Photo: Contributed

Donna is an active member of SLR Society for Learning in Retirement.

Are you a lifelong learner? You might wonder why you should care about learning in your senior years. Because the latest research proves that learning keeps a brain healthy; mastering a new task creates new pathways in the brain – even a senior brain. We need new connections. Brains in middle age are easily distracted. How many of us have walked into a room and then stood wondering why we went there? We set things down, like our reading glasses, and then can’t remember where we put them. More dangerous lapses can occur like forgetting a kettle set to boil on the stove, or trying to recall – did I take that pill or didn’t I? Is this a brain that should be in school?

What’s your biggest fear? Mine is being physically and mentally unable to care for myself. That’s crucial for me as a single senior. If you aren’t single you may be thinking you’ll have your spouse to care for you. I know that’s what my mother thought, but she outlived my dad by the national average of five years. She was in no way prepared for that. The hard truth is we’ll all be single at some point.

We were told that doing a daily crossword puzzle or challenging Sudoko was enough to maintain a healthy brain. It isn’t.

Some facts from the latest research on the aging brain: “Gray-matter neurons make new connections during learning,” writes Barbara Strauch in the New York Times. In Secrets to Lifelong Learning, Sanja Gjenero writes: “Learning can no longer be considered something that only occurs in an adult’s early years, learning needs to continue over a lifetime for career and personal success.”

Lifelong learning is the new buzz-word at School District 23. It’s in their Mission Statement: “To educate students in a safe, inspirational learning environment where every student develops the knowledge and skills to be a lifelong learner …” The new all-day kindergarten program is viewed as a gateway to a practice that researchers believe is necessary to preserve brain growth and over-all brain health. It is not an exaggeration to say that active learning needs to be considered a cradle-to-grave necessity.

A safe, inspirational and relaxed learning environment is available to those 50 years and better at SLR Society for Learning in Retirement where Lifelong learning is the mainstay. A wide range of programs from book clubs, writers’ groups, pottery, politics, travel, painting, photography, astronomy, geography, geology, and more are offered for a nominal fee in three terms from September to June. Bonus: no exams! The SLR recorder orchestra is called the Merrie Pipers. You may have heard them perform at various gigs around town.

View the programs on the website at www.slrkelowna.ca. Call the office at 250 448-1203 for a program guide. Membership is $15.00 a year and ensures the newsletter will be mailed three times a year. Satisfaction is guaranteed. An added bonus is meeting great people who have similar interests and the opportunity to form new friendships.

Donna is an active member of SLR Society for Learning in Retirement. She serves on the board of directors as historian/archivist and has lead study groups in a creative writers’ group, digital photography, and Canadian literature. Beginning in September she will be taking a group on forest walks in recognition of 2011 International Year of Forests.