UWRA May 2026 Monthly Bulletin
Welcome to the May 2026 UWRA Monthly Bulletin!
We’re delighted to share this month’s UWRA newsletter with you. From walks in the fresh air to important updates and community gatherings, there are many ways to stay engaged, informed, and connected. We hope you’ll find plenty here to enjoy.
UWRA events: mark your calendar for our AGM, 2 hikes and an Uptown walking tour, Group of Seven and Tom Thomson footsteps
UWRA news: University of Waterloo Retirees Association and Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo sign Memorandum of Agreement
Volunteer opportunity: Convocation ambassadors needed
Travels: Travelling with the Joneses to the Isle of Skye, Scotland, and our own President Ron Champion shares some Spain highlights
Featured discount partner: Campus parking discount for retirees
Worth sharing: One-stop health site
Upcoming UWRA events:
UWRA Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 | 12:30 p.m.
EC5, Room 1111
Free parking provided
Please join us for the UWRA Annual General Meeting, an important opportunity to connect, reflect, and look ahead.
At the AGM, you will:
- Hear about the new Memorandum of Agreement recently signed with the Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW) supporting lifetime memberships
- Meet your Board of Directors, including the incoming UWRA President
- Review highlights from the past year
- Learn what’s ahead as UWRA approaches its 40th anniversary
- Receive an update on the University Pension Plan (UPP)
- Reconnect with colleagues and make new friends
Register at: UWRA - 2026 AGM | Retirees Association | University of Waterloo
Let’s Get Active: Upcoming Hikes
We hope you’ll join us for fresh air, gentle exercise, and good company. Whether you come to one hike or many, you’re always welcome to thrive in retirement!
- Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Huron Park – Kitchener
- Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Mary-Allen Walking Tour – Waterloo - Thursday, May 21, 2026
Mike Schout Wetlands Preserve – New Hamburg
In the Footsteps of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson
A virtual talk with Jim and Sue Waddington
Step into Canada’s wild places—by canoe, on foot, and through art. Join Jim and Sue Waddington as they share nearly 50 years of adventures tracking down the real-life landscapes that inspired the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson.
From Killarney and Algonquin to Lake Superior, the Yukon, and Nunavut, Sue and Jim pair stunning photographs with iconic paintings, revealing how they located more than 800 painting sites and what they’ve learned about the artists along the way. It’s part art history, part travelogue, and all Canadian landscape magic.
- Wednesday, May 27, 2026
10:00 am – 12:00 pm (EDT) - $10.00 per person
Register here: In the Footsteps of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson - Jim and Sue Waddington | Retirees Association | University of Waterloo
About the speakers: Jim Waddington is a retired physics professor with a love of maps and orienteering; Sue Waddington is a retired nurse. Together, they first connected canoeing, hiking, and art in 1977 while locating A.Y. Jackson’s Hills, Killarney (Nellie Lake).
Come along for the journey—no paddle required!
UWRA news:
New Memorandum of Agreement
Learn more about the newly signed MOA between UWRA and FAUW, supporting an “Association for Life” model for faculty retirees.
Community events:
Join the Office of Indigenous Relations (OIR) and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) on May 5th for Red Dress Day, a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People.
Elder Myeengun Henry will begin the day with a sacred fire beginning at 10:30 a.m. on the BMH green, where we will hang red dresses to symbolize those who are missing and murdered, inspired by Jaime Black's REDress Project. Following the ceremony, we will move to the Applied Sciences Expansion Building HLTH LHS-1621 where we will hear from researcher Tamara Bernard.
- Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- BMH Green | HLTH LHS-1621, Applied Health Sciences Expansion Building
For further information email Melissa Ireland: msireland@uwaterloo.ca
Volunteer opportunity: Convocation
Convocation is a special time for the University of Waterloo community as we celebrate our graduates’ achievements and welcome their families and supporters to campus. On Tuesday, June 16 through Saturday, June 20, we will host 14 ceremonies across all six faculties.
As a valued retiree, we invite you to take part in the celebrations by volunteering. Your familiarity with the University and its spaces is incredibly helpful in guiding guests and ensuring a welcoming experience for all.
We encourage you to sign up for as many shifts as you’re able and kindly ask that you do so by May 15, 2026. Brief instructions are included below to help you get started. If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at ambassadors.convocation@uwaterloo.ca.
Follow these steps to sign up:
- Review the general information.
- Click on the “Retiree ambassador application form”
- Create a new Vome account (or log in to your existing account if you have volunteered previously).
