Sooke Region Lifelong Learning
LEARNING NEVER ENDS
Who We Are
Albert Einstein famously said, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
We agree! Sooke Region Lifelong Learning (SRLL) was launched in 2016 with this in mind, delivering 300+ FREE learning programs over the past decade. We’re enormously proud of this 100-percent volunteer-run initiative, and happy to report that our previous term was well attended and lots of fun. If you participated in any of our courses, we thank you sincerely for your support.
For the Spring 2026 term, there are 16 new or returning courses to choose from, from quilting to mindful walking and longboat rowing, discussions on capitalism, Palestine, Anne Brontë, and women in the world of fine art, as well as explorations of the natural world with sessions on orcas and silkmoths. Old favourites like Movies in the Afternoon and the SRLL Book Club will be returning, as well as Doc & Talk, a newer offering that explores contemporary documentaries. Most sessions take place at the Sooke Library, except for Movies, and some are available by Zoom. Scroll down for full descriptions.
Based on the Elder College model, SRLL functions as a working group under the auspices of the Sooke Region Communities Health Network (SRCHN) and in partnership with the Sooke Library. Our mission is first and foremost to provide stimulating, sociable, and free learning opportunities that address the unique and diverse interests of our community. For more information, email us at sookeregionlifelonglearning@gmail.com.
Please note: We try to ensure all of our information is as accurate as possible, but last-minute changes do happen and we are not able to keep this website updated. If you choose to drop-in to our programs, please double-check with our registrar at the above email address.
FRIENDS OF SRLL PROGRAM
Everyone should have access to lifelong learning and personal growth opportunities, regardless of age, background, or finances. That’s why SRLL is free for all, with 15 to 20 learning opportunities provided each term by volunteer presenters.
We do have some minor expenses, which is why the “Friends of SRLL” program began in 2024: For a gift of $20, Friends get early registration privileges for two upcoming terms, or one year. To become a Friend, speak to the host at any SRLL session. Your email address will be added to our Friends database, and you will be notified when early registration begins for the next term. There is also a button below you can click to become a Friend.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to support Sooke Region Lifelong Learning!
SRLL SPRING 2026 PROGRAM TITLES
1. MEET THE PRESENTERS
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Thursday, January 8, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Come and hear our presenters give a preview of their upcoming programs and join us for some good food with good friends to start off the new term. Walk-ins are very welcome, but it helps with our planning if you register.
Hosted by the SRLL Steering Committee: Carolyn Bateman, Lorrie Beauchamp, Jack Gegenberg, Chris Irvine, Gail Saunders, Tim Traynor, and Hester Vair.
2. DIVERSE ORCA ECO-TYPES OF
THE VANCOUVER ISLAND COAST
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Tuesday, January 13, 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Whales and dolphins began as land mammals over 300 million years ago, making their way deeper into the water, becoming full-time aquatic species some 30 million years ago. The largest member of the dolphin family, Orcinus orca, has evolved to a matrilineal society with three eco-types on the B.C. coast: Residents, Bigg’s, and Offshore Orcas, each with distinct feeding strategies and family structures, recognized by unique dialects and markings. Presenter Brian McHattie will help us to understand these fascinating creatures as well as explore this vital issue: Despite evolving over millennia, the iconic Southern Resident Orca population is threatened with extinction due to human decisions – will we act in time to permit local orca evolution to continue?
Brian McHattie is a new Sookie who first experienced B.C. orcas while volunteering at Orcalab on Hansen Island for the summer of 1993. He has worked for both Environment Canada and Parks Canada. His learning continues.
Please share!
3. HOW ART PRACTICE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Number of sessions: 3
Dates and time: Thursday, January 15; Tuesday, February 17; and Thursday, March 12, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Local artist Linda Anderson believes in the benefits of art practice to enhance many aspects of our lives, from memory and focus to understanding emotions. Unlike physical activities, art practices adapt to any ability level and require minimal equipment.
- In session 1, How Drawing Can Change Your Life, students appreciate these benefits through drawing.
- In session 2, Seeing Values Can Change Your Life, they learn how light and dark are key to understanding 3D seeing, improving depth perception and spatial awareness.
- Session 3, Learning About Colour Can Enrich Your Life, explores how colour affects our relationships, communicating emotions and information instantly and making life emotionally resonant.
Sessions are fun, light-hearted, and will suit everyone from the curiously interested to art practitioners. Limited to 15 participants.
Linda Anderson teaches visually impaired artists and does online critiques. She has taught art therapy for social services, been an art instructor for secondary, grade school, and Pro D-day programs, as well as a workshop instructor for artist groups in Sooke, Westshore, Metchosin, Duncan, Princeton, Osoyoos, Keremeos, Oliver, Summerland, Penticton, Peachland, and Merritt.
