National Urban Park plan does not include federal administration
Concern has been raised that a proposed national urban park in Edmonton & Area would mean loss of control of our North Saskatchewan River Valley. Recently, a Parks Canada representative told Saskatoon councillors local leadership would remain central to operating a national urban park.
According to Parks Canada, Ottawa has broad priorities for its proposed network of national urban parks, but they don’t include day-to-day management. “I’d like to emphasize that we do not anticipate federal administration for the Saskatoon-region site,” Parks Canada project manager Laurel Carlton said during a presentation to city council’s community services committee.
She said policies are still being developed, but the program has three overarching goals: conservation, fostering connection with nature, and reconciliation with Indigenous people. The federal government’s $130 million plan for a network of as many as seven parks was first announced in Saskatoon last summer.
The City of Edmonton wants your input into the benefits and challenges of a National Urban Park. Share your thoughts, ideas, and concerns about what an Edmonton & Area National Urban Park could look like via a survey open from September 26 until October 10 at https://engaged.edmonton.ca/nationalurbanpark
Infill developers are key decision-makers in YEG’s private urban forest
Tomorrow Foundation for a Sustainable Future, an environmental charity, has released a report working to understand the impacts of how new housing infill developments affect the City of Edmonton’s climate mitigation, resilience and adaptation strategies.
In summer 2021, they conducted a pilot project in Queen Alexandra Neighbourhood, a mature neighbourhood where a lot of residential infill development is occurring. The resulting report is titled Private Urban Forest: Estimating the Value of Trees for Sustainable Housing Densification.
Private urban forest refers to trees on private property, not maintained by the City of Edmonton. The oldest private trees typically sit on properties of the oldest homes because they are often planted when a property is developed. Due to their size, older mature trees provide the most benefits for climate and other ecosystem services. The larger they are, the more they can do to clean our air, absorb stormwater, reduce GHG emissions from our atmosphere, and provide potential energy savings to homes.
Infill housing development sites are a place where the city’s tree inventory is actively changing; older trees are often removed while new trees are being planted. As infill occurs, mature trees are lost due to the land being cleared for new development. Therefore, infill developers are key decision-makers in preserving trees in the city as well as deciding what new trees will be planted. Read report at https://tomorrowfoundation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/PUF-Final-Report.pdf
Premier Lougheed and the Capital City Recreation Park
On April 26, 1974 Premier Peter Lougheed announced approval of the Capital City Recreation Park for Edmonton. This unique urban park, estimated to cost $35 million dollars, promised five main features.
A series of new provincial and city parks and recreation areas involving over 3,000 acres of land on either side of a 16km stretch of the North Saskatchewan River, beginning at the High Level Bridge and ending 2km north of the Beverly Bridge and including the Legislature area.
A series of six pedestrian and bicycle river and highway crossings, strategically located along the river and connected to 46km of foot paths, bike trails, observation posts, park bench areas and horticultural displays throughout the 16km stretch of the river valley. A Natural Resources Science Centre depicting the growth of Alberta’s natural resources.
Several man-made lakes in river parks and the possible creation of a river valley lake by placing a weir across the river to permit recreational sports events. A Water Conservation Area encompassing a minimum of 240m set-back from each shoreline of the river, with appropriate bank protection, terracing and landscaping along the river. The announcement stated, “This Park is our vision of a good quality of life to be enjoyed by the people of Edmonton and by their children.”
A 3-sided pillar in Gold Bar Park contains these words and other plaques celebrating the announcement. Catch a flavour of the work done by reading Edmonton Restores Its River Valley: A Capital Case for Reclamation at https://www.jstor.org/stable/44669647?seq=12#metadata_info_tab_contents
River valley trees and beavers
City of Edmonton responded to the question about tree caging with the following email "Overall, the trees we wire are the "prize" trees, usually mature trees in prominent areas of parks, near walkways and trails, or that might cause infrastructure damage if they fell. We don't wire small, young trees, and the vast majority of the river valley and ravines are left for beavers to chew as they will. This year to date we have wired about 450 trees. Out of the estimated 4 million or so trees, that comes to effectively zero percent. Many of the trees wired each year are actually re-installations after the previous wire has been removed, damaged or is getting too tight for the tree."
River Valley News not too short, not too long, just right
Masood writes “After reading the River Valley News emails for months, I can’t hold back the urge to tell you how much I look forward to these emails. They are ‘just right’! Not too short, not too long, informative, but not preachy, progressive, but not obnoxiously so. They remind me why I love Edmonton and reinforce my intent to never live anywhere else.”
Comment or contribution
Please note that articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the wide variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley. Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com
Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712