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General Meetings

When we meet

We meet on a Wednesday of each month from October through May, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm unless otherwise stated below or on the calendar. These general membership meetings typically feature a speaker or program, as well as a light lunch. Our programs are open to members and guests. Scroll down to view the full academic year program.

Where we meet

Meetings are held at the beautiful UCSC Arboretum, Horticulture Building II Classroom. Detailed directions to the Arboretum can be found on the UCSC Arboretum website. After entering the Arboretum, drive past the small kiosk on your left. The road will curve uphill. Follow the road to the right and park in the gravel parking lot. The Horticultural Building II Classroom and gardens are to your left. Park and walk toward the gardens where there are two nondescript entrance ways to gravel paths. Take the lower path with the wrought iron arbor, closest to the entrance to the parking lot. The path runs along another road that leads to two redwood buildings on your right. The larger building is the Horticulture II Classroom.

Potluck Lunch Instructions

Attendees are asked to contribute to the meeting lunches. Potluck instructions.

 

    Fall 2025

  • October 8, 2025 - 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

    Arboretum HebeMeet and greet with Community Connections members as we join together in the large classroom of the Horticultural Building II at the UCSC Arboretum for our first General Meeting of the school year. Learn about our interest groups and hear from our group participants.
    Community Connections choral group 
    Fiat Musica, one of our Community Connections Interest Groups, will entertain us. The group is conducted by Emily Sinclair, UCSC Lecturer and vocal coach.

  • November 5 , 2025 - 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. with Speaker Ari Friedlaender, UCSC Associate Adjunct Professor in the Ocean Sciences and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Departments. His topic is “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Whales."

    Ari FriedlaenderProfessor Ari Friedlaender, in the Department of Ocean Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, is an ecologist with a primary interest in understanding the relationship between the foraging behavior of marine mammals and their prey. He works on a wide range of marine mammal species including baleen and toothed whales and dolphins across a range of geographic regions. Prof. Friedlaender has long-term ecological research projects ongoing in Alaska, California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Antarctica. He has helped in the development of tag technology and analytical and visualization tools to better understand the underwater movements and behaviors of marine mammals.

     

                                                                                                  

     

    • Winter 2026

  • February 4, 3036 - 11:30 - 1 p.m. General Meeting with Speaker Jenna Contuchio

     Jenna ContuchioJenna Contuchio, the recipient of a 2025 UCSC Community Connections Scholarship, will share her work with members. 

                                                             

     

    • Spring 2026

  • May 13, 2026 - Scholarship Recipients Honored

     

     


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