4. ANNE BRONTE: THE BURIED SISTER
Number of sessions: 2
Dates and time: Tuesday, January 20, February 24, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Anne Brontë, youngest of the Brontë siblings, is mostly forgotten. She died at age 29, less than a year after publication of her second novel,
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. After Anne’s death, Charlotte actively blocked republication of
Tenant and effectively buried Anne’s literary career. However, the power and originality of Anne’s novels deserve more recognition for their feminist critiques, which pushed the boundaries of the 19th-century realist novel. Presenter Kitty Elton’s first lecture will focus on the Brontë family history and Anne’s place in it. The second will examine her two novels,
Agnes Grey
and
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
While working in healthcare for 25 years, Kitty Elton also pursued graduate degrees in English. She taught at the University of New Brunswick, Saint Thomas University, and University Canada West. Anne Brontë was the subject of her MA thesis. Her PhD dissertation focused on George Eliot and George Henry Lewes.
5. MOVIES IN THE AFTERNOON
Number of sessions: 6
Dates and time: Wednesdays, January 21, 28, February 4, March 4, 11, 18
1:00 – 4:00pm; please note new start time
Location: TBA upon registration;
enrolment is limited to 20 so please register early
In this recurring SRLL favourite, each term six films are chosen around a central theme. We all watch them together, then discuss them over juice and cookies. The theme this term is: Know Thyself: No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. The six films are Travellers and Magicians (Bhutan, 2005), Annihilation (U.S. 2018), Stalker (former Soviet Union, 1979), Providence (France/Switzerland, 1977), Women in the Dunes (Japan, 1964), Days and Nights in the Forest (India, 1970).
Jack Gegenberg
is a retired theoretical physicist. Besides watching films and stressing over how to move on from capitalism, he spends his time working on how to reconcile quantum theory and Einstein’s theory of gravity. He has lived in Sooke for eight years.
Chris Irvine is originally from Kingston, Ontario, and has lived and taught in NWT, the Eastern Arctic, and the Western Subarctic for the past 36 years. He taught sciences, art, and music until retiring four years ago to Sooke. He has a keen and vast knowledge of film.
6. 3D PRINTING: AN INTRODUCTION
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Thursday, January 22, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
The course will start with a brief overall history of the concept. We will learn about the enabling technologies, including microprocessors and personal computers and the importance of open source software. Then we’ll delve into the details of the most common version: Fused Deposition Modelling, or FDM. A couple of alternative methods will be briefly examined, consumer applications will be detailed, including modelling and the production process. The course will conclude with a discussion on sourcing and designing models.
Derek Vair
began working with computers at the University of Waterloo in 1976 using an IBM 1620, which was programmed with punch cards and measured the size of a small room. He worked with Bell Canada before founding his own company, The Software Group Limited, specializing in hardware and software for global-scale corporations and non-profits. He has been a hobby enthusiast of 3D printers since buying an early generation model to print parts for his RC aircraft habit.
7. AHOY, SOOKE SAILORS!
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Tuesday, January 27, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Since 1991, the Women’s Longboating Committee has been meeting twice weekly at Sooke Marine Industries on Kaltasin Road, filling the boats with enthusiastic volunteer sailors (mostly women) and sailing the Sooke Basin. The longboats were made in celebration of Sooke’s bicentennial – June 1990 – commemorating Manuel Quimper's landing in Sooke in June, 1790. Known locally as the Sooke Longboats, the group welcomes hardy volunteers to join and sail the boats in all weathers. Presenter Paola Arsenault is an enthusiastic member who will share the story behind the longboats, show us an original scale-crafted model, and tell the community how they can get involved.
Paola Arsenault has a BA in Recreation and Leisure from Concordia University and has recently retired from her position as a recreation director. Upon arriving in Sooke, she soon discovered the Sooke Longboats, embracing this opportunity to expand her horizons. She is always glad to share her experience and invite others to join.
8. DOC & TALK
Number of sessions: 2
Dates and time: Thursdays, January 29 and March 19, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Documentaries are a fascinating window to the world, and a great platform for in-depth learning. As a nod to the ones that deserve our collective attention, these sessions are designed to “wake us up” to the hot topics of the day. For the first Doc & Talk of the year, participants are asked to go to CBC Gem (free to sign up) and watch
The Climate Restorers
(Part 1) and
The Good Canadian. Then join us for a roundtable discussion, with all opinions and insights welcome! Session size is limited, so register early.
