Welcome to the September 2026 UWRA Monthly Bulletin!
Welcome back, UWRA friends! After our August hiatus, we’re excited to reconnect with you and kick off a new season of activities, events, and opportunities to enjoy time together.
September brings a fresh start—and there’s plenty happening at UWRA. From hikes and community events to opportunities to learn, connect, and have fun, we hope you’ll find something that sparks your interest.
We’re glad you’re back. Let’s make the most of the season together! Here’s what you will find in this month’s Bulletin:
Prez says NEW! Commentary and news from the UWRA president.
UWRA events Brew Crew returns, 2 hikes this month, a presentation on understanding final body disposal preferences.
Community events TAL-KW fall lecture series, Professors Emeriti Network Zoom Meeting, Silver Screamers at Princess Twin, 2026-27 Warriors game day tickets.
Studies Older adults and adult children wanted for UW study, and a PhD study on seniors and air travel.
Travels "Travelling with the Joneses" to Bermuda, CURAC wants to know where in the world you’d like to visit.
Prez says:
Greetings! As you may know, I wear two board hats: one as president of the UWRA and another as a board member of CURAC —Canada’s association of college and university retiree associations, including your UWRA. I sit on CURAC’s board and chair its affinity marketing committee.
The UWRA’s membership in CURAC has many benefits for the UWRA and you as a University of Waterloo retiree:
- Best practices: CURAC webinars, the annual conference, association websites and newsletters are just some of the ways we’ve picked up tips to enhance your experience as a retiree. Our hosting the CURAC National Conference in 2024, our membership agreement with FAUW, our office in MC, our trip to Spain, and more all connect somehow to CURAC.
- Discounts and special offers: check out CURAC’s affinity partners if you haven’t already. Travel, insurance, eyewear, hearing aids, and more. I saved more than $3,000 last year thanks to CURAC’s partners—and enjoyed a trip to Spain in April!
- Interesting people doing interesting things: I treasure the relationships from my years at Waterloo and in retirement. My involvement with CURAC (and certainly the UWRA) has expanded my Contacts list, and somehow everything connects. We learn from one another and grow in unexpected ways.
If you’re interested in international travel, consider these two opportunities:
- Join some Dalhousie retirees and others for Portugal, February 23–March 19, 2027. Trip Merchant gives CURAC retirees a $200 discount. You can access the trip info from your free CURAC/Trip Merchant travel portal. Click here for instructions in text and video.
- Consider a special cruise in early 2028! The two founders of Trip Merchant chose this cruise from among thousands to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary. I reckon that’s a pretty good recommendation, coming as it does from two travel experts who have explored every continent! Hong Kong to Singapore, with stops in Vietnam and Thailand. See the details from your CURAC/Trip Merchant travel portal account. 2028 may seem distant, but the cruise is more than half full.
Share what’s on your mind. I always (well, almost always!) enjoy hearing from retirees. Email me anytime with ideas, concerns, or questions.
UWRA Events
Brew Crew:
We’re starting up again on Thursday, September 10 and the second Thursday of every month until next June! Join us at the Food Court, Conestoga Mall, 10 AM, for coffee and conversation. Chat with your fellow retirees and the incoming president of the UWRA, Mario Coniglio.
Let’s Get Active: 2 upcoming UWRA hikes!
September 17, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: Huron Park
Join UWRA for a hike through the Huron Nature Area, Kitchener’s largest natural space at 107 hectares. The well-marked trails are easy to walk, with a few gentle hills, making this outing suitable for both beginner and experienced hikers. Plan for a 1½–2 hour hike, led by Tom Galloway.
Meeting place: Pavilion at the Trillium Street entrance, 801 Trillium Drive, Kitchener. Please arrive by 9:45 a.m. Parking is available in the lot.
Huron Nature Area information. Please register online.
