One- and two-day summer program offerings for 5CLIR members.
The new membership year begins on July 1, 2021. Your membership must be current in order to be enrolled in a summer program. You may pay your dues HERE.
Note that sign ups are on a first-come, first served basis, and registration is ONLINE ONLY. All Programs will be presented on Zoom. Please make every effort to register only for those sessions that you expect to participate in.
Program Descriptions
21SuCC: Think Globally, Act Locally: Our Low-carbon Future
Program leaders: Kathy Campbell, Kay Klausewitz and Martha Hanner
Schedule: Two Mondays, August 16 and 23 at 2:00 PM – via Zoom
Number of Participants: open
Many of us are grandparents and even great-grandparents. We watch with alarm and increasing despair as the world sleepwalks into a devastating shift in the global climate, being already well into danger zones with respect to biodiversity loss, fresh water, and nutrient cycles. It is increasingly difficult even to imagine a path that might allow humanity to avoid disaster, let alone any action within our capabilities as individuals. Can we channel our anxiety into constructive action?
The first of the two programs will focus on what is happening in the Pioneer Valley today to prepare our local communities for a low-carbon future. There are dozens of opportunities to get involved right on our doorstep. The second will look at how citizen advocacy works and consider the opportunities to exercise our political muscle, from Town Hall to the State House and even beyond, through market as well as political pressure. Both programs will start with short presentations, but most of the time will be taken up with discussion among the participants.
2021 is a critical year and a new sense of urgency is being felt around the world, helped enormously by the change of administrations in Washington. Join us to increase your understanding and involvement as the world approaches the critical international conference: COP26 in Glasgow, November 2021.
*Specifically, the rate of biodiversity loss and disturbance of the natural nitrogen-phosphorus cycle. See Rockstrom et al. (2009). A Safe Operating Space for Humanity. Nature 461
21SuEP: Your Biggest Gift: An Organized Estate Plan
Program leader: Katy van Geel
Presenter: Attorney Melinda Mason of Bulkley Richardson
Schedule: Thursday, July 8 at 10:00AM
Number of participants: up to 25
Do you have a roadmap for your loved ones to follow regarding your wishes after death? A well-organized and clearly communicated estate plan helps your loved ones navigate the winding up of your affairs after you die, without the uncertainty that can accompany a lack of information. You may have thought about what gifts from your possessions you want to make, but what are the administrative elements to make those gifts and how can you make the process of transferring them as easy as possible for your trusted delegates.
In addition to the basic estate planning documents of wills and trusts, we will also cover what sorts of practical preparations you can make now to guide your representatives and beneficiaries.
21SuSC: Impactful Decisions of the 2020-2021 Supreme Court Term
Program leader: Jay Russell
Schedule: Two days, Tuesday July 20 and Thursday July 22 at 1:30-3:00 PM
Number of Participants: open
This two-day program will feature presentations by Jay Russell, Tyll van Geel, Stephanie Levin, Miriam Whitney, Henry Hardy and Kim Matland on noteworthy decisions from the current term of the Supreme Court. Cases yet to be decided include several involving First Amendment free speech and free exercise of religion issues, a voting rights case from Arizona, and the challenge to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act by Texas and other states. After each presenter’s summary of the background and facts of a case, the Court’s holding and reasoning, and the future implications of the decision, there will be opportunity for comments and questions by attendees.