{"title":"Lecture Series 2026 - 2027","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"beaver-valley-association-for-life-long-learning-gift-card","title":"Beaver Valley Association for Life Long Learning - Gift Card","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff2a00;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eTuesdays Are For Learning!\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003eGive the gift of learning.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Beaver Valley Association for Lifelong Learning","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48504125849895,"sku":"","price":65.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/8614\/5831\/files\/gift-card_374ebef0-e57b-4864-8d7a-4153c8a03d2a.jpg?v=1745274088"},{"product_id":"live-to-see-the-day-mark-medley","title":"FALL LECTURE: Live to See the Day - Mark Medley. September 29, 2026","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy do people pursue impossible goals?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn imaginative study of human nature, \u003ci\u003eLive to See the Day\u003c\/i\u003e is a globe-trotting exploration of what drives certain people to pursue a dream beyond all logic, reason, or reward.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLive to See the Day\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, journalist Mark Medley sets out to find people who straddle the line between determination and delusion, who have devoted their lives to dreams they know have little chance of coming true, or that will only come to pass in decades—if not centuries—from now. Over the course of five years, and through interviews with more than 250 people, he immersed himself in a question we all reckon with personally in our lives: how to push forward when the world is\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"atm_keep-reading-flag\"\u003e\u003csmall\u003e\u003ci class=\"fa fa-arrow-down\"\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/small\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e telling you to give up. Travelling to the jungles of Indonesia to encounter a photographer who has devoted his life to pursuing a mystery ape; to the forests of Norway, where a time-bending artist is amassing books that will only be read a hundred years from now; to the deserts of the American Southwest, where he shadows a grizzled treasure hunter who has spent his life searching for a legendary lost fortune, Medley asks: What keeps these people going? Why start a race they know they’ll never finish?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaddling across a quiet volcanic lake in Sumatra, under the eye-blue sky on a scorching day in the Superstition Mountains, and at the launch of a historic space mission on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, Medley finds people with almost bottomless reserves of patience and perseverance. Captivating, funny, and full of curiosity and heart, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eLive to See the Day\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is ultimately an examination of hope and what it means to live a rewarding life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMark Medley - Biography\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003eMark Medley is Deputy Editor of the Globe's Opinion section. He previously served as the Globe’s Books Editor, and prior to joining the paper in 2014, he spent more than seven years at the National Post, where he served as an arts reporter and Books Editor. A graduate of Queen’s and Ryerson University, his work has appeared in publications including Toronto Life, The Walrus and across the Postmedia chain of newspapers, and he frequently serves as a host and interviewer at literary festivals across the country.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLive to See the Day\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Mark’s first book, was published in 2026 by McClelland \u0026amp; Stewart\/Penguin Random House and was an instant national bestseller. He lives with his family in Toronto.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Beaver Valley Association for Lifelong Learning","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51244170805543,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/8614\/5831\/files\/IMG_1492.png?v=1775497900"},{"product_id":"the-migrant-rain-falls-in-reverse-vinh-nguyen","title":"SPRING LECTURE:The Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse - Vinh Nguyen. April 27, 2027","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRenison faculty member Dr. Vinh Nguyen has worked for years in the area of critical refugee studies. Throughout his academic career, he’s asked the question, “what is refuge?” and his award-winning 2023 book \u003cem\u003eLived Refuge\u003c\/em\u003e, examined the lived dimensions of refuge via gratitude, resentment, and resilience. That work allowed Nguyen to turn his focus inward and examine his own experiences as a refugee in his memoir, \u003cem\u003eThe Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse\u003c\/em\u003e. Nguyen, his mother, and his siblings were among the millions of asylum seekers who fled Vietnam after the end of the war in 1975. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNguyen categorizes \u003cem\u003eThe Migrant Rain Falls in Reverse\u003c\/em\u003e as a “speculative memoir,” one that centres on the mysterious death of his father, who got on a boat to flee post-war Vietnam in 1989 and then subsequently disappeared. In some ways, it’s part memoir and part mystery; the book begins with recalled memories, but then slowly becomes reliant on speculation to explore what could have been, what should have been, and what Nguyen wanted to have happened. He calls this a book about  “desire.