Bridging the Gap: New Footbridge Over NSR
Photo Credit: Elliott Knopp, CityNews
A new pedestrian bridge connecting Edmonton and Strathcona County has opened, completing a major link in a more than 100-kilometre trail system through six municipalities in the North Saskatchewan River valley. Located just north of the new Northeast River Valley Park, which opened in 2023, the bridge includes shared-use pathways, gathering areas at each end and two lookout points offering stunning views of the river and the surrounding valley. You can find out more about the trail network on the River Valley Alliance website.
The bridge from Edmonton’s 167th Avenue to Strathcona County’s Township Road 540 is a big win, but the City of Edmonton says there will still be some closures over the summer so crews can install canopies. To support the project, Strathcona County is also building additional amenities along Township Road 540, including a parking lot, portable washrooms and a multi-use trail connection.
The $38.6-million project was funded 50 per cent by the River Valley Alliance, with the remaining cost shared equally by the City of Edmonton and Strathcona County. “It doesn’t really just put this region on the map, it puts Alberta on the map, it puts Canada on the map. Worldwide, people do travel to destinations just like this trail,” said Kristine Archibald, the executive director of the River Valley Alliance. The River Valley Alliance says the final piece of a complete river valley trail is a 25 km gap tying the town of Devon to southwest Edmonton, which is still waiting to be completed.
New footbridge finally connects Edmonton and Strathcona County | Urbanized
New river valley footbridge connecting Edmonton to Sherwood Park opens to the public
Bioblitz & Blooms: A Day for Pollinators at Smith-Blackburn Homestead
Photo Credit: Edmonton Area Land Trust website
Want to make a hands-on difference for nature in your backyard? The Edmonton & Area Land Trust needs your help! A few of their upcoming events haven't gained the number of people they were hoping for, and August is a critical month for managing invasive plants. In particular, the Smith Blackburn Homestead Bioblitz and Weeding needs more hands.
The Smith Blackburn Homestead is a unique property located just east of Elk Island National Park, in a region recognized by UNESCO as the Beaverhills Biosphere Reserve. This land is comprised of deciduous forest, dominated by Trembling Aspen and Balsam Poplar, and underlain with Raspberry and Beaked Hazelnut. The landscape is dotted with wetlands containing willows, asters and cattails.
This ecosystem combination allows birds, such as Great Blue Herons, Soras, Common Loons and Common Yellowthroat, to nest, raise their young and thrive. Other species living in this space include the Black Bear, Deer, Moose, Beaver, Wood Frogs, Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterflies and many more.
The established pollinator garden is under pressure from invasive weeds. In order to help the pollinators the garden was established for, EALT needs some help reducing the presence of invasive plants.
The volunteer activity will be focusing on removing the white cockle, thistle, and other weeds that have found their way into and around the garden. The event will occur on Saturday, August 16, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. To register, click the link below:
From Gold Dust to Green Space: The Story of Miner's Flat
Photo Credit: Provincial Archives of Alberta B5287
Mining of placer gold and platinum in the Edmonton area preceded the discovery of gold in the Klondike by more than 40 years, and continues today with small, hobby operations. Placer gold was first discovered in the North Saskatchewan River valley in the 1850s by prospectors moving into British Columbia's Cariboo area via Edmonton.
In 1867, 175 prospectors, known as the 'Overlanders', left Eastern Canada passing through Edmonton on their way to the Cariboo gold fields. About a third stayed in Edmonton to try their luck in the Fort Edmonton area and settled on Miner's Flat. Prospectors set up their tents and sluices in the area in the hopes of finding gold in the silt banks along the North Saskatchewan River.
On a good day in low-water stages, miners claimed they could recover 0.5 ounces a day, all of it as fine flakes, called flour gold associated with fine, black sand - there are no nuggets in the North Saskatchewan River. The black, heavy-mineral-bearing sand was panned to concentrate the gold, and then the gold was dissolved with mercury to concentrate it further.
Gold mining in the Edmonton area peaked between 1895 and 1907, with some 300 miners working the bars 100 km upstream and downstream of Edmonton. Larger steam-powered dredges enabled miners to extract up to 2 oz. of gold per day. In the last two years of operation, about 7500 troy oz. of gold were extracted, but profits were marginal and miners left to join the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush.
After the miners left, the City of Edmonton purchased the land coined ‘Miner’s Flat' in 1907. Although a powerplant was initially planned, the area was designated as parkland in 1910. It was named Laurier Park after a visit to Edmonton by Sir Wilfred Laurier.
Parts of the area were mined for gravel and later used as a waste disposal site, but in the early 1960s the area became home to the Storyland Valley Zoo. In the late 1980s, the City suggested the name be amended to Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park.
Mountain Scene, No. 4 by Jennifer Bushman, City Hall
Edmonton Arts Council | Mountain Scene, No. 4
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