What lichens can tell us about climate and pollution
Peter Evans photo
When you walk past a tree in Edmonton's river valley, you may notice tree trunks and branches are covered in multicoloured growths, decorating them in yellow, green, grey and bluish spots. These are lichens. Lichens are fungi, not plants. They work closely with their photosynthesizing partner, usually algae, which live inside lichens.
Lichens are important determinants of air quality, said Troy McMullin, a lichenologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. "You can think of them as little sponges. They get their nutrients and minerals from what is floating by, what's in the air," he said. "Essentially, they're eating the air and if there's pollutants in the air, they're going to eat those too."
Even though they can thrive in cities, urban areas can be challenging habitats for lichens. At some point, the amount of pollution in the air becomes too much even for the sturdiest of lichens, McMullin said, after which they disappear, creating lichen deserts. "They are the canaries in the coal mine because they're eating in the air," he said. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/what-lichens-can-tell-us-about-climate-and-pollution-1.6989959
New name proposed for Oliver neighbourhood
Robyn Paches, the president of the Oliver Community League, confirmed that an agreement has been reached on a new name, but it has yet to be made public. The Naming Circle is working on a way to work with Indigenous leaders to make a “respectful” announcement.
The neighbourhood was named for Frank Oliver, the former Liberal politician and newspaperman who championed many racist views. He supported legislation that restricted immigration based on ethnicity, and championed regulations that restricted the movement of Indigenous peoples.
The Oliver name has been a contentious issue for several years, as more and more people learned about his time as both a writer and political leader. A Naming Circle was created to take in community input on how the community should move forward.
Members of the City’s Naming Committee lauded the Oliver process. The Urban Planning Committee was told that the way the Oliver community decided on the new name is a blueprint for how other neighbourhoods should undertake these processes going forward. https://urbanaffairs.ca/edmonton-ish/oliver-no-more/
Remote cameras monitor wildlife presence in YEG
This photo of a deer and coyote meeting was captured in Edmonton by a wildlife camera. Since 2018 the City of Edmonton and the University of Alberta have worked together to create WildEdmonton, a project that uses remote cameras to monitor wildlife presence and abundance throughout our city.
It maintained remote cameras at 109 sites between May 2018 and August 2021, collected over 2 million images, and captured 28 mammal species and 41 bird species.
The project works to identify areas of valuable wildlife habitat so that future planning and development projects will know where animals live and how they move around. Identifying and protecting these areas will help protect animal habitats and ensure future generations of Edmontonians are able to experience and enjoy our parks and natural areas as the city grows.
Protecting biodiversity in urban areas is a challenge. It can be done by making sure we protect natural areas and maintain natural connections that help wildlife move around Edmonton and surrounding area. More photos at https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/environmental_stewardship/wild-edmonton
Edmonton’s ambitious urban cycling plan getting attention
If you build it, they will come. That is how avid urban cyclist and Calgary content creator Tom Babin feels about bike lanes. Build them and they can turn car dominated, traffic heavy cities into cycling havens. And that might very well be the plan for Edmonton. Babin made his way up to Edmonton from Calgary after receiving an invitation from city councillor Michael Janz.
“What we see in cities all over the world is that when cycling is made safe and convenient, then people will ride their bikes,” said Babin. “And what works in other places is a feeling of safety. And so separation from motor vehicles is really important.”
He called Edmonton “the most exciting bike city in North America” in a nearly 18-minute video posted to his YouTube channel “Shifter” last week, where he documents his life as an urban cyclist to his nearly 100,000 subscribers. The video puts a spotlight on Edmonton’s “ambitious urban cycling plan.”
In December, city council approved a $100 million bike plan over four years. “I absolutely think if a city like Edmonton wants to encourage more people to cycling you need to invest in it,” said Babin. “And I think that’s a huge opportunity that is happening here. And it’ll be interesting to see how this money is spent and how it can change the city.” https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2023/10/15/edmonton-cycling-model-north-america/
I Am You by Alexandra Haeseker, Alfred H. Savage Centre in Whitemud Park.
https://www.edmontonarts.ca/public-art/i-am-you
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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