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe timing of the memoir is significant, both in its writing and its release. Nguyen says he started the book during the pandemic by “putting down words that needed to be put down, and some kind of story began to emerge.” During this time, he was grieving the death of a close friend and mentor, and that death opened up space for Nguyen to process the unresolved grief over the loss of his father decades earlier. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2025 was a significant year for Vietnam and those of Vietnamese ancestry—it is the 50\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. From the beginning, Nguyen knew he wanted the publication of his memoir to coincide with the anniversary, placing it within a wider context with the goal of increasing the meaning for readers. The anniversary marks an important historical moment, the end of a long and contentious global war that shaped a generation and produced a refugee crisis with millions fleeing their homelands in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. It’s a deeply personal story but, Nguyen says, “it’s not unique – many refugee families share the same arc, if not the exact details, of the story I’ve recounted.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNguyen hopes that readers will recognize that, at its core, his memoir is an anti-war story, a book that sheds light on the aftermath of war and displacement. Rather than a heavy-handed political tract, Vinh says the message of the memoir is: “Look at what war has done. Look at what it necessitates people to do, and live, and yearn for. Look at its ruins, its long-lasting imprint. It stains.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Beaver Valley Association for Lifelong Learning","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51244298764583,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/8614\/5831\/files\/IMG_1494.jpg?v=1775498447"},{"product_id":"understanding-a-new-ally-china-s-history-china-s-present","title":"FALL SERIES: Understanding a new ally (?): China’s History, China’s Present - Blaine Chiasson. Starts October 13, 2026","description":"\u003ch2\u003eSeries Dates: October 13, October 20, October 27, November 3, November 10, November 17\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this six-part series Wilfrid Laurier University Historian of Modern China Dr. Blaine Chiasson will trace the evolution of the last three hundred years of Chinese history to show how China’s past intersects with China’s present and our own. The Canadian government has signaled that Canada’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China, over the last few years a troubled one, is heading for a reset. But can we trust the PRC? Why was that state determined at any cost to become a superpower, and now that it has attained that status will it be a reliable ally? By examining the last tumultuous three hundred years of Chinese history and focusing on crucial events of the last century Dr. Chiasson will illuminate how China’s past affects China’s present. Each two-hour session will consist of two 50-minute lectures, designed as ‘deep dives’ into specific topics that motivate China to this day.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOctober 13: Understanding the Chinese Past Part I \u0026amp; II\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn these two lectures we will examine the broad scope of the last three hundred years of Chinese history. We will trace the evolution of the state now known as China from the multi-cultural Qing Manchu dynasty to insecure republic, civil war and communist state, with the Republic of China surviving on the island of Taiwan. Today’s PRC inherited the multi-ethnic Qing state, and the early republic set in place patterns of authoritarian political and military solutions. These patterns built the PRC we know today.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOctober 20: China’s Long Century of Humiliation + Creating Chinese Identity\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe topic for the first lecture is how the Qing and its successor states experienced a world changing reversal of fortune; from a regional economic and military superpower to a weakened state dominated by foreign powers and experiencing loss of sovereignty on its own territory. The second lecture will examine the creation of modern Chinese national identity, a process affected by the century of humiliation and a desperate search to salvage Chinese culture and build a new mass Chinese identity.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOctober 27: Forgotten Ally: China in WWII + Mao Zedong: Superstar\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFrom the late 1920’s Japan became the Chinese Republic’s number one enemy. WWII for the Chinese begins well before 1941, and after 1941 the Republic joined the global fight against fascism. The fact that one of the coveted five seats on the UN security council was assigned to China is testimony to the essential role China played in WWII. Yet this contribution is often downplayed or ignored. In the 2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003end\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e lecture we will examine the rise and career of Mao Zedong, whose communist party defeated the Chinese nationalists, themselves exhausted from decades of war against Japan.