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• Native Plant Extravaganza And Picnic

  • When
    April 05, 2025
  •  
    12:30 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    12:30 PM at Dr. Sorensons's home in Orinda at 295 Sundown Terrace

  Register

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button.

  The 10:30 AM session is full

  
  

  The 12:30 PM session is available

  
  

  For other options, contact O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Call phone (+15102078761)

  We return to the Skyline Garden's project, this time at high bloom, then go on to Orinda to visit one of our docent's  remarkable native plant gardens, where we will have our picnic lunch.  Skyline Gardens is a 1.5 mile trail running South from the steam trains at Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley to Sibley Volcanic Regional Reserve.  It is on EBMUD watershed land.

  Skyline Gardens is an East Bay Botanic hotspot for native plants, with more than 280 species. 

  The reason it is called a “Garden" is because since 2016 there has been a major volunteer-led restoration program removing a massive invasive non-native plant population.  With this help native plants, animals, and insects have thrived.

  This event will be  led by two docents and will not only be a Spring wildflower walk, but an education on restoring nature.

  https://www.skylinegardens.org/

  https://baynature.org/article/weeding-the-wild/

  After this, we will travel to one of our docent's (Dr. Robert Sorenson) world class native gardens  close by in Orinda, where we will have  our picnic lunch.  We will share this garden tour with members of the Berkeley Rotary Club.  This garden is designed using local ecosystem native plants exclusively.

  Date: Saturday April. 5th

  Places and times: 

     10 AM at Scott's Peak Trail Head in Orinda for the Skyline Garden walk  

      12:30 PM at Dr. Sorensons's home in Orinda at 295 Sundown Terrace

  Cost: NCA members and their guests $20. All others $25
  

  PBKNCA  rep.  O'Neil Dillon

  Max group size-18.

  Map and directions are available at this link for the Skyline Gardens trail.

  The trailhead is .7mi South from the Tilden Steam Train turn-off on Grizzly Peak Blvd and .3mi North from where the intersection of Fish Ranch Rd and Grizzly Peak Blvd. Parking is on the side of the road.

  The trail is generally flat, but has some slight elevation change. Binoculars recommended.

  Map and directions are available at this link for the home garden tour-  (see attachment and map.

  If on the day of the event you find you can't make it, call O'Neil Dillon at 510-207-8761. Simply not paying or not replying prevents us from allowing someone else to attend. No-shows do NOT receive a refund!
  

  If you register, then later decide not to attend this event, there may be others on the waiting list who will be able to take your place, so please cancel (click HERE, or on "Already registered" if you are on the event page) or by contacting  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  If you are on the waitlist and wish to be removed without being registered, please contact  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

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• PBKNCA Young Connections: Volunteering at Hidden Villa

  • When
    April 06, 2025
  •  
    2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
  • Spaces left
    16

  Register

  RESCHEDULED due to the weather.

  We hope to see you Sunday, April 6.
  

  Join the Phi Beta Kappa Young Connections on Sunday, April 6 from 2-4pm for a day of volunteering at Hidden Villa, an educational nonprofit. Volunteers will be helping out with a landscaping project.
  
  Hidden Villa is located at 26870 Moody Rd, Los Altos Hills.
  Please complete this waiver/volunteer form prior to attending. 
  
  

  If you register, then later decide not to attend this event, there may be others on the waiting list who will be able to take your place, so please cancel (click "Already registered" if you are on the event page) or by contacting us via e-mail.

  
  

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• Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon, Novato

  • When
    May 04, 2025
  •  
    12:00 PM - 5:00 PM (PDT)
  • Location
    The Key Room, 1385 Hamilton Parkway, Novato

  Register

  

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button.

  For other options, contact Jean James jeanejames@comcast.net or 415 328-7978

  Greatest Return You’ll Ever Have on Your Investment!

  Now that we have your attention, we would like to invite you to join us for our annual meeting and awards luncheon on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at the Key Room of Homeward Bound in Novato. What has that got to do with the return on your investment? On that day you will experience the direct results of your investment in PBKNCA when you meet our scholarship and teaching excellence award winners.
  

  The venue this year is new, has plenty of parking, handicap access, and even a large outdoor patio for us to enjoy.  Check it out on their website: thekeyroom.com.

  The price for the luncheon will be $60 per person for Active PBKNCA Members, $70 all others. This includes a buffet luncheon with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free choices, tax, and tip. There will also be free beer and wine (thanks to the generosity of our members), but not coffee or tea.