- Complete the form and click “Submit”.
- Go to the Homepage.
- Click on “Reserve shifts”.
- Click on all the shifts you are interested in, and “Review & Confirm”.
- Review your selected shift dates, times and details and click “Confirm reservation”.
- Take note of the dates and times of your selected shifts.
Thank you for considering volunteering at Spring 2026 Convocation at the University of Waterloo.
Travelling with the Joneses
Isle of Skye, Scotland
Touring the Isle of Skye needs at least three full days to see the highlights, and I recommend staying at one of the pods available for rent. The scenery, the people, and the history will all touch your heart and leave you wanting more. My wife, Maureen, and I are planning our second trip now that we are retired and have much more time than before. Does anyone want to look after our cat?
Did you know?
- Discover the 165-million-year-old dinosaur footprints from Jurassic-era sauropods and thyreophorans on Staffin Beach
- There are over 100,000 sheep of various breeds on Skye (vastly outnumbering the humans at 10,000)
- Dunvegan Castle has been continuously inhabited by the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod for 750 years
- According to myth, the Old Man of Storr is said to be the thumb of a giant buried in the Trotternish Ridge
- Norsemen ruled the Hebrides, including the Isle of Skye, from the late 8th century
- The earliest inhabitants were the Picts from around 500BC
- The name Skye is said to originate from the old Norse sky-a, meaning cloud island
- Talisker Distillery has been crafting on Skye since 1830
- Skye has over 100 brochs (Iron Age round towers), with Dun Beg at Struan being the most accessible
- You’ve not experienced driving quite like Scotland, with its one-track roads, driving on the left and sheep and cows on every turn
- Skye is one of the best places to spot the White-tailed Sea Eagle – the largest bird of prey in Britain
Submitted by extensive travellers Colin Jones, a UW retiree and member and his wife, Maureen.
¡Hola! from Fuengirola on the Costa del sol, Spain, where about a dozen retirees and friends from UWaterloo, U Calgary, and McGill are enjoying our second week here, on the inaugural UWRA-sponsored International long stay.
Watch for fuller coverage in the June Monthly Bulletin, but here, in the meantime, are a few highlights of the trip.
The food! Muy bien! From the family establishment at the corner that offers delicious (and reasonably-priced) homestyle take-out to the 7+-course meals we’ve enjoyed on our excursions, the food’s been great. Dieting will have to wait until we return to Canada.
Our location: Fuengirola is about half an hour west of Malaga. Sort of like being half an hour from Toronto: the big city is both far enough and close enough. The train station is at the bottom of the street that our apartment building is on, and the Mediterranean is five minutes beyond the station.
History: The history of Spain is fascinating and humbling. A Roman geographer wrote about this part of Spain and North Africa in the early years of the first millennium. The Moors inhabited this region for more than 700 years. Gibraltar? Ruled by Muslims, then Spaniards, and now the British—though Spain hasn’t given up on reuniting the Rock with Spain. Humbling? Our 159 years as a country represent but a moment in Spain’s (and most countries’) histories.
Trip Merchant: Overall, A+ to Trip Merchant and its travel partners for this custom long stay. Our accommodation is excellent. The guides have been great. The schedule has been the perfect combination of organized excursions and free time, allowing us the opportunity to wander off to Malaga and Seville, to the beach, to the castle on the hill, even to visit one’s cousin a few hours away!
Watch for the possibility of another group long stay (or maybe a river cruise?) in 2028.
Discount for retirees:
If you’re planning a visit to campus, here’s a helpful parking reminder just for retirees. The University of Waterloo offers retirees a 25% discount on scratch permits for daily parking on campus.
A few things to know:
- Discounted scratch permits can be purchased in person at the Sustainable Transportation office in GSC.
- Permits are sold in books of 5 or 10.
- The retiree discount does not apply to AMP mobile app purchases or to gated parking machines.
- Please note that holding a parking permit does not guarantee a parking space in a specific lot.
For details on parking lots and current rates, you can visit: Sustainable Transportation website
We hope this makes your next campus visit a little easier. We look forward to seeing you around!
Worth sharing:
One stop health care: wwhealthcare.ca is a comprehensive website that puts accurate and up-to-date information about health services at the fingertips of consumers and health care providers across Waterloo Wellington region of Ontario. Healthline has over 3,000 service listings.
As always, we love hearing from you. If you have a story, idea, or update to share—or just want to say hello—please don’t hesitate to reach out. Until next time, take good care and enjoy all that the season has to offer.
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