Lorrie Beauchamp
is a member of SRLL’s Steering Committee, a local volunteer, and an avid cinephile. Also a writer and researcher, she enjoys documentaries for their ability to make sense of life’s immense complexity. Lorrie moved to Sooke some five years ago and has enjoyed becoming an active part of this amazing community.
9. DO WOMEN HAVE TO BE NAKED TO GET INTO THE MET MUSEUM?
Number of sessions:
1
Date and time:
Tuesday, February 3, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location:
Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Women artists are vastly underrepresented in the art world, both historically and today, which prompted a public reaction in 1989 from a group of women artists called the Guerrilla Girls: “Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?” they asked. Now imagine a world where every major gallery accepted only art by female artists. Where male artists—no matter how talented—had to fight, hustle, and beg to have their work displayed. Surely by now all artists are treated equally … right? After all, one of the richest artists in the world today is a woman. But here’s the thing: Why doesn’t everyone know her name? Local artist Sheila Thomas has some fascinating historical and modern art facts for everyone to discuss in the interest of a gender-balancing look at the art world.
Seven years ago, local artist Sheila Thomas painted herself as her muse, Emily Carr, and thought, “Why don’t I travel and paint in the woods too?” She refurbished an old school bus, intending to follow in Carr’s footsteps, but COVID put the brakes on that! She parked the bus and started offering painting workshops to locals instead.
10. Raising silkmoths
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Thursday, February 5, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Ever wondered how a lowly caterpillar transforms into a flying beauty? During the pandemic,
Rosemary Jorna
got the chance to raise some of our local silkmoths and photographed their amazing changes so she could share them with her distant grandchildren. She learned a lot about Ceanothus silkmoths (Hyalophora euryalus) along the way, how they make their metamorphosis from a minute egg to this impressively large local North American moth. Now she has a record she can share with the Sooke Lifelong Learning community. Rosemary will be showing the equipment in which she raised the moths as well as a day-by-day photographic record of the changes and several short videos.
11. SOUL STITCHING
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Tuesday, February 10, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Soul Stitching is designed as an interactive crafting session exploring the art of quilting through cloth, colour, and our connections to home, family, community, our ancestors, and self. As a group project, Soul Stitching will encourage free artistic expression and sovereignty of self, building a bridge through time that weaves in the warmth of love. Each participant will be invited to start (and finish on their own time) a quilted square. The group objective will be a soul-stitched quilt that can be auctioned off or donated to a charitable organization of the group’s choosing. Materials supplied; no experience required.
Self-taught seamstress Cathryn Tremain enjoys exploring the history of garments and styles and the joy of sewing her own clothes. She is often seen out and about in her colourful quilted coat. The first quilt she entered into a local show won first prize; she’s enjoyed quilting ever since. Cathryn is excited about this opportunity to create a collective quilt with locals.
12. ASPECTS OF QUEER LIBERATION
Number of sessions: 2
Dates and time: Thursday, February 12, Tuesday, March 3, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room, with our presenter on Zoom
In session one, Karen presents a brief overview of women’s and queer movements since the 1960s. Included are the women’s liberation movement; the struggle for abortion rights; police repression of queer communities; the campaign for same-sex relationship recognition and equality; queer and feminist critiques of same-sex marriage; and the significance of trans recognition, healthcare, and rights. In session two, she undertakes a review of gender and sexuality legal histories. Topics include: identification of the “homosexual”; legal and social distinctions between men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women; policing of urban “disorder”; sex work and social purity movements; the mid-20th-century partial decriminalization of sex between men; and regulation of sex between women under the Divorce Act, 1969.
Karen Pearlston
taught Family Law, Legal History, and Gender, Sexuality & Law at the University of New Brunswick and has published on queer legal history and the history of coverture (the rule that denied a legal personality to married women). Karen is a long-time activist in feminist, queer, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist/anti-colonial solidarity movements.
13. CAPITALISM IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Thursday, February 19, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
French public economist Thomas Piketty’s book
Capitalism in the 21st Century is the best explanation to date of why democracy is threatened, the dangers of unregulated capitalism, and the possible remedies. Presenter Jeff Holm will explore the book’s central thesis: that when the rate of return on capital is greater than the rate of economic growth over the long term, the result is a concentration of wealth. This unequal distribution in turn causes social and economic instability. Piketty proposes a global system of progressive wealth taxes to help reduce inequality and avoid the vast majority of wealth coming under the control of a tiny minority. This course will help people understand the book’s timely argument.
