River Valley News - Oct. 2/25

Photo credit: Global News
Remembering Dr. Darren Markland

A respected Edmonton intensive-care physician, Dr. Darren Markland, 54, has died after a mountain biking accident on the Black Mountain trail network near Nordegg, Alta. Dr. Markland, who worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, is being remembered for his significant contributions as a health-care professional and community advocate, particularly for his public insights on the challenges facing the health-care system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the morning of September 26th he was remembered at a community coffee memorial by hundreds of friends for his extraordinary energy and vibrancy despite his demanding job. He was a beloved figure in the Edmonton biking community, known for advocating for active transportation and hosting "Coffee Outside" gatherings from his cargo bike at Constable Ezio Faraone Park. Markland was celebrated as a great friend, doctor, and creative spirit, known for memorable moments like riding bikes in T. Rex costumes and entertaining riders with music.

He had even created a unique, two-hour canoe and bike commute down the North Saskatchewan River to avoid traffic and take advantage of Edmonton's natural resources. You may have seen him portaging his canoe behind his bike down a city street, piquing the interest of curious drivers on his way to work. He would state his commute was the "best part of my day," contrasting it with a typical stressful drive. He even biked in −30∘C winter weather, demonstrating that "beauty and adventure" could be found in one's own backyard.

Film, Fossils, and the Future: Upcoming Edmonton Events

On Friday, October 3rd, the Climate Change & Health Hub invites you to join them for Climate Health Action Talks: Film Screening of THE MAGNITUDE OF ALL THINGS. The film weaves together personal, environmental, and collective stories of ecological grief. Drawing parallels between the film maker’s personal experience grappling with her sister’s cancer diagnosis, and accelerating environmental loss, the film explores how facing grief can also reveal love, courage, and the drive to act. For more information visit The Magnitude of All Things - Metro Cinema 

On Saturday, October 4, it is the 32nd APEGA Rock & Fossil Clinic. The clinic serves as an introduction to geoscience and what a career in geoscience could be like. It is an engaging event for families and communities to explore the wonders of geoscience, unearth history, and learn from professional geoscientists and individuals with a geoscience background. For more information visit APEGA Rock & Fossil Clinic. 

On Thursday, October 9th, the Edmonton Public Library and Taproot Edmonton are hosting an engaging and nonpartisan forum featuring candidates for the 2025 Edmonton mayoral race. The panel discussion will be moderated by journalist Stacey Brotzel, giving citizens a chance to hear the candidates' visions for the city's future and participate in a meaningful civic conversation, either in person or online.For more information visit Edmonton Mayoral Candidates Forum.

Photo credit: Taproot website
Find Your Candidate: Take the Taproot 2025 Edmonton Election Survey

The 2025 Edmonton municipal election will be held on October 20, 2025, to elect a mayor, twelve councillors to the Edmonton City Council, nine trustees to the Edmonton Public Schools board of trustees, and seven trustees to the Edmonton Catholic Schools. Each of these are to be elected using the first-past-the-post voting election system.

Taproot Edmonton has developed a survey to help you match with candidates based on your views!

Taproot invited Edmontonians to share what issues they care about most heading into the 2025 municipal election. From the hundreds of responses they received, as well as further insights gathered at listening sessions, input from dozens of community partners, and their own observations of what the next city council will face, they distilled 30 multiple-choice questions and asked each candidate to answer them.

Now you have the opportunity to answer the same questions to find out which candidates you are most aligned with. You can answer all 30 questions or just the ones that interest you. The entire survey should only take about 10 minutes to complete and can be found at Take the Taproot Survey - 2025 Edmonton Municipal Election

Photo credit: RETROactive website
The Beaver's Tale: A History of Human and Castor canadensis in Alberta

There are few animals in the north whose history is so intricately interwoven with people than the beaver. From the early fur trade to modern environmentalism, the beaver has chewed its way into numerous facets of life in Alberta. Paleontology, archaeology, history, and modern politics combine to tell an amazing story of human-beaver relationships in the province.

