ musical homage to composer Joseph Haydn, his Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Bernstein’s familiar and exciting West Side Story Suite and contemporary American composer, Valerie Coleman’s, Fanfare for Uncommon Times, will provide further proof of the power of brass to inspire audiences.

Artificial intelligence has long been an object of both fear and fascination in the stories we tell, from the murderous HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey to the benevolent android Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Lately, questions about AI’s impact on our lives have taken on a new urgency.  While HAL famously proclaimed, “I’m sorry, Dave.  I’m afraid I can’t do that,” today’s AI is increasingly showing all that it can do.  This course will look at how narratives around artificial intelligence in fiction, film, and other media explore what it means to be human, and what the future may hold for our relationship with AI.

The speaker for this presentation, a retired forecaster at the Canadian Meteorological Centre, will introduce the science of winds, from the basic principles to specific wind systems and extreme events such as tornadoes and hurricanes. There are identifiable wind patterns on earth, our presenter will explain what they are and what causes them. He will go on to introduce the scales for winds in different events. This is a zoom class, so attendees can join from the comfort of their own home or come in person at the Kamloops Sports Council.

An aging driver might notice the changes but not always the bad driving habits that have accumulated over the years.  This course will familiarize you with everything you need to know in order to remain a safe and confident driver. Sylvia will cover the driving statistics, the latest rules for senior drivers and effective techniques to navigate the senior driving years.

In this talk, we’ll explore the complex and evolving process of wildfire recovery through the lens of social-ecological systems. From the urgent steps of bringing communities home and coordinating salvage logging and replanting, to the unexpected consequences of the emergence of morel mushrooms and the influx of harvesters they attract, wildfire recovery reveals a complex web of both opportunities and challenges. The morel boom can create sudden economic activity, but it also brings environmental pressures and social tensions. We’ll also explore the long-term healing between communities and the land, and how these relationships must adapt in the face of an ever-changing climate.

Guernica is one of most iconic images of the 20th century. The painting depicts the German bombing of Guernica, Spain in 1939. Picasso was in Paris working on a piece commissioned for the World’s Fair when he received word of this horrific attack. His inspiration for the monochromatic painting seems to have come from newsreels, newspaper articles and photographs of the devastation that was left. Although the painting was done in a very short time, its impact has resonated long after the event. If time permits, I would like to have participants do a schematic drawing of the painting to discover how Picasso organized the composition and how that relates to classical design in the way paintings from the Renaissance were configured,

Mahjong is an intriguing, fast paced tile game sharing some similarities with Western card games of Canasta.  The version played at Seniorloops  is aligned with the Chinese Mahjong with some American adaptations.  Instruction is given as you play.  There are two instructors; each playing at a table with 3 learners.

In this lecture, John Felvinci explores the Big Bang theory, which is supposed to have started our Universe. Of late, new theories and interpretations have emerged. Some have put the date back by many billions of years; others are delaying the birth by having inflation precede it. Many new measurements by the Webb telescope, and other new ideas about dark matter indicate a a need for revision.

Zoom class—you can enjoy it in the comfort of your home or in the company of others at KSC

Bats in British Columbia are an essential, vulnerable, and underappreciated species.  Join Emily in an introduction to the world’s only flying mammal to discuss the benefits bats provide to our environment and the ways we can help them.  Over half of BC’s bat species are listed as endangered or of special concern. This talk will explore the threats they face, bust common myths, explain what to do if you encounter one, and highlight the work of the BC Community Bat Program.  Learn how you can help protect these fascinating creatures and gain a new appreciation for the bats living in our own backyard.

Session 1 – What is Community Wealth Building?
Community wealth building is a people-centred approach to economic development, which redirects wealth back into the local economy, and places ownership, control and benefits into the hands of local people and organizations. It emphasizes the importance of locally-rooted structures such as cooperatives, social enterprises, businesses, and creative financing structures such as community bonds. In this session, we’ll explore the pillars and guiding principles of community wealth building, and learn from successful examples from across Canada and abroad.
 
Session 2 – Models of Community Wealth Building
What would the Kamloops region look like if we took a people-centred approach to economic development, affordable housing, and community ownership? Through interactive discussion and workshop activities, we’ll explore examples of community wealth building in the Kamloops region and opportunities to further grow our community wealth building strategies

On a recent trip to Egypt, I was met with a world both ancient and modern  — old and new mingled in a way that was unexpected. Egypt is a country and culture rich in art, history, ancient artifacts and architecture. Mine was an intense visit filled with surprises and amazing sights. This photo presentation will provide some historical background and share what I saw and experienced in the places I visited.

