Life under the snow
Snow affects more than just the way the world looks. It alters the lives of creatures living in and beneath it. The role of microbial life beneath the snow may have serious ramifications for how we measure and gauge the effects of global warming. How much carbon microbes release is closely tied to when snow falls.
Subnivean microbes also absorb nitrogen from the snow and from decomposing plants in the soil. As snow melts in the spring and these organisms die, nitrogen is freed at precisely the time plants emerging from winter need it to grow. The microbes provide a critical nitrogen banking service for vegetation in seasonally snow-covered ecosystems.
Animals like voles and deer mice survive under the snow at the mercy of conditions. Their success in any given year drives ecosystem health. Populations of animals from snowy owls to grizzly bears are, in part, regulated by the number of rodents that survive beneath the snow. The more voles, shrews, and mice there are, the more predators there will be. Learn more at https://www.audubon.org/magazine/november-december-2010/life-under-snow#
Public swimming not in Hawrelak Park lake plans
On January 29, Community and Public Services Committee will discuss potential upgrades to improve the water quality of the lake at Hawrelak Park, that could be done in tandem with the infrastructure upgrades currently being considered to rehabilitate the park. The reports do not consider options for regular public swimming or other public activities that regularly include direct water contact.
William Hawrelak Park opened to the public in 1967 with the centrally located lake being the defining feature. The lake is an artificial water body designed as an ornamental park feature. Over the years, the water feature has become a habitat for a variety of waterfowl. The lake is fed primarily by diverting water from the North Saskatchewan River and through surface run-off and natural precipitation. Water is discharged from the lake through the park’s irrigation system, natural evaporation and occasionally by release into the river.
The City hosted the first ITU Triathlon World Championship event in 2001 and the lake function was expanded to support the swimming portion of the event. Chemical applications are required to meet the water quality requirements to host the swimming portion of the ITU triathlon race. To access the report and its two attachments, click on agenda item 6.1 at
http://sirepub.edmonton.ca/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=2498&doctype=AGENDA
If you wish to speak to this item, contact the Office of the City Clerk at city.clerk@edmonton.ca or 780.496.8178 to register to speak. The other option is to show up before meeting begins at 9.30 am at City Hall and inform the Clerk that you wish to speak.
Songbird that behaves like a raptor
Northern Shrikes hunt insects, snakes, rodents, and small birds. Shrikes are called butcher birds and have been known to take birds as large as Blue Jays and Mourning Doves. They will often impale their victims on a thorn or barbed wire, which is thought to be a way of marking their territory and attracting mates, and for short-term storage of food.
Shrikes are only about 10 inches long, but they have a sharp hooked beak like a falcon. They sit on high perches and scan for prey, then swoop down on it. Sometimes they hover over the ground to watch for prey.
Both male and female Northern Shrikes sing throughout year. The male sings especially in late winter and early spring. These birds breed in the high arctic but there are always some here in the winter. Read more at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/overview
Giant ice castle in Hawrelak Park
Step into the ultimate winter wonderland when you visit the enchanting castle that has been crafted by hand using only icicles and water. Ice Castles opened earlier this month.
A new galleria room contains rotating exhibits from Edmonton-area artists. Ice Castles also features frozen tunnels, fountains, slides, a throne and cascading towers of ice lit with colour-changing LED lights.
The tallest part of the display is about 10 metres. This is Ice Castles fifth year in Edmonton, one of six locations in North America and the only one in Canada. Learn more at
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ice-castles-hawrelak-edmonton-1.5414412 Share river valley event, job posting, or news
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Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712
nsrivervalley@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/NSRVCS/
http://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/