Take time for yourself and pursue your passions closer to home in the West Shore. We're excited to expand our continuing education to the John Horgan Campus in Langford.
Whether you're looking to explore a new interest, gain professional skills, or connect with your community, our engaging courses will be available evenings and weekends.
Schedules are subject to change.
Let go of perfection and dive into six weeks of playful, pressure-free drawing.
This fun and expressive art course is all about experimenting, exploring, and finding joy in the creative process. Each week, we will shake things up with creative sketching prompts like drawing to music, using emotional lines, and playing with colour in unexpected ways.
Whether you are a beginner or looking to break out of a creative rut, this loose and imaginative drawing class offers a space to explore freely, loosen up, and reconnect with your creativity. All skill levels welcome. Curiosity encouraged.
Explore the art of creative writing and storytelling through short fiction, autobiography and hybrid forms.
Through weekly writing prompts, workshops, and close readings of inspiring texts, you will develop your voice, sharpen your storytelling skills, and gain confidence in expressing personal and fictional narratives.
No prior experience required, just a willingness to experiment with language and form!
Do you love photography, but aren't always happy with your photographs?
This course—for those new to photography or their camera—will cover the basics of camera use and composition. You'll learn how to operate your camera, take part in creative exercises and create new images!
Please bring your camera, which should have a manual control setting, and a notebook and pen to each class.
It is an exciting moment for speculative fiction—whether fantasy, climate fiction, science fiction, or horror—maybe because our moment is weird, and we need weird stories to make sense of it.
This course will explore what's happening in current speculative fiction and help you work up your own ideas for short stories. We will talk about what speculative fiction does, and develop some strategies for capturing what's weird, scary, and wonderful in prose.
Celebrate spring with on-location drawing. You will learn some basic drawing techniques and ways to approach drawing on location.
Each week, the class will meet at a different location. Please note: All locations will be discussed in class the week prior, to finalize each location. In case of inclement weather, alternate locations will be arranged.
Perfect for beginners and those seeking to improve their drawing skills. A supply list will be attached to your receipt.
This is a course for novice watercolour painters.
You will learn about watercolour paper, brush techniques and care, colour mixing and some surprisingly easy colour theory. We will do a variety of wash techniques using mixed and pure colours, dry brush and wet-on-wet. Expect to have fun and learn through still life and abstract painting exercises.
A supply list will be attached to your receipt.
Write deeply into relationship with the lands and waters you love in this place-based poetry workshop.
Build a weekly contemplative poetry practice, develop skills in several different poetic forms, and connect in meaningful ways with the locations that matter most to you.
This course welcomes both emerging and established writers.
Trust is built not in comfort, but in how we handle discomfort.
This workshop helps you build skills and competencies in dialogue to transform difficult conversations into opportunities for connection, collaboration, and cultural growth.
This dynamic course is designed to cultivate essential leadership skills for navigating the complexities of the modern workplace.
Moving beyond traditional management concepts, this course delves into leadership practices grounded in human psychology, emotional intelligence and an appreciation for diverse perspectives. Participants will explore how to leverage individual strengths, foster inclusive team environments and inspire high performance.
Through a variety of engaging learning experiences, including theoretical exploration, practical application and self-reflection, you will develop the skills and confidence to lead with authenticity, empathy and impact.
This course has been designed to introduce you to the fundamentals of marketing. You will learn the fundamentals of key marketing theories, concepts, and principles as well as their application in making sound marketing management decisions in a variety of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
You'll gain dual perspectives as both marketer and informed consumer, exploring demographics, psychographics, marketing history, product life cycles, the four P's, and marketing plan development to enhance professional and personal choices.
This hands-on workshop provides practical frameworks for initiating and sustaining uncomfortable conversations.
You will learn to balance empathy and accountability using structured approaches that promote psychological safety, inclusion, clarity and trust.
This course will look at the impact that individuals, groups and structures have on human behaviour within any modern organization, from nonprofit to public sector to private sector.
Organizations are made up of people who behave and act within certain constructs, and learning about these processes is important to understanding how to make organizations effective and productive.
Uncomfortable conversations begin with internal awareness.
This foundational workshop helps you explore emotional triggers, unconscious bias, conflict styles, and dialogue habits to better understand how discomfort arises and how to manage it with clarity and composure.
Through guided reflection and interactive exercises, you will strengthen your ability to stay grounded and lead with confidence and communication skills in challenging moments.
Become proficient in fundamentals of business intelligence and data analytics.
This course will provide the framework for you to understand, use and evaluate a variety of techniques and skills in analyzing data sets and making appropriate interpretations of the data.
Explores the ethical and security considerations in data management, with a special emphasis on Indigenous Data Sovereignty.
Students will learn about the principles of data ethics, privacy, and security, and how these apply to the collection, storage, and use of data. The course will delve into the unique challenges and opportunities related to Indigenous data, including the importance of respecting Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural values, and governance structures.
Through case studies and practical exercises, students will gain a deep understanding of how to ethically manage data in a way that supports the rights and interests of Indigenous communities.
In a world where we increasingly live and work online, understanding the technology behind digital communication tools such as Zoom, Skype, Teams, or Messenger has become imperative.
This course will provide you with the skills, tools, and plans to succeed and communicate effectively and efficiently in an online environment.
Longevity nutrition is an exciting branch of nutritional science and is getting a lot of attention, such as the regions known as blue zones and Dr. Valter Longo’s book The Longevity Diet.