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNovember 3: The Cultural Revolution + Nixon in China\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMao Zedong was a revolutionary iconoclast and utopian, willing to gamble millions of his subjects lives on the quest of building the ideal socialist tomorrow. The first lecture will examine Mao’s campaign to destroy\/reform both the Chinese Communist Party and China’s society and culture. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) completely upended Chinese society, inflicted a mass trauma that is still yet to be addressed by the Chinese. The Cultural Revolution casts a shadow over Chinese politics and society to this day. The second lecture will focus on factional fighting within the Party that led the PRC to reach out to its greatest enemy, the US, and how the US’s desperate need to drive a wedge between the Communist powers and end the Vietnamese war, resulted in the US signing a deal overwhelming in the PRC’s favour, leading to China becoming the world’s factory.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNovember 10: Inventing Chinese Territory + Xi Jinping’s China Dream\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe PRC today is aggressively making territorial and maritime claims on a lot of real estate.  Why does the PRC feel it deserves great chunks of Asian land and sea? As the inheritor of the expansive Manchu Qing dynasty, with two thirds of the PRC’s territory home to other cultures and peoples, all with their own national claims, how does the PRC cope with the burden of being a multi-cultural state? In the second lecture we cast a light on the PRC’s present top dog; Xi Jinping, his background, his rise to power, his attempts to change the unwritten political deal that Mao’s successors made with the Chinese people, and Xi’s quest to rebuild an authoritarian China in his image.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNovember 17: Hidden Nation: Taiwan + China: Uneasy Superpower\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn these last two lectures we will examine the leading sources of insecurity facing today’s PRC. The first is the surviving Republican Chinese government on the island of Taiwan which has since the 1980s has transformed itself into one of the most dynamic democracies and open societies in Asia. Taiwan is now the open ‘other’ China, an example of what Chinese people, allowed to explore their own political and cultural options, are capable to building from the bottom up. What is Taiwan’s history of difference and why is the PRC government willing to risk all to get it back? Was it even theirs to begin with?  This lecture will segue way into a larger examination of the PRC as the world’s newest superpower, one riven with political and social contradictions and seemingly incapable of always shooting itself in the diplomatic foot. What do we make of the PRC as global bully? Can it change?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBiography:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBlaine Chiasson was born in Cheticamp, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. His BA is in Russian language \u0026amp; history from Dalhousie University. He attended the University of Toronto intending to continue his MA in Russian and Soviet history. After studying Mandarin language \u0026amp; Chinese history he became interested in the 500,000 + Russian émigré population in interwar China and switched to Modern Chinese history for his PhD. His research examined Russian and Chinese colonial administration in Manchuria. His monograph, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdministering the Colonizer: Manchuria’s Russians under Chinese Rule 1919-1929 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e(2010) was published by UBC Press. His published articles examine Russian imperialism in China, Manchurian agricultural history, Beijing’s ethnic Chinese Russian Orthodox community and the Russian community in exile. His current project examines the two-year post 1901 Boxer occupation of northern China by the Eight Nation international allied forces and how this military interacted with the Chinese authorities, with ordinary Chinese and the changes that military occupation had on north China’s urban landscape and political history. He was a visiting scholar at Nanjing University and the National Library of China (Republic of China) in Taipei, Taiwan. He has also lived in Manchuria, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Beaver Valley Association for Lifelong Learning","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51244372590887,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/8614\/5831\/files\/FB2E4C49-1CCE-47F4-9764-36AB0AB0ABB4.png?v=1775522146"},{"product_id":"twentieth-century-musical-rabbit-holes-dean-hollin","title":"WINTER SERIES: 20th CENTURY MUSICAL RABBIT HOLES - Dean Hollin. Starts January 12, 2027","description":"\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eSeries Dates: January 12, January 19, January 26, February 2, February 9, February 16, February 23 (Snow Day)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eStep right up and tumble down the most delightful of musical rabbit holes!\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"75\" data-end=\"132\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eTwentieth Century Musical Rabbit Holes with Dean Hollin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"apple-converted-space\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eis a toe-tapping, eyebrow-raising journey through the songs, stories, and surprising connections that shaped a century of unforgettable music. From Cole Porter’s dazzling name-dropping brilliance to the cultural swagger of the Rat Pack, from holiday classics with unexpected origins to the unsung heroes of the Songbook—and even a few rebellions set to melody—this series peels back the curtain with charm, wit, and a knowing wink. Come curious, leave humming, and prepare to hear the twentieth century the way you’ve never heard it before.