  Questions? Contact Jean James at jeanejames@comcast.net or 415 328-7978

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• San Francisco Presidio and Tunnel Tops

  • When
    June 21, 2025
  •  
    10:00 AM (PDT)
  • Location
    Meet at the Officer's Club, 50 Moraga Ave., at the Main Post.
  • Spaces left
    30

  Register

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button. For other options, contact O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Call phone (+15102078761)

  We will have a private, docent-led tour of the Presidio and Tunnel Tops.

  Lawmakers transformed the Presidio into a National Park in 1996, and since then it has become one of the greatest (and greenest) places to explore in all of San Francisco. Join us on a walk through San Francisco’s panoramic, luscious park, with wooded areas and scenic views as far as the eye can see including the newly-created Tunnel Tops.
  

  From Spain, to Mexico, to the United States — The Presidio has been home to more militaries than almost any other fortress in America. And for good reason: it’s a sprawling, fortified estate strategically located at the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula. During the Spanish-American War, it was where America’s troops were trained and shipped across the Pacific. A decade later, it would be an oasis for earthquake survivors, housing refugees and coordinating rescue efforts.

  When:  June 21st @ 10AM

  Where:  Meet at the Officer's Club, 50 Moraga Ave., at the Main Post.

  Parking:  Paid parking on the street.

  Cost:  PBKNCA Members $35 ($10 for scholarships); all others $45 ($20 for scholarships)

  Maximum group size: 30 (with two docents)

  PBKNCA representative:  O'Neil Dillon

  Links:

  presidio.gov

  parkconservancy.org/parks/presidio-tunnel-tops

  
  

  If on the day of the event you find you can't make it, call O'Neil Dillon at 510-207-8761. Simply not paying or not replying prevents us from allowing someone else to attend. No-shows do NOT receive a refund!
  

  If you register, then later decide not to attend this event, there may be others on the waiting list who will be able to take your place, so please cancel (click HERE, or on "Already registered" if you are on the event page) or by contacting  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  If you are on the waitlist and wish to be removed without being registered, please contact  O'Neil Dillon at oneilsdillon@gmail.com or 510-207-8761

  Show details
• 39th Asilomar Conference - Feb 13-16, 2026

  • Start
    February 13, 2026
  •  
    4:00 PM (PST)
  • End
    February 16, 2026
  •  
    12:00 PM (PST)
  • Location
    Asilomar, 800 Asilomar Ave, Pacific Grove, CA

  Register

  
  

  To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button. But you may mail the coupon and a check by snail mail.  After you register you will receive information about reserving room and meals with the PBK group. For registration or logistics matters, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net. Registration is $150 (member and guests rate), 180 Non-PBKNCA, which goes in part to scholarships.  (Remember, to be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility - wait for the information from Barry.) 

  A preview of 2026 Speakers will be posted as we progress. For more information, contact Deirdre Frontczak, (707) 546-4238, dfrontczak@scu.edu.

  We are delighted to invite you to share in a weekend of learning, dialogue, and fellowship at the Asilomar Conference Center on the spectacular Monterey Coast.

  But this is more than eight interesting speakers, it is an opportunity to renew old friendships, or make new friends at meals; walk on the beach or the trails. Explore the historic buildings of the Asilomar State Park. Visit the Butterfly Grove Inn to see the beautiful Monarch Butterflies, and much more. 
  

  

  “Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
  

  Some of you may feel ready for new beginnings.  Some may be eager to expand your learning into unexplored ground.  Some of you may just be eager for a chance to hang with friends in a beautiful,  refreshing and historic coastal retreat.  And for some of you, all three apply.  Thankfully, we are looking forward to a new season for the PBKNCA Asilomar Conference in February!  It is again time to reserve your space for a weekend of learning, inspiration, fellowship and a breath of sanity, on the magnificent Monterey coast. Come, bring a friend, and find out for yourself. 
  

  If you have questions on this year’s program, please contact dfrontczak@scu.edu. For registration or logistics matters, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net. Registration is $150, which goes mainly to scholarships. Cost will be similar to last year, about $680 per person, double occupancy, and includes all nine meals and parking. All registered participants will receive forms to reserve their Asilomar accommodations, including meals; please check your email. (Remember, to be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility.)

  Please join us once again for the annual Asilomar Conference -- to learn, engage in discussions, and to listen to one another in new ways.
  

  
  

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