The earliest beavers lumbered into the province over five million years ago. By two million years ago, the modern beaver (Castor canadensis) was living alongside a colossal cousin that was five to six times larger. The giant beaver (C. ohioensis) weighed up to 160 kilograms and was just under 3 metres long! It went extinct around 10 000 years ago.

First Nations’ stories tell of the beaver’s role in creating the world by molding the primordial mud into an island fit for humans. To Alberta’s first people, beavers also furnished important materials for tools, clothing, and food. Archaeology sites across the province have yielded beaver bones where very few other animal remains were found. This indicates that beavers were crucial to human diet, particularly during winter. Beavers were captured with willow bark nets, stone-tipped spears, and sinew snares set along beaver trails and canals.

Feedback on General Inquiry (Linden tree & rabbits)

I was sad to hear that hares have been left so hungry that they are eating linden trees. According to biologist Myrna Pearman (who recommends a deterrent of Cayenne Pepper and Garlic Powder) hares prefer soft food, like berries and grasses. Many of our native berries and grasses are being lost to the spread of Smooth Brome. This horrible forage crop chokes out smaller berries and, because it is highly allelopathic, prevents germination of our woody berry producing species.

Is the NSRVCS working to limit the spread of this invasive, foreign species, and what can I do to prompt the City and Province to eliminate it from our natural areas so the hares have plenty to eat and leave our ornamental and fruit trees alone?

https://naturealberta.ca/rabbits-and-hares/

Thanks,

Mark Stumpf-Allen

The Art of Caring / Mural by Lewis Lavoie / Royal Alexandra Hospital front entrance
 

Comment or Contributions

Please note articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley.

Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com.

Forward this link to anyone you think may want to sign up for this newsletter https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/newsletter-signup

River Valley News - Sept 30/25

Photo credit:Canada.ca website
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
For Indigenous people September 30 is a day of mourning intended to honour stolen children and the survivors of residential schools, which operated until 1996 in Canada. Students were neglected, malnourished, and experienced physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse. This day is a reminder of the legacy of residential schools and the trauma that lives within every Indigenous person you meet.

It is a truth held in many communities that if you want to break a people, you take their children from them. Many people are still finding their way home and many will never get the chance to.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation gives us the chance to set aside special time in our day-to-day lives to honour, reflect, and learn. It opens up the opportunities for education and awareness as well as discussions for effective change that requires Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to work together to create an environment free from racism and discrimination in which all people feel safe and respected. To learn more visit National Day for Truth and Reconciliation | Edmonton Public Library

Photo credit: Otipemisiwak Metis Government website
Cultural Genocide: The History of Canada's Residential Schools
In 1831, the first church-run residential school opened in Canada. By the 1880s, the federal government created the official policy and funded residential schools across Canada. These schools were created not with the intent of educating youth but of separating Indigenous children from their families. In 1920, the Indian Act made attendance at residential schools mandatory for Indigenous children aged 7–15 years old.

The Canadian Residential School System was a policy of cultural genocide spanning over 150 years, founded on the intent to assimilate Indigenous children—including First Nations, Inuit, and often overlooked Métis youth—by separating them from their families and cultures. 

The system, which involved 25 registered schools in Alberta alone, forced children into environments rife with physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, poor health conditions, and disease. Due to the deliberate failure to keep accurate records—often mislabeling Métis children to maintain funding—the true number of children who attended and died while in these schools remains unknown.

The last residential school in Canada was the Gordon Residential School in Punnichy, Saskatchewan and it closed in 1996.

Photo credit: Orange Shirt Society
Every Child Matters: The Origin of Orange Shirt Day
On September 30th many people across Canada (Turtle Island), wear bright orange t-shirts to honour and raise awareness of the thousands of Indigenous children who were sent to residential schools.

Have you ever wondered what the colour orange represents? Here are some facts about Orange Shirt Day and its origin:

When Phyllis Webstad was a little girl, she was forced to attend a residential school in Williams Lake, British Columbia. On the first day of school, she proudly wore an orange shirt her grandmother had given her. The residential school staff stripped her of her belongings, cut her hair, and took away her clothes, including her orange shirt.

“When I got to the Mission, they stripped me, and took away my clothes, including the orange shirt! I never wore it again. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to me, it was mine! The color orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.”
– Phyllis Webstad

Photo credit: Manitou Stone Centre website 
A Gift from the Cosmos, The Manitou Stone
Thousands of years ago, in the Iron Creek area of Alberta one of Canada's largest meteorites came to earth as a gift from the cosmos, inspiring unity among the plains tribes.

Manitou Asinîy is a 145kg iron meteorite that fell from the sky on an unknown date many years ago.
Over the centuries the meteorite became deeply embedded in Indigenous spirituality and was venerated by the First Nations people. The Manitou Stone is associated with the buffalo which represents prosperity among the Plains Buffalo Tribes.

This all changed in 1866 when Manitou Asinîy was stolen from the land by Methodist missionary Reverend George McDougall. Alarmed at this act, Indigenous spiritual leaders prophesied that war, plague, and famine would soon devastate their people.

The Manitou Asinîy-Iniskim-Tsa Xani Centre (MAITX) is a not-for-profit, First Nations led organization, formed to rematriate the Manitou Stone, a sacred meteorite that the Plains Tribes see as the living embodiment of the Creator.

ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ (Edmonton's Indigenous Art Park) / Queen Elizabeth Park in Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley.

Comment or Contributions

Please note articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley.

Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com.

Forward this link to anyone you think may want to sign up for this newsletter https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/newsletter-signup 

River Valley News - Sept. 25/25

Call for Protection of Our River Valley and Ravines
Edmontonians have long professed a deep love for our river valley and ravines. Given a forecast major population increase, we face an increased challenge to ensure access to the valley while still protecting nature. Provincial law mandates city council to protect our environment. The recently passed River Valley Bylaw states that our river valley and ravines provide a significant ecological corridor, protects wildlife passage and allows access to Edmontonians to experience nature. 

Yet regrettably, despite the interventions by our society and others, the majority of Council voted to weaken previous mandatory duties to base decisions on potential impacts to ecology, nature- based solutions and climate change. A considerable amount of land has already been lost to development and important areas could be lost if not acquired and zoned for protection. To protect our valley as a legacy for Edmontonians now and into the future, we need to elect a Council committed to timely action.
  
While many issues are being raised as priorities for the coming civic election, the North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society encourage voters to also consider asking candidates about their commitment to protecting our river valley and ravines, including:

Would you make it a budget priority to protect our river valley and ravines?

Are you aware of the long- standing City Policy and Bylaw requirement to acquire additional lands in the valley? What action would you take to make this happen?

Do you or your family enjoy walking, biking or skiing in the valley and if so do you support action to implement a strategy to better manage and maintain the trails?

Do you believe the public should have a voice in decisions about proposed developments in our river valley and ravines?

As the current Council approved a motion in August of 2023 to move to the planning stage for a National Urban Park, what is your position on the potential establishment of a National Urban Park, and would you be prepared to continue to work with Parks Canada and other partners to secure federal funding and resources in support of this initiative?

For a full list of 2025 Edmonton Election Candidates head to 2025 Edmonton Election Candidates.

Photo credit: Edmonton City as Museum Project website
Edmonton's Grads The Unstoppable Women of Basketball
The Edmonton Commercial Graduates (the Grads) were an amateur women’s basketball team that played from 1915 to 1940. They were simply the best and they had the record to prove it. They won 412 out of 432 games played, with only 20 losses. They played 147 games between 1915 and 1922 and never lost a single game. They played in the Paris
Olympics, the Amsterdam Olympics, the Los Angeles Olympics and the Berlin Olympics, and never lost an Olympic contest. No other sporting team has a comparable record. 

The Grads started in 1915, only 24 years after the sport was invented by Canadian James Naismith. They got into a brand new sport early and by the start of the 1920s entered formal amateur competition. The Grads, as amateur athletes, were never paid to play basketball. They balanced full-time jobs with a demanding practice and tournament schedule throughout the basketball season.