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eJanuary 12: “THE TOP” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eNot merely a cleverly composed “list song”, Cole Porter’s iconic “You’re the Top” – written for 1934’s “Anything Goes” contains more than 60 references to what he and his closest friends considered to be “the top” almost a century ago.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eJanuary 19: “GREAT AMERICAN CHRISTMAS SONGBOOK” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eSome of the most beloved and celebrated Christmas\/Holiday songs of the last hundred years where composed by American writers – most of which were Jewish.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eJanuary 26: “RAT PACK” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eThe infamous “Rat Pack” of Las Vegas – led by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. – began as a group of Hollywood notables led by none other than Humphrey Bogart.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eNot merely about song and tomfoolery, the Rat Pack played an important role in social change.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eFebruary 2: “SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eExploring a bit of the other side of Dean’s 2025 “Heavy-Hitters of the Great American Songbook” series.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eThe Songbook has a number of smaller contributors whose offerings were significant and remain celebrated.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eFebruary 9: “MUSICALLY-MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eTwentieth Century Broadway offerings weren’t merely for the sake of entertainment – but for political commentary and for speaking out against racial injustice.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003eParticular lyricists and writers used their songwriting skills to expose the underbelly of America.\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNoSpacing\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eFebruary 16: “BEYOND THE SONGBOOK….”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA question often asked is that of ‘equivalents’ of the composers and lyricists of the G.A.S. – in the decades following the unofficial ending of the Songbook era.  Every generation, and every nation, has its poets – and this final session will visit that detail.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch2 style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDean Hollin - Biography\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA professional entertainer for over three decades now, Dean has worked in so many areas of the entertainment business including actor\/singer on stage, television and film, director, writer, lecturer and emcee\/host. It was to assume the position of Artistic and Managing Director of the Gayety Theatre, in 2003, that moved him and his growing family from their hometown of Hamilton to Collingwood. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRecent stage appearances include Larry Dixon in Tom Thomson’s Wake, which continues to play throughout Ontario, a re-mount of Dean’s 2001 production “Cole-Hearted:  A Musical Portrait of Cole Porter” and in 2024 “Brilliantly Bacharach” a show he co-created with vocalist Sheri Weldon and musician John MacMurchy.  More recently, Dean reprised the role of Frank Sinatra in “Memories of the Rat Pack” as part of The Lighthouse Festival’s 2025 season, in theatres in both Port Dover and Port Colborne.  Tis a show he’s been doing (North American and beyond) since year 2000.    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA passionate authority and speaker about the music of the Great American Songbook, his weekly radio program “Radio Limelite – All Things Great American Songbook” is part of Big Band Sunday Night on Zoomer Radio AM 740, Sundays from 7pm to midnight.  Additionally, he hosts “Breakfast Classics” on The New Classical FM, Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6am to 10am. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHis website is deanhollin.com\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Beaver Valley Association for Lifelong Learning","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51245238550823,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/8614\/5831\/files\/IMG_1507.png?v=1776867084"},{"product_id":"spring-series-food-security-as-environmental-integrity-declines","title":"SPRING SERIES: Food Security as Environmental Integrity Declines - Ralph C. Martin. Starts March 16, 2027","description":"\u003ch1\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSeries Dates: March 16, March 23, March 30, April 6, April 13, April 20, 2027\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAgriculture has been driven since WWII by a goal to produce adequate food as the human population rises. Problems with this approach include wasted food, excess livestock, unhealthy eating habits, concentration of farmland ownership and pollution. The possibilities to balance production with consumption are to reduce wasted food, increase the biodiversity of farmed plant species, draw down CO2 while improving soil health, address inequality and reduce dependency on fertilizers. Humans have yet to learn when we have enough.