NSRVCS News - Jan. 26, 2020

Strathcona Country delight - Riverside nature trail
Riverside nature trail in Strathcona County is a hidden gem of a trail that you can do as either a 5 km in-and-out route, a 5 km loop, or walk 11 km all the way to Fort Saskatchewan and the West River’s Edge trail.
 
Eventually this trail will connect to Edmonton via a pedestrian footbridge over the river to the East End Trails, which are visible from this trailhead. This is an easy-moderate walk on flat gravel and dirt trails with slight inclines. Bikes and dogs on-leash are allowed. There is one garbage can at the trailhead, but no outhouses or bathrooms.
 
To get to the trailhead, follow Township Road 540 all the way west to its termination. You can access Township Road 540 from Sherwood Drive/Range Road 232. The trailhead has a small parking lot. More info at https://rivervalley.ab.ca/trail-treks/trailtrek-how-to-riverside-nature-trail/

Gondola feasibility on Council agenda
A gondola with five stations from Gateway Blvd & 82 Ave to Telus Plaza at 100 St & 100 Ave will be on the Urban Planning Committee’s agenda on January 28. Prairie Sky, the gondola proponent, intends to operate a service 360 days per year for 16 hours per day to satisfy urban commuters and generate a winter city experience that touches the river valley year-round.
 
Prairie Sky wants to generate an events and festival business in West Rossdale. It claims an unprecedented level of engagement with indigenous communities on the significance of the 8000-year history of West Rossdale and states the entire experience of Prairie Sky will share and celebrate the people and the land.
 
Prairie Sky anticipates 3,062,000 trips in the first year from 637,000 unique customers who will ride the system more than once, though it notes ridership forecasts are notoriously fickle. The company wants successful negotiation of an agreement framework with the City of Edmonton by June 2020. To access this item and its two reports, click on agenda item 6.1 at
http://sirepub.edmonton.ca/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=2647&doctype=AGENDA
 
If you wish to speak to this item, contact the Office of the City Clerk at city.clerk@edmonton.ca or 780.496.8178 to register to speak. The other option is to show up before meeting begins at 9.30 am at City Hall and inform the Clerk that you wish to speak.

River valley – Edmonton’s natural climate solution
Our river valley, ravines and natural areas contain a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. It’s called a tree. Trees are examples of a natural climate solution. They take carbon out of the air and lock it away. Nature is a tool we can use to repair our broken climate. We need to protect, restore and fund Edmonton’s natural climate solutions.
 
The City needs to protect existing natural areas which serve as natural carbon sinks. The removal of these areas due to land conversion leads to the release of carbon and reduction in available carbon sinks. Protection of the City’s natural systems also promotes climate resilience and maximizes the benefits provided by ecosystem services.
 
Edmonton must focus on natural area restoration, a city-wide naturalization program and increased support for the North Saskatchewan river valley and ravine system. We need to develop a program to identify, prioritize, and invest in restoration and naturalization projects.
 
Trees contribute to negative emissions as they sequester carbon and reduce building energy demands due to shading and cooling. Natural climate solutions like planting trees can help Edmonton reach our emissions-reduction targets. Learn more about natural climate solutions by viewing the video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S14SjemfAg 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/

NSRVCS News - Jan. 16, 2020

Life under the snow
Snow affects more than just the way the world looks. It alters the lives of creatures living in and beneath it. The role of microbial life beneath the snow may have serious ramifications for how we measure and gauge the effects of global warming. How much carbon microbes release is closely tied to when snow falls.
 
Subnivean microbes also absorb nitrogen from the snow and from decomposing plants in the soil. As snow melts in the spring and these organisms die, nitrogen is freed at precisely the time plants emerging from winter need it to grow. The microbes provide a critical nitrogen banking service for vegetation in seasonally snow-covered ecosystems.
 
Animals like voles and deer mice survive under the snow at the mercy of conditions. Their success in any given year drives ecosystem health. Populations of animals from snowy owls to grizzly bears are, in part, regulated by the number of rodents that survive beneath the snow. The more voles, shrews, and mice there are, the more predators there will be. Learn more at https://www.audubon.org/magazine/november-december-2010/life-under-snow#

Public swimming not in Hawrelak Park lake plans
On January 29, Community and Public Services Committee will discuss potential upgrades to improve the water quality of the lake at Hawrelak Park, that could be done in tandem with the infrastructure upgrades currently being considered to rehabilitate the park. The reports do not consider options for regular public swimming or other public activities that regularly include direct water contact.
 
