Defend river valley from unnecessary gondola
City Council voted 8 to 5 to approve a legally non-binding Gondola Agreement Framework with Prairie Sky Gondola, which keeps alive the private company’s scheme for a 2.5km gondola, cutting through Edmonton’s river valley, from Whyte Avenue to downtown.
An opinion piece published before the vote made several arguments against the plan. It said the mono-cable gondola will add a non-essential, redundant transportation corridor to an area well served by many transportation crossings including the new Walterdale Bridge.
The city plan is designed to address climate change and add tree canopy and green space. Green jobs and blue and green infrastructure are at the base of most economic-recovery plans that address climate change. The gondola will not help with these core ambitions.
The company states it does not need any City money, but degradation of the river valley will occur. A gondola will add 13 towers, one as high as 37 metres, with 10 by 10 metre bases to a part of the city prized for its beauty. At one site within Queen Elizabeth Park’s spruce and aspen forest, a key link in the region’s wildlife corridor, heavy equipment will be needed to anchor a tower to bedrock to protect it from a sliding hill.
The mono-cable style of gondola typically requires a cutline, like Banff and Jasper. But even if it can get over most trees, nonstop bobbing of carriages down the slope of Queen Elizabeth Park is sure to disrupt the quiet pleasure in viewing the park’s old growth forest from the other side of the river. Read more https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-defend-edmontons-river-valley-from-an-unnecessary-gondola
WildEdmonton: monitoring urban biodiversity with remote cameras
Ever wonder what is really going in Edmonton’s river valley? Find out what is happening at night or at other times when people are not around. Learn about what creatures live among us and where they roam.
The North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society (NSRVCS) invites you to participate in an online presentation by Colleen Cassady St. Clair titled WildEdmonton: A protocol and preliminary findings for monitoring urban biodiversity with remote cameras. The event will be March 15 at 5:30pm. Please RSVP to nsrivervalley@gmail.com
After your RSVP is received, you will be sent the Zoom contact information necessary to participate in the event. NSRVCS’ AGM will immediately follow the presentation and feature a brief overview of the society’s activities in 2020.
Colleen is a professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta. She studies how animal behaviour contributes to both problems and solutions related to conservation biology. Her current and recent projects address biodiversity in Edmonton, sources of conflict and coexistence with urban coyotes, the importance of personality in habituation in elk, and mitigating train strikes on grizzly bears in the mountain parks. https://edmontonurbancoyotes.ca/
Coal policy and the North Saskatchewan River
Edmonton’s drinking water comes from the North Saskatchewan River so coal mining upstream and its impact on the North Saskatchewan River watershed is a concern to all residents.
Minister of Energy Sonya Savage announced public consultations with Albertans on a modern coal policy for Alberta will begin on March 29. Savage said “I have directed my department officials to bring forward a comprehensive consultation plan that is by Albertans and for Albertans. The details of the process will be announced before consultations begin.”
According to the Minister, “With the input of Albertans, a modern coal policy will protect the areas Albertans cherish while allowing responsible resource development in the appropriate places.”
Albertans interested in receiving regular updates about the process, future consultation sessions and how to participate can submit their contact information to https://www.alberta.ca/coal-policy-development-engagement.aspx
O-day’min the heart of Edmonton
O-day’min, the new name of the city’s downtown ward means strawberry, or heart berry and represents the heart of Edmonton, amiskwaciwâskahikan.
The stem of the heart represents the North Saskatchewan River, the vessels are the waterways, while the veins make up the blood (people). The roots (veins) of the strawberry represent the different cultures that now make up the city.
The O-day’min is a traditional medicine that guided the Anishinaabe (people with the shared culture and language of the Algonquian tribes) understanding of the deep connection between mind, body, spirit, and emotions.
Anishinaabe peoples are found across Canada, and in Alberta have been referred to as the Saulteaux. The O’Chiese First Nation near Rocky Mountain House is home to Anishinaabe peoples. Strawberry teachings at https://wabano.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Strawberry-Teachings-_-ENG-_-FR.pdf
River valley contributions or question
If you have a river valley concern or question, contact us at nsrivervalley@gmail.com
Your friends and neighbours can sign up for this newsletter at https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/
If you have a photo, information, news or event about Edmonton’s river valley and think it should be in this newsletter, email it to nsrivervalley@gmail.com
Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
nsrivervalley@gmail.com
https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/
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Instagram @nsrvcs