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMarch 16: Energy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eToday about 50% of energy used in global agriculture is to manufacture and apply nitrogen fertilizer to support high yields. How can increasing energy use be decoupled from agricultural production? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMarch 23: Climate\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1850, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 was 280 ppm; today it is 425 ppm. How does global agriculture contribute to, and impact, subsequent destabilizing climate systems?   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eMarch 30:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePollution\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNovel entities including pesticides, PFAS, micro-plastics and reactive nitrogen in water and air are products of, and inhibitors to, agricultural food systems. What is a feasible way forward? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApril 6: Waste\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn developed countries up to 50% of food is wasted or lost, mostly in homes, and in developing countries at least 30% is lost in storage. Why does this waste continue? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApril 13: Biodiversity\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGlobal agricultural systems are displacing many wild species and their habitats while becoming more vulnerable to pests and diseases under monocropping and large livestock confinement. Does biodiversity have a chance to recover?  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApril 20: Land and Water\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhile agriculture displaces natural habitats, the built environment is encroaching on farmland. The quality of water for food production is declining while quantities are increasingly too much or too little. How could land and water management be improved?   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBiography:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI grew up on a beef and hog farm in Wallenstein, Ontario. I also worked as a truck driver, bus driver and server. After earning a Ph.D. in Plant Science at McGill University in 1990, I was a faculty member at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. In 2001, I founded the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dal.ca\/sites\/oacc\/en-home.html\"\u003eOrganic Agriculture Centre of Canada\u003c\/a\u003e to coordinate university research and education pertaining to organic systems, across Canada. From 2011 – 16, I was the Loblaw Chair, Sustainable Food Production and Professor, University of Guelph. I retired in 2019.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs the Director of the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, I felt gratitude that all employees knew and lived our vision, “sustainable and science-based organic agricultural systems, supporting healthy Canadian communities.”  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCommunity service is central to my relationships with people and ecological systems. For example, I write op-ed articles (\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/ralphmartingpc.wpcomstaging.com\/home\/opinion-articles\/\"\u003efound here\u003c\/a\u003e) and collaborate with the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/efao.ca\/\"\u003eEcological Farmers Association of Ontario\u003c\/a\u003e and the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.dal.ca\/sites\/oacc\/en-home\/organic-science-cluster.html\"\u003eOrganic Science Cluster\u003c\/a\u003e. I am honoured to be an ally of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/indigenousactioncanada.ca\/\"\u003eIndigenous Action Canada\u003c\/a\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy 17 years in the Ottawa area helped me appreciate wilderness from the sterns of canoes and hiking trails. Later, after two decades of serving as a professor in Nova Scotia, I developed an appreciation for Maritime music, long yarns and oceans. My love of teaching grew unexpectedly in the 1990s and I appreciate how students teach me too\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e I have lived in Guelph and KW since 2011 and enjoy re-connecting in my home bio-region. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI frequently present invited talks about sustainable and organic agriculture, food security and topics related to my articles, at various community events. Feel free to contact me at rcmartin@uogulph.ca if you want me to speak to your group.     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy appreciation for Indigenous ways of knowing has deepened with Mi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eꞌ\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ekmaq teachers in Nova Scotia and Mohawk teachers in Ohsweken, Ontario. The Attawandaron and Mississaugas of the Credit sustained a living in SW Ontario, not just for centuries, but for millennia. I am grateful for the legacies of Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Métis neighbours and recognize how addressing climate change, species loss and pollution requires partnerships with all indigenous people of this land. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Beaver Valley Association for Lifelong Learning","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51503400517927,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/8614\/5831\/files\/IMG_1524.jpg?v=1781518840"}],"url":"https:\/\/bvall.com\/collections\/lecture-series-2026-2027.oembed","provider":"Beaver Valley Association for Lifelong Learning","version":"1.0","type":"link"}