William Hawrelak Park opened to the public in 1967 with the centrally located lake being the defining feature. The lake is an artificial water body designed as an ornamental park feature. Over the years, the water feature has become a habitat for a variety of waterfowl. The lake is fed primarily by diverting water from the North Saskatchewan River and through surface run-off and natural precipitation. Water is discharged from the lake through the park’s irrigation system, natural evaporation and occasionally by release into the river.
 
The City hosted the first ITU Triathlon World Championship event in 2001 and the lake function was expanded to support the swimming portion of the event. Chemical applications are required to meet the water quality requirements to host the swimming portion of the ITU triathlon race. To access the report and its two attachments, click on agenda item 6.1 at
http://sirepub.edmonton.ca/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=2498&doctype=AGENDA
 
If you wish to speak to this item, contact the Office of the City Clerk at city.clerk@edmonton.ca or 780.496.8178 to register to speak. The other option is to show up before meeting begins at 9.30 am at City Hall and inform the Clerk that you wish to speak.

Songbird that behaves like a raptor
Northern Shrikes hunt insects, snakes, rodents, and small birds. Shrikes are called butcher birds and have been known to take birds as large as Blue Jays and Mourning Doves. They will often impale their victims on a thorn or barbed wire, which is thought to be a way of marking their territory and attracting mates, and for short-term storage of food.
 
Shrikes are only about 10 inches long, but they have a sharp hooked beak like a falcon.  They sit on high perches and scan for prey, then swoop down on it.  Sometimes they hover over the ground to watch for prey.
 
Both male and female Northern Shrikes sing throughout year. The male sings especially in late winter and early spring. These birds breed in the high arctic but there are always some here in the winter. Read more at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/overview

Giant ice castle in Hawrelak Park
Step into the ultimate winter wonderland when you visit the enchanting castle that has been crafted by hand using only icicles and water. Ice Castles opened earlier this month.
 
A new galleria room contains rotating exhibits from Edmonton-area artists. Ice Castles also features frozen tunnels, fountains, slides, a throne and cascading towers of ice lit with colour-changing LED lights.
 
The tallest part of the display is about 10 metres. This is Ice Castles fifth year in Edmonton, one of six locations in North America and the only one in Canada. Learn more at
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ice-castles-hawrelak-edmonton-1.5414412 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/

NSRVCS News - Jan. 2, 2020

Give the city its three names
“A city needs three names; the public one, the priestly and a secret, sacred name for the God we do not realize protects us.” So begins a poem of Edmonton by Alice Major, our City’s first poet laureate from 2005 to 2007.
 
Poetry is meant to be heard, the human voice’s connection to the ear. Welcome 2020 by listening to this this poem and others, many of them recorded with Nora Bumanis, principal harpist of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, at https://www.alicemajor.com/about-2/poems-for-the-ear/

Merlin falcon thrives with urbanization
Merlins were nearly wiped out a few decades ago in Alberta by pesticides, but they bounced back. They've also started overwintering here, feeding on flocks of bohemian waxwings drawn to the city by berry trees. This very small species of falcon hunts by knocking their prey out of the air, or by grabbing it on the wing (in flight).
 
They have increased in numbers as towns and cities were built on the prairies, as this development has created significant increases in nesting habitat (planted trees) and food (small birds). Since this falcon is tolerant of people, they have thrived in urban areas across western Canada. Learn more about Merlins and other Alberta birds of prey at http://www.burrowingowl.com/learn/profiles.php

Connors Hill open for skiing and snowboarding
After a two-year hiatus, the Edmonton Ski Club celebrated a Boxing Day grand re-opening featuring Olympic skiing medallist Jennifer Heil. The hill is located on Connors Hill, a slope of the North Saskatchewan River valley, in downtown Edmonton in the community of Cloverdale. It is open to both skiers and snow boarders and is offering a new carpet lift this year. 
 
The accessibility of the hill in Cloverdale allowed Heil’s family members to be part of the early days of her skiing career. "Most people don't believe that you can be a world-class skier from Edmonton," Heil said. "The fact that I had access to this facility, and these coaches allows me to prove them wrong."
 
One of Heil's favourite memories is her grandpa coming to watch her train in his Cadillac. "I think the more opportunities we have in big cities to go out and play and be active, the better," Heil said. "I'm pleased that its reopening and its legacy will continue." Read more at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-ski-club-opens-1.5407164

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/