However, longevity nutrition isn’t without controversy. In this session, we will move past the hype to review what the scientific research supports are for eating to extend vitality.
You will learn how to translate these findings into practical nutrition strategies that fit into your life.
In this course, you will
The science of pain has grown in the past 20 years to the point where our understanding in the scientific community and what is generally known is at odds and may be a cause of greater suffering.
In this course we will explore the complexity of pain in plain terms with a goal to gain insights that could lead to the easing of our suffering when we experience pain.
In a world that often feels tense and unpredictable, how can we stay calm and balanced? How do we make sense of our life within the confusion of societal conflict?
Buddhist wisdom teachings offer a perspective based on a profound understanding of the inner causes of suffering and happiness.
Each class will explore practical methods for cultivating positive intentions and attitudes to navigate life’s challenges with greater peace and clarity.
Was Nicholas II a doomed autocrat, a weak reformer, or a martyr of faith?
His reign forces us to confront the nature of power at the end of an empire. This course examines the life and rule of Nicholas II, the last tsar of the Romanov dynasty, and the dramatic collapse of Imperial Russia in the early 20th century.
Moving beyond a simple biography, we will investigate the political, social and cultural forces that shaped his reign, the structural and personal factors that led to the fall of the Romanovs, and the enduring legacy that continues to fascinate historians, writers and the public alike.
Can democracy recognize both the group and the individual? In 1762, few governments were democratic.
When Rousseau’s The Social Contract exploded on the scene, it became one of the most influential books ever written. While his ideas were foundational to modern democracy, his proposal that governments stifle individual voices for the sake of the collective remains deeply controversial.
From the height of European success, Rousseau fell from grace—his books burned, and his mind turned to paranoia. Through Rousseau’s life and works, we can better understand today’s identity and group politics.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now widely accessible, offering significant benefits for personal and professional use.
Imagine a free assistant that summarizes emails; writes reports; generates artwork, music or videos; tutors in various subjects; and handles daily tasks. This rapidly evolving field can seem daunting, but this course is designed for everyone, whether you're new to AI, seeking to enhance your skills or struggling to keep up.
Unlock AI's potential for you and cover large language models like ChatGPT and image generators like DALL·E 3.
This introductory level course is intended for complete beginners and is normally only taken once.
In this class, you will become familiar with the sounds of French and gain confidence in pronunciation. You'll also acquire basic “survival” skills in French, such as greetings and thanks.
This course is for beginners to practice oral French. It can be taken multiple times, as themes will vary each term.
This course will not prepare you for the next level. Students who wish to progress to an advanced level should register in Comprehensive French.
Register for this course if you have taken Level 1 or if you know how to: count up 20, spell your name, give your address and phone number, identify basic shapes and colours, ask/answer basic yes or no questions and speak about; yourself; your family; your work; the weather; time and date.
This course is for students at an intermediate level who would like to practice their oral French.
You’ll gain more fluency in using your French in a variety of everyday situations, such as speaking about likes and dislikes, making comparisons and telling a story in the past.
It can be taken as many times as you like, as themes will vary each term.
Students do not need any previous knowledge of German to take this course, just a love of the language.
This introductory course will help you develop your basic German language skills and build up confidence when communicating in the language.
You will also gain a solid foundation of German grammar.
If you have completed German - Level 1 or have equivalent grammar and conversation skills, this course will build on that foundation.
Through role-playing, simulations and other exercises, you’ll continue to build your essential vocabulary and your knowledge of structures, idioms and cultural etiquette.
This introductory level course is designed for those who have no previous knowledge of Japanese and are eager to take up a new challenge.
In addition to learning “survival” words and phrases, you’ll be introduced to the “hiragana” and “katakana” characters, as well as the basics of Japanese grammar.
You’ll also focus on developing practical conversation skills and will be introduced to cultural aspects of life in Japan.
This beginner-level course is designed for those who have completed Japanese - Level 1 or have some prior knowledge of the language.
You will continue to improve your ability to understand, speak, read and write Japanese in practical, everyday situations. The course further develops your knowledge of Japanese culture and society while building on your hiragana skills, introducing katakana and beginning the study of basic kanji.
You will also practice expressing yourself more clearly when talking about your daily routines, past experiences, preferences, and social interactions.
This introduction to Spanish is designed for those who have no previous knowledge of the language.
Here, you will acquire basic pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar, as well as conversation skills through practice in pairs and small groups. Videos and audiovisual materials will enrich the content of your classes and teach important aspects of culture.
This course is for those who have completed Spanish - Level 1, or have a basic knowledge of the language and wish to improve their written and speaking skills.
This course gives you the opportunity to participate in class and strengthen your oral skills in a friendly atmosphere. Essential grammar points will also be covered.
Just in time for Earth Day and Mother's Day. Imagine a container that celebrates the beauty of flowering plants.
Flowers welcome pollinators of all kinds. Hummingbirds and bees will be thrilled with the possibilities this class will inspire you to create. Jeff will show you how to create container plantings that are beautiful and look amazing all through the year.
This is truly a celebration of all things beautiful.
We offer a wide range of programs that will meet your learning goals and open your professional or academic interests to a new perspective.
With more than 200 adult education courses—from visual arts to health, web design to neuroscience, or politics to psychology—we can help you rekindle that feeling of fun and the joy of new knowledge.
Parking will be free of charge from July 1, 2025 to August 31, 2026 on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no overnight parking (11 pm to 6 am)