While
Jeff Holm is an engineer by training and not an economist, he spent 15 years on the board of the Interior Savings Credit Union, three years on the board of the Stabilization Central Credit Union in Vancouver, and was an advisor to the BC Financial Services Authority. Jeff is an active participant in the Sooke Region Lifelong Learning community.
14. SRLL BOOK CLUB
Number of sessions: 2
Dates and time: Thursday, February 26, 1:30 – 3:00pm (State of Terror)
Tuesday, March 31, 1:30 – 3:00pm (Geographies of the Heart)
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and Canada’s queen of crime Louise Penny have teamed up to pen the bestselling State of Terror in which a newly appointed Secretary of State must foil an international conspiracy. Our first selection is a fascinating window on geopolitical intrigue, a novel The New York Times found entertaining and a clear example of Penny’s signature style.
The second selection is Geographies of the Heart, in which eighteen newcomers to Canada tell their own stories, in their own voices. Pushing back against misconceptions about immigration, the book reveals how the paths into Canada are as diverse as the people who travelled them. Both selections have book club sets.
As a Canadian media correspondent, Tim Traynor carried out assignments in international journalism. He later worked for federal government departments in the fields of foreign affairs, energy, and international cultural relations.
15. SHARP AS A TACK – BOOST YOUR BRAIN POWER
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Thursday, March 5, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
This talk will give tips on steps we can take right now to maintain and support cognition. It will cover some basics about how the brain’s neurochemistry works, what nutrients are required for it to do so, and how all of this can be enhanced (and hindered) by diet and lifestyle. Also included is a discussion of neurotoxins to avoid and a list of well-researched natural supplements that can be used to increase your brain power and slow, or, in some cases, even repair brain damage, including dementia. Jo will have handouts for each participant.
Jo Phillips
has been a Registered Nutritional Consultant (RNC) for 30 years and is a retired community health nurse. She has given nutrition consults and workshops on nutrition for places as varied as Camosun College Continuing Education and CUPE SD #62 Wellness Days. She continues to upgrade her expertise via conferences and education and enjoys sharing her knowledge about being and feeling healthy as we age.
16. MINDFUL STEPS: WALKING TOWARDS WELLNESS
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Tuesday, March 10, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Discover the power of mindful walking with Charlotte, a certified personal trainer and mind-body wellness expert. This session guides seniors through safe, practical walking techniques that promote strength, balance, and confidence. They learn creative ways to incorporate fitness into daily life, prevent injury, and thrive with a positive mindset. Charlotte’s approach uses an understanding of neural pathways in the brain to energize muscles, building core strength supported by a balanced diet and a resilient, positive outlook. Clients are guided to accept where they are, honour their bodies and lifestyles, and embrace change as a journey towards true wellness.
Charlotte Kreeft
is a certified personal trainer and instructor with more than 25 years of experience in fitness and wellness. Her extensive knowledge includes working with seniors in injury prevention, rehabilitation, and post-surgery care. Charlotte has taught chair exercise, senior weight training, and Pilates, and currently provides training in-home, online, and outdoors in nature.
17. PALESTINE AND GAZA
Number of sessions: 3
Dates and time: Tuesday, March 17, 24 and Thursday, March 26, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
The course will look at Gaza and Palestine over their 5,000-year history, culminating in the current active genocide Israel is pursuing in Gaza, and the story of the election in Gaza of a Hamas government. We will emphasize the continuity, but not ignore the breaks, in its language, culture, and society. We will outline the origins of the various contesting Palestinian political organizations, mostly Fatah and Hamas, and discuss the hegemony of the latter in the resistance to Israeli aggression in Gaza, and in the rest of Palestine.
Jack Gegenberg
is a retired theoretical physicist; Hester Vair
is a retired sociologist. Both have been very active in union organizing, feminist, and socialist politics, and in solidarity work with Palestine. Both have lived in Sooke since 2018 and have taught a variety of Lifelong Learning courses.
18. End-of-Term Thank You Gathering
Number of sessions: 1
Date and time: Tuesday, April 7, 1:30 – 3:00pm
Location: Sooke Library Multipurpose Room
Everyone is welcome to our end-of-term thank-you gathering to wrap up the Spring term for 2026. Enjoy some good food with good friends as well as some spirited conversation about the many topics presented during the semester. And feel free to offer some suggestions for the coming Fall 2026 term. We always enjoy hearing ideas from our community. Walk-ins are always welcome, but it helps with our planning if you register.
Hosted by the
SRLL Steering Committee: Carolyn Bateman, Lorrie Beauchamp, Jack Gegenberg, Chris Irvine, Gail Saunders, Tim Traynor, and Hester Vair.
SRLL PAST PROGRAMS