This talk by a retired meteorologist takes us to the fascinating world of clouds-what they are and why they matter. Starting with the physics of condensation, Rick explains how rising air cools to produce droplets of ice crystals, sometimes leading to rain. He then identifies the different cloud types, their structures and how they signal changes in weather. Reinforced by informative short videos, the presentation leaves us with a clear understanding of clouds and their role in weather. This is a zoom class, you may attend from the comfort of your own home or join in person at the Kamloops Sports Council.

In this lecture, John explains the origins of asteroids and their locations in the Solar System. He discusses the probability of asteroids hitting Earth, the effects of past asteroid hits on the history of life on Earth and the efforts underway to prevent future hits. Finally he describes the explorations of asteroids by space probes.

A zoom class- you can watch from home or at KSC

This course is an opportunity to encounter, perhaps for the first time, perhaps for the hundred and first, some of those ancient mythical narratives that are so deeply embedded in Western thought and art.  Although there are many different sources for the myths of Greek and Roman culture, we will explore a selection of them as seen through the unique imagination of the 1st Century Roman poet Ovid, whose extensive poetic collection he called Metamorphoses, and which has become the most widely known and most influential collection of such myths.  The late English poet, Ted Hughes, translated about a third of Ovid’s stories in a lively and graphic poetic style that captures much of Ovid’s own distinctive tone, and it his collection that we will use for our encounter or re-encounter with Greek and Roman myth.

The exploration of the Northwest Passage has been a fascinating chapter in Canadian history. For centuries, explorers tried to find this fabled route to the riches of the Orient. The most famous expedition was led by Sir John Franklin in 1845, and the disappearance of his two ships and 129 men launched 30 years of searches and discoveries. Today, the Northwest Passage is traversed by cruise ships, and visitors are awed by the spectacular vistas of the Arctic. Roland Neave has travelled extensively through the Northwest Passage. He was one of the first tourists to have the thrill of visiting the site of the sunken shipwreck Erebus, the Franklin ship that was discovered in 1914. This group also visited the Franklin graves at Beechey Island and explored by zodiac the tidewater face of Crocker Glacier. Roland will talk about some of the history of the Northwest Passage accompanied by slides of his Arctic expeditions.

This presentation explores the history of weather observation and forecasting, from ancient folklore and Aristotle’s Meteorologica of 340 BCE to today’s high-tech era of satellites, supercomputers and AI-driven models. Bringing in both Canadian and international examples the presenter, a retired meteorologist, highlights pivotal advances such as telegraph networks, meteorological stations and revolutionary digital modelling. This is a zoom class; attendees may watch from the comfort of their own home or attend in person at the Kamloops Sports Council.

In this class, we will focus on the role of women in the development of Canadian theatre. While we will centre our studies on playwrights, we will also look at a variety of aspects of female influence.  Expect to learn more about the history of Canadian theatre, as well as the contemporary scene. The play we will be studying will be available for purchase for under $15.

In this presentation, Bruce and his family travel to Arusha and northern Tanzania on a series of safari excursions to various wildlife and national parks, including the famous Ngorongoro Crater. They meet with local inhabitants and experience their widely varying lifestyles.

This presentation outlines and highlights how Hummingbird Drones have used emerging technology to fight fires, save lives and revolutionize the drone industry in Canada and across North America.

This research looks at how small private forests near Wells Grey Provincial Park could help fight climate change though conservation and carbon offset projects.  Using field date, satellite imagery and community interviews, we explore the carbon storage potential, economic value, community perspective and policy suitability of these lands and what it would take to make them part of a climate solution.

Join us to learn about the invasive plants and insects affecting our region, including the recently detected Japanese beetle.  In this engaging presentation, you will learn how to identify invasive species, understand their impacts, and discover simple actions you can take to help protect our community and stop the spread.

Come and learn more about the youngest country in the world, South Sudan. With 64 tribes and languages, this country filled with natural resources like oil and gold and beautiful wildlife, has for many decades faced conflict, war, and poverty that is still affecting people today. Discover the resilience of the Sudanese people with their rich cultural heritage and traditions. Join us and be part of raising awareness and understanding—your engagement can make a difference. In the second half, attendees will create a traditional Sudanese bracelet.

The presentation will cover what the various estate planning documents are (Will, Power of Attorney, Representation Agreement) and when they can be used. She will go on to explain what the benefits of having the documents are and also the risks. She will also discuss other estate planning considerations, and some common myths and misconceptions.