September 29th, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.: GEO Time Trail
Join UWRA for an easy 4 km, 1½-hour loop around the perimeter of Columbia Forest. The GEO Time Trail combines forest walking with informative signboards highlighting events in Earth’s history over the past 4 billion years—including the massive mountain range that once stretched to Labrador and the remains of an ancient kettle lake.
Guide: Howard Armitage
Meeting place: 594 Sundew Drive, Waterloo. Please arrive by 9:45 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. start. Parking is available at the trailhead.
(Why) Would You Leave Like This? Understanding Final Body Disposal Preferences
Monday, September 28 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Dr. Chris Burris
Professor of Psychology, St. Jerome’s University
All of us will die—and something must be done with the body afterwards. Yet the choices people make about final body disposal (FBD) vary enormously. Dr. Chris Burris will discuss his Final Body Disposal (FBD) model, developed to help explain the personal, practical, and policy considerations that shape preferences about what happens to our bodies after death. His presentation offers a fascinating look at a universal question that is nevertheless deeply personal.
“Given the universality of the death event, the necessity of body disposal, and the intensely personal import of this ‘last decision,’ I was amazed (but not exactly surprised) that such a model didn’t seem to exist.” — C. Burris
Location: Town Hall — Main Floor
Village at University Gates – Schlegel
250 Laurelwood Drive
Waterloo, Ontario N2J 0E2
Admission: FREE
Parking is free. If the Village at University Gates parking lot is full, participants may park across the street in the library parking lot.
Register for the event | View map
Community events:
Third Age Learning K-W
Third Age Learning K-Wis offering a fantastic new lecture series this fall and invites you to save the dates. "Eras of Turmoil: 1960s and Now" explores the transformative social, political, and cultural movements of the 1960s and their lasting impact on democracy, identity, equality, conflict, and social change. What are the long-term impacts of the Quebec separatist movement that began in the 1960s? How did the Civil Rights era shape public conversations today? What are the characteristics and cultural politics of 1960s psychedelic rock? These and other questions will be examined in this interesting lecture series. Sessions run every Tuesday afternoon from October 13 - December 1 at RIM Park. Find more details at Third Age Learning – Kitchener-Waterloo – Lecture series by professors and community experts.
Retired professors use artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Sharing best practices: Zoom meeting on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 17:00 – 19:00 CET
Retirement does not have to mean the end of academic collaboration. Today, AI tools can help retired professors maintain existing academic contacts, discover new colleagues and research interests, and continue contributing to academic and professional communities.
During our meeting, we will discuss practical ways in which AI tools can support professors emeriti in:
- maintaining communication with former colleagues and students;
- discovering relevant research, publications, conferences and academic networks;
- preparing and sharing academic materials;
- developing new international collaborations;
- participating more actively in online academic communities;
- overcoming geographical and institutional barriers to continued cooperation.
The meeting will also provide an opportunity for the participants to share their own experiences, examples and ideas about using AI tools for continued academic engagement. We believe that continued academic engagement after retirement is an important dimension of active aging. AI and digital technologies can make it easier for experienced academics to remain connected, productive and visible in the academic community. The program is enclosed. A current Registered Participants List is attached.
Register at Joze.Gricar@UM.si
Creativity Has No Age Limit
Join a special community screening of Silver Screamers, an inspiring documentary following older adults as they take on every aspect of creating a horror film—from set design and makeup to acting, directing and editing.
A panel discussion will follow the film, featuring Kate Dupuis, Schlegel Innovation Leader in Arts and Aging (RIA); Sean Cisterna, film director; and an adult panelist sharing firsthand experience on set.
Where: Princess Twin Cinema, Waterloo
Date: Monday, October 5, 2026
Time: 1:00–4:00 p.m.
Admission: Free or by donation.
Warriors tickets
2026–27 Warriors game-day tickets and packages are now available for online purchase.
