NSRVCS Newsletter - August 12, 2021

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August 13, 2021

Ottawa invests $130 million to create a network of national urban parks
Parks Canada has launched a new program to support the creation of a network of national urban parks. It will collaborate with municipalities, provinces, Indigenous partners, and conservation organizations, to identify opportunities for creating or expanding national urban parks in urban and near-urban settings across

The North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society, Sierra Club Canada Foundation Prairie Chapter, and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-Northern Alberta have been working together with Parks Canada to encourage this initiative in the Edmonton metropolitan region.

Discussions are in the early stages, but we envision a national urban park that includes our region’s ribbon of green, the North Saskatchewan River Valley, and could even branch outside of the river valley to connect to other important wildlife, cultural and historical areas. Learn more at https://edmonton.taproot.news/news/2021/08/11/parks-canada-to-consider-edmonton-area-river-valley-fornational-urban-park-network

Top 5 native plants for birds in our yards
With so many choices for native plants that benefit birds it is hard to pick just five. But since most city yards are small, you must make the most of what you have. Why do birds need native plants?

Nature plants thrive despite our cold winters and sometimes searing hot summers and attract insects that birds want to eat. By attracting beneficial insects, your whole garden will get better pollination. This will give you more flowers, which means more seeds and berries for birds.

These five plants are easy to grow from seed and readily available for purchase in Edmonton. In addition to deciding what to plant, it is important to consider where to plant to maximize the benefit for birds.

Birds and pollinators enjoy mass plantings. You do not want to scatter your plants around the yard and make it a scavenger hunt for them! You are bringing birds to your garden so you can enjoy them, so plant where you can watch them! Discover the names of the top 5 native plants and learn more at http://cloud2.snappages.com/be296ab53ae397c57bac9e522bed2bb32a5a17f8/Wildflower%20News%20-%20August%202021%20R.pdf

Canada needs your help identifying critical habitat for bank swallows
The bank swallow, a cliff nesting species found throughout Alberta usually near water, has experienced a 98% population decline in Canada over the last 40 years and was classified as threatened by Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) in November 2017.

Under SARA, the federal minister is responsible for preparing recovery strategies for any species listed as threatened. A crucial part of any recovery strategy is identifying critical habitat, the habitat necessary for the survival and recovery of a species. The proposed bank swallow recovery strategy has identified 15 critical habitat units across Alberta.

However, the document states that the critical habitat identified in the strategy is insufficient to meet the population objectives, meaning that more critical habitat needs to be identified to give these birds a chance at recovery.

The Alberta Wilderness Association is asking Albertans to submit information on riparian areas across the province where bank swallows or nesting colonies are observed frequently or have been in the past. This would be an important step in ensuring that more critical habitat is protected as part of these recovery activities.

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s proposed recovery strategy for bank swallow populations in Canada is open for public consultation until September 14 at https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/bank-swallow-proposed-2021.html

What if women were never elected to Edmonton City Council
What if the 31 women who served on Edmonton City Council over the past century were never elected. How different would our city look and feel? Would Edmonton be Edmonton?

While Edmonton’s women councillors did all the bread-and-butter work during their terms, budgets, committee meetings etc., many also brought forward initiatives that made our city more livable, more beautiful, more Edmonton.

Two former City of Edmonton historian laureates, Shirley Lowe and Marlena Wyman, take us on a podcast tour and talk about the incredible, often visionary, and sometimes hidden legacies of many of our former female councillors.

From the controversial Talus Dome to our tranquil river valley system to City Hall, join them for a special journey that will change the way you forever look at Edmonton. Listen to the podcast at https://www.ywcaofedmonton.org/izena/podcast/podcast-part-7/

Anirniq ward honours those who never made it home
Sandra says “The river and Edmonton has so much history. Thank you for including it all. As devastating as it was, it is time to look at it. Your balanced view is much appreciated.”

Mountain Bike Concerns
Elisabeth writes, “With other friends, we are concerned about the escalating damage from new trails by mountain bikes in the river valley. The section we visit is the forested trail from 76th avenue in Belgravia, north towards Hawrelak. It would be interesting to document with GPS and photos the amazing number of new trails descending steep areas from the bike trail along Saskatchewan Drive. I hope someone can do this!”

Photo by Eric Gormley of EPCOR’s current reindustrialization of Edmonton’s river valley to build a solar power plant.

River valley concern or contribution
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 on our web site.
If you have a photo, information, or event about Edmonton’s river valley and think it should be in this newsletter, email it to us.

Sincerely yours,
Harvey Voogd
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society
780.691.1712

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August 6, 2021

NSRVCS Newsletter - August 5, 2021

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August 6, 2021

Anirniq ward honours those who never made it home
Between 1950 and 1960 when a tuberculosis epidemic ravaged the Inuit after it was brought to the Artic, many were flown to Edmonton for treatment at medical facilities built specifically for Indigenous peoples.

It was in those hospitals that many faced prejudiced medical attention, including shock treatments, experiments, and sterilization. Adults, children, and babies were separated from their families and on average spent 2½ years living in these hospitals.

Many people died and were never reunited with their families. Even in death, many were buried in unmarked graves and their families were never notified. Tuberculosis took the breath and spirit of many who were brought to the Charles Camsell Indian hospital which is in the ward.

Anirniq is Inuktut for breath of life or spirit. The name was given to honour those who never made it home. Watