Trees illegally cut down in river valley
About 20 trees have been cut down along Valleyview Point, a residential road in the city’s west end overlooking the Downtown skyline. This isn’t the first time trees have been targeted in the area. The city estimates there has been about $90,000 worth of damage in the last 10 years.
In May 2017, three elm trees were poisoned with Glyphosate, commonly found in the herbicide Roundup, and needed to be removed as a result. The city believes trees were chopped down in 2014 by residents who wanted a better view of the skyline.
Area resident Gavin Berg circulated photos of the damage on social media late Wednesday night, saying he is fed up with people destroying the natural environment on city land and it isn’t trumped by a better view.
“I don’t like people thinking they have free rein over the ravine that’s not on their property,” he said. “There’s enough viewpoints there. If you want, you can easily see the city.” Read more at
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/trees-illegally-cut-down-in-edmontons-river-valley-parkland-overlooking-downtown-skyline/
Toward More Effective Representation
On May 25, City Council will consider the final report of the Ward Boundary Commission which said there are sizable disparities in the size of the city’s 12 wards, both geographically and demographically. Some neighbourhoods have grown more quickly than others, while entirely new communities have been brought into Edmonton because of annexation.
These variances challenge the principle of voter parity: people’s votes in certain parts of the city carry more weight in terms of electing a Councillor or Mayor than their counterparts in other areas. At the same time, residents in some neighbourhoods raised concerns about being separated from like-minded communities of interest because of previous ward boundary revisions.
The Commission’s recommendations highlight the need to balance the rights of individual residents, first and foremost, with the need to preserve communities of interest. It recommends substantial changes to the shape and size of wards south of the North Saskatchewan River. These modifications are necessary to account for population shifts and expected growth in certain areas.
In the north end of the City, the Commission’s proposed map looks similar to the existing ward structure, with fewer revisions based on smaller population changes. The new wards will come into effect as part of the October 2021 municipal election. Read the report at http://sirepub.edmonton.ca/sirepub/cache/2/ifp5iskxfvgsimv3dgkywtae/93370705212020063438539.PDF
Participate in Edmonton’s first ever photo BioBlitz
Inspired by the City Nature Challenge, a global urban biodiversity contest, where cities compete against one another to monitor biodiversity within their cities, the Alberta BiodiverCITY Challenge invites Edmontonians to take part in a city-wide BioBlitz using NatureLynx, a new citizen science app brought to you by the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute.
Between June 11–14, join our city’s naturalists, species experts, and environmental groups in documenting as many species as you can! Simply upload your photos of birds, plants, mammals, moss, lichen, mushrooms, and insects to NatureLynx. Your contributions will be used to help understand more about the species that call our city home.
Easy Steps to Participate: 1. Download NatureLynx by visiting Google Play, the App Store or visit https://naturelynx.ca/ 2. Search for the Edmonton BiodiverCity Challenge and join the group, 3. Upload your sightings and tag them to the group. Learn more at https://biodivercity.ca/
Share river valley event, job posting, or news
If you have a river valley event, job posting, or news that you would like to see published in this newsletter, please send the info to nsrivervalley@gmail.com
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/