Misinformation and disinformation, often referred to as “fake news”, have always been with us, but over the last decade or so, they have it has proliferated at alarming and previously unseen rates.  In this class, students will learn more about the phenomenon of fake news, and be introduced to fact-checking sites and strategies to verify if news and information encountered are credible.

Rajni Perera (b. 1985) came to Canada from Sri Lanka when she was a child, and in the years since has established herself as one of Canada’s leading artists. Her paintings and sculptures draw on such diverse traditions as historical Sri Lankan art, Indian miniature painting, medieval armour, south Asian textiles and science fiction illustrations. Gathering inspiration from across space and time, Perera looks ahead to an uncertain future threatened by climate change and looming social inequities.

Did you know that there are active volcanoes in British Columbia, and that Kamloops is nestled in a sea of Eocene (55 million year old) volcanic rocks? This presentation is a survey of volcanism—causes and hazards. I will take you on a tour of the most recent volcanic zones of BC, and then focus in on the older Early Eocene volcanics around us, and then explain how volcanism can influence climate.

In this lecture, John takes us through many of the most recent discoveries and newest theories in science.
A zoom class, so you can view it in the comfort of your home or in the company of others at KSC.

Join Grasslands Conservation Council (GCC) Executive Director, Mike Dedels, for a look at fire recovery on the grasslands above Royal Inland Hospital, starting in Peterson Creek Park

Polar bears were supposed to be dangerously diminished in numbers by the year 2015. Instead they are thriving in record numbers. In this lecture, John Felvinci explains why they are faring so well, and then speculates why this prediction and other pessimistic predictions have not been borne out. This is a zoom class- you can watch from the comfort of your home or in the company of others at KSC

In her new body of work, Bree Apperly explores the impact of technology on our society, feminist expression in a capitalist system, and what she sees as the compromised nature of modern life. Through a playful display of repurposed objects and photographs, the prominent white gallery plinth and typical framing devices are disrupted and reimagined. Apperley’s interpretation of the world and aesthetic vision proposes an alternative to our fraught cultural moment.

A hospital admission comes with a wide variety of experiences. For some, while in hospital, a new diagnosis or change in care plan means that a patient or the patient’s family are processing far more than anticipated. Spiritual Care addresses the internal dynamics of meaning-making and re-centering ourselves with purpose. In a hospital setting, a Spiritual Health Practitioner is invited to join the care team when a patient or family member consents to more conversation about their diagnosis, death, or changing capacities. This offering of care in Canada has been long-standing, as 2025 marked 100 years for the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care. Here in Kamloops, spiritual care has been available at Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) for nearly 30 years. Emotional support, spiritual care, or religious liaising looks different for every patient. In this course, you will hear from Jane Gingrich, Spiritual Health Practitioner, about spiritual care with RIH in Kamloops. She will also point out local research people have access to.

Books open doors to ideas, history, and understanding, but today, those doors are closing.  Across North America, efforts to ban or restrict books are growing, from school libraries to public collections.  Even Canada is seeing challenges to what we can read.  This talk will cover why the freedom to read matters, the challenge of balancing inclusion and free expression, and what censorship looks like today in Canada and the USA.  It will explore notable cases, the rise of mass book challenges, and how librarians and advocates are fighting back.  Discover what’s at stake, the controversies, and how we can protect the right to read for everyone.

We are welcoming Denis back to present the government of Canada’s proactive approach to safeguarding Canada’s in the rapidly changing Far North in terms of environmental challenges, geopolitical manoeuvring, indigenous population considerations and military developments.

A zoom class, so you can enjoy the presentation in the comfort of your home or in the company of others at KSC.

Participants in this on-site tour will have an opportunity to explore the grounds of this horticultural garden and learn about Gardengate’s use of sustainable practices for growing. The tour will enhance your understanding of the program, which entails mental health, volunteerism, and food security.  The tour will also include the newer commercial kitchen, which incorporates the Food Hub program. The building also houses existing programming and a wide variety of community groups.

This Come to the Concert’s title, Infinite Bach, may appear exaggeration at first, but isn’t in reality. Composers of all times and traditions have revered Bach’s works and have turned to Bach for melodic inspiration and structural innovation. His musical gifts seem inexhaustible — infinite.  This concert’s ensemble of strings, oboe and bassoon play the music of Canadian composers Mathieu Lussier, and Marjan Mozetich.  The high point of the concert, however, lies in Infinite Bach Recomposed, the work of Norwegian composer Johan Ullén, who reimagines Baroque keyboard and violin concertos of Bach.  This will be an opportunity to consider once more the issue of “recomposition.”