Travelling with the Joneses: Bermuda
We honeymooned here in 1980 and have been returning regularly ever since. It is a tropical island unlike any we have experienced. It is clean, safe, and easy to explore, with many options for exploration. To get around, rent an electric minicar like a “Twizy” or buy a bus pass online from ShoreLink. Bermuda’s bus service is electric, frequent and reliable. Air B’N’B is hugely popular all over the island. A rental near a bus stop is helpful. Bermuda has become our “Go-To” for a break away from the real world. With only a 3-hour flight from Toronto, Bermuda makes for a perfect getaway location. Maureen and I are happy to help with any questions you might have.
Did you know:
- Bermuda is an archipelago of 181 islands.
- Their only natural source of fresh water is rainwater, collected off stepped white limestone roofs and stored in cisterns beneath homes.
- Their reddish soil gets its colour from sand blown thousands of miles from the Sahara Desert.
- Somerset Bridge is the world’s smallest drawbridge in the world at only 12 inches.
- The Shakespeare play, The Tempest, was inspired by the sinking of The Sea Venture in 1609. Its captain, George Somers, had such love for Bermuda that his name can be seen throughout the island today.
- An 18-mile railway trail was developed from an old rail system. The train was the primary mode of transportation from 1931 to 1948 and was affectionately known as “Old Rattle and Shake.”
- The Bermuda Kite is a unique design that makes such a noise when flown; it has been banned from flying on days other than those specified by law.
- Bermuda’s national drinks are the Dark’N’Stormy and Rum Swizzle.
- When John Lennon needed to clear his head and write songs, he came to Bermuda.
The travel section is submitted by extensive travellers: Colin Jones, a UW retiree and member, and his wife, Maureen.
CURAC is negotiating with its two travel partners (Collette and Trip Merchant) to offer exclusive trips to CURAC members’ members (that’s you and other college and university retirees). Where in the world would you like to visit in the next couple of years? Name your top three destinations. No promises other than that your vote counts. (See Prez says for two travel opportunities.)
Studies
Paid University of Waterloo Study: Older adults and adult children wanted
Do you have an adult child who lives in a separate household? We are looking for older adults age 65+ and their adult children age 18–64 to participate together in a University of Waterloo research study about how families can stay connected while respecting privacy.
The study explores a simple new idea: using AI-generated illustrations to share small glimpses of everyday life, without requiring photos, cameras, or home monitoring.
Participation takes place over about two weeks and includes:
- One 15–20 minute online questionnaire
- 3–4 very brief surveys per day for 10 days, each taking about one minute
- One separate 45–60 minute final interview for each participant
Each participant receives $60 CAD in cash, for a total of $120 per pair.
Participants should:
- Include one parent age 65+ and one adult child age 18–64
- Live in separate households
- Live in Canada
- Be comfortable speaking and reading English
- Be able to receive survey links by email or text message
The study has received ethics clearance through the University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board.
Interested?
Please complete our screening questionnaire, which also includes the study information and consent form:
Help Improve Air Travel for Older Adults
Are you an older adult who travels by air? A University of Ottawa doctoral research study is looking for participants to share their experiences.
Age-Friendly Air Travel: Understanding Older Adults’ Challenges, Strategies and Needs explores the barriers and supports older adults encounter throughout their air travel journey. The findings will help identify ways to make air travel more accessible and age-friendly, and will also inform future research on the experiences of people living with dementia.
What’s involved?
Participation is voluntary and confidential and involves a one-time online survey taking approximately 15–35 minutes, depending on your responses.
Study findings will be shared with participants and interested community organizations, and used to develop practical guidance for older travellers and recommendations for airports and airlines.
The study is part of a doctoral thesis in the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, supervised by Dr. Linda Garcia, Professor Emerita and Founding Director of the LIFE Research Institute. The study has received ethics approval from the University of Ottawa’s Office of Research Ethics and Integrity.
Interested in participating?
Complete the survey
For more information, contact researcher Ali Chiarelli at achia026@uottawa.ca.
Thanks for stopping by — See you in October!