An excerpt from the book Edmonton in Our Own Words by Linda Goyette and Carolina Roemmich reads: “In the most humiliating years of the Depression, the Grads gave Edmonton the pride of a world-class achievement. Could there be a finer gift? So why is it that Edmonton has a Wayne Gretzky Drive but not a freeway, not a stadium, named after the Grads? In the best of times-our times- people in Edmonton share a passion for competitive sports and the arts. In the worst of times, these passions repaired the city's torn spirit.” 

Edmonton's Stinky but Delicious Treasure
Have you ever been walking through the river valley in fall and caught a whiff of something unpleasant, almost like dirty socks? Don’t worry, it very well may have been ripening highbush cranberries. Despite the name, highbush cranberry is not a cranberry at all! These are actually part of the honeysuckle family and are a very important plant for over-wintering birds, as they are one of the few berries that are available throughout the winter. 

Highbush cranberries are native to Canada with a range from New Brunswick to British Columbia and North to Alaska making it very winter hardy. They tend to like growing in shady, moist places such as stream banks, wet thickets, and old river bottoms. Highbush cranberry flowers in early summer and produces fruit ripe by late summer. Often the fruit is picked after a frost which tends to make the fruit more palatable.

While the berries might not smell the nicest this is normal and disappears during the cooking process where the resulting flavour is said to be very tasty. The tart fruits were an important food to many indigenous peoples and the Cree used a tea made from this bark to alleviate cramps as it is an antispasmodic. Ukrainian Canadians have long been filling jars with this vibrant jelly and serving it with perogies. They have a name for it — kalyna, which refers to both the berries and the jelly. It was a staple in every household a couple of generations ago, because berries were plentiful and free.

Beyond the Bike Lane: Finding Common Ground on Edmonton Roads
Marian writes: “Bikes are a great way to get around.  I miss being able to ride anymore.  The one wish I have is that bikes have a headlight of some kind.  The days are getting shorter and I have been startled by a rider coming toward me with no light.  Having bright lights in your eyes can not be pleasant, so please spend a few dollars to just put some type of light on the front of your bike when riding in dim or dark conditions. I would really appreciate it”

General Inquiry
Norma writes: “I am in a 20 some year condo complex on the south east corner of St Albert. We have had several problems with rabbits who I assume think of us as a good place to find food.
My question is in regard to a Linden tree (small, perhaps 5 feet high) that I saw rabbits last winter scratching on it. In the spring I could see that pieces of bark had disappeared from that area of the tree and there were black ants on it.  How can we protect the tree this coming season other than to cover the lower part of the tree?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.”

Hi Norma,
It is reported that rabbits and small rodents will eat the bark when food is scarce, sometimes girdling young trees. Unfortunately the most effective way to prevent this is to use some type of barrier or tree guard to stop the unwanted behavior. The two most common methods of protecting trees from animal damage would be:

Repellents: There are a number of ready-made repellents on the market that will discourage rabbits, deer and mice from feeding on trees. Most contain thiram, a distasteful but harmless fungicide. Once applied to the tree, its bitter taste discourages animals from taking a second bite. One example would be Rabbit Repellent - Plantskydd Canada. 
OR
Tree Guards: Individual tree guards may be more effective where rabbit damage is concerned. Tree guards can be made from a 10-20 mm square wire screen, set 7.5-10 cm into the ground and braced away from the base of the tree. It should reach a height of 50 cm above the expected snowline. Or you can find different types of plastic tree guards that are easy to put on young trees in the fall. Then you will remove them in the early spring once there is other food available for rabbits and other wildlife.One example would be Tree Protector - Prairie Gardens. 

I hope this information is helpful and your Linden trees grow tall and healthy,
Justin

Photo Credit: Tracy Alikamik 

Comment or Contributions
Please note articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley.
 
Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com.

Forward this link to anyone you think may want to sign up for this newsletter https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/newsletter-signup