Machii is eager to share her reflections on the inside of Findhorn Sanctuary, taking us into the planning and poetry behind building an intentional community. From forty pound cabbages, Devas & Elements to co-creation, Machii highlights moments of insight that shine an encouraging light forward in building a community based on love.

We will look at the benefits of reducing, but not eliminating altogether, the amount of water we use in our gardens.  We will also discuss principles and tips for doing this.  In addition, we will look at issues around the use of mulch while considering the FireSmart principles.

The class will offer us an overview of progress being made in green burials, in Kamloops specifically but not exclusively, as well as opening discussion on any of our questions around death and dying, including MAID.

In December of 2011, Greg was invited to join a team traveling to Kenya to help survey 4,000 acres for possible community gardens the following January. This opportunity led to many return trips to Kenya (and one trip to Haiti). Greg will share his experiences traveling with teams from Canada to begin construction of the gardens and to teach skills (such as tree climbing with a harness on a rope and working with a chainsaw) over the many trips that continued this work. Come hear stories of the people he has met and his experiences sharing his skills and knowledge building sustainable agricultural gardens and instructing on the pruning and care of tropical trees that provide food and shade. Working with Mully Children’s Family, an orphanage and vocational school located southeast of Nairobi, his goal is to train an instructor who can take over his job.

In this class, the more uplifting areas of ethical and transformative uses of AI that are emerging, and the factors that shape how they may succeed will be discussed.  Suggestions that were submitted after the last class Shannon taught will be tied in as the basis for this class.

Adored by mathematicians, the Fibonacci numbers have surprising connections to many aspects of life, such as music, technology and growth patterns exhibited in nature. Join us for an exploration of how these numbers give rise to beauty and efficiency across many disciplines — no prior knowledge is necessary.

The Ode to Joy, the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 (1824), is one of the world’s best-known pieces of classical music. Much less well-known, however, is his 1808 Choral Fantasy for piano, mixed chorus and orchestra, which is often seen as an early precursor of his later setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy. Other works this session of Come to the Concert will examine are A Walk to Beethoven by Swedish composer, Britta Byström, A Guest on these Lands by Canadian composer T. Patrick Carrabré, and the ever-popular Divertissement by Ibert.

This is the story of the most famous French actress in history. Dismissed by the Comedie-Francaise at the start of her career,  the divine Sarah recovered from the disappointment and went on to attract huge audiences from around the world for decades. She opened her own theatre in Paris, and toward the end of her career, she began appearing in silent movies. Contributing to her fame along with her beautiful voice and poignant emotional portrayals on stage were her scandalous love life, her exotic pets and her penchant for sleeping in a coffin. This is a zoom class; attendees can join from the comfort of their own home or attend in person at the Kamloops Sports Council.

The Rolling Barrage is an annual coast to coast motorcycle ride across Canada to create awareness and raise funds that assist other non-profits and charities in their efforts to support mental health for Veterans and the First Responder community.  Their mission is to remove the stigma of PTSD.  This is not a disease or a disorder; it is an injury sustained from the traumas sustained in one’s duty to to protect Canada and her citizens. The Rolling Barrage fosters inclusivity  and camaraderie within their membership and in the communities that host their cross Canada Journey..  Riding a motorcycle, sometimes referred to as “Wind Therapy”, has a positive effect on mood, reduces stress and improves a person’s overall psychological well being.  Join this enlightening seminar and learn much more.

What features define birds as a group? Where did birds come from and where are they going? How many species of birds are there—in the world, in Canada, in BC? What characteristics can we use to identify the many types of birds we see around us? What tools can use help us in the quest to know the birds that make the world around us a better place? This course will try and provide the answers!

We will visit a McArthur Island, a local birding “hotspot” where the walking is easy, and the birds are usually diverse and abundant. We will likely see a variety of duck species and other water birds as well as gulls—in the slough and the river. Our walk will take us into open, grassy habitat as well as a wooded area where we can find members of the crow family, a diversity of song birds and if we are lucky some raptors.

Come out and learn about Geocaching — a real-world, outdoor adventure that is happening all the time in 190 countries. To play, participants use the Geocaching app and/or a GPS device to navigate to cleverly hidden containers called geocaches. McArthur Island is a geo-training playground for new geocachers with a variety of cache types and difficulty levels. Come to this and meet indoors for a brief introduction to the sport, and then we will go for a sensible walk (rain or shine). We will find some caches!

Bob Haywood-Farmer and his cousin own and operate Indian Gardens Ranch, a cattle ranch in the Thompson Nicola Region. His family has been ranching in Savona, BC for almost 100 years; the fourth generation will be keeping it in the family when Bob is ready to retire.  They produce hay, have a 12,000 acre grazing lease at Wallachin, and run a herd of almost 2000 cattle.  This modern ranch is steeped in history and has a number of original buildings still standing.  Bring your questions about local history as Bob is a wealth of information on the area.

Qigong was developed in China thousands of years ago as part of traditional Chinese medicine. It involves using exercises to optimize energy within the body, mind and spirit, with the goal of improving and maintaining health and well-being. Qigong has both psychological and physical components and involves the regulation of the mind, breath and body’s movement and posture . Dynamic (active) qigong techniques primarily focus on body movements, especially movements of the whole body or arms and legs. Meditative (passive) qigong techniques can be practised in any posture that can be maintained over time and involve breath and mind exercises, with almost no body movement.

Mission Flats is a well-known name in Kamloops, but surprisingly few Kamloopsians know how it received its appellation. It was in 1880 when three Catholic nuns from Victoria to teach children at the newly erected St. Louis school along the Thompson River, a couple of miles west of the incipient town of Kamloops. The nuns belonged to the Sisters of St. Ann, a name that lives on in Kamloops as St. Ann’s Academy.  Geographical historian, Ken Favrholdt has studied the evolution of the mission and pinpointed the site of the buildings. In his presentation  Ken traces the history of the people connected to the school, a venture that lasted less than a decade.

In the last of this season’s Come to the Concert classes, we explore two contrasting works: the challenging Symphony No.1 of Gustav Mahler of 1889 and Sherwood Legend by Canadian composer Elizabeth Raum. Mahler’s symphony has acquired the nickname “Titanic,” a name which certainly describes the task facing listeners of this complex work, who must find a shape for the experiences of the hero of this musical adventure. A similar rewarding but less daunting task faces listeners to Raum’s Sherwood Legend, whose more accessible hero is “Swashbuckling,” ”Pensive,” and an “Unabashed Scoundrel” more in the manner of movie heroes of the recent past.

The Kamloops Freemasons will present a history of the establishment of the Masonic in Kamloops since 1886. They will highlight the Masons’s role in the growth of Kamloops and the contributions of some of their prominent leaders. You may well recognize some of the names of schools, buildings, land features and streets which were named after prominent people who were also Free Masons. Afterwards the presenters will conduct a short tour showcasing the Masonic Lodge facility.

Session 1: May 21st at the Kamloops Sports Council.  Introduction to the Venables Valley and Mantra Music Event: Join us for an introductory event that will delve into the details of the beautiful Hare Krishna community in Venables Valley. This session is a prerequisite for anyone interested in registering to visit the valley on May 28th. The event will feature a presentation about the community, accompanied by live, traditional, meditational music. This will provide a unique opportunity to experience the culture and spirituality of the Hare Krishna community.
Session 2:  May 28th A trip to the Hare Krushna community.  Tour to Venables Valley: Exploring the Hare Krishna Village, also known as Saranagati Village. The name “Saranagati” means surrender to the Lord, and the approximately 30-35 families residing there live by the principle of surrendering the results of their actions to the service of Lord Krishna The village features a stunning temple, a goshala (a shelter for protected and worshiped cows), and a school that is aligned with the BC school district and also teaches according to the ancient traditions of India. Remarkably, the entire community lives off the grid, without access to gas or water lines. Some families have been residing here for over 45 years. Many community members also engage in small-scale farming, growing their own basic produce. We have had some success with growing wheat and look forward to expanding our efforts in the future. The community is known for its simple, vibrant, and colorful culture. Regular programs and gatherings are organized, attracting many visitors who come to witness the community’s warmth and hospitality. We look forward to welcoming you to Venables Valley and sharing the beauty of our community. Lunch will be provided.

We will tour lower and middle grasslands in the Ashcroft area looking at native and seeded grasslands, wildfire recovery, invasive plants and grazing use. Led by Mike Dedels, Executive Director of the GCC (Grasslands Conservation Council). We will arrange carpooling from Kenna Cartwright Park parking just east of the prison. Please dress for the weather, wear good walking shoes and bring enough food and drink for the day.

On this field trip, we will briefly review the different types of land conservation mechanisms in BC and then go for a short walk on NCC’s Lac du Bois Conservation Area to review of some of NCC’s more recent land management projects on the property. We will go for a meander and find a nice spot to have lunch and answer any questions participants have about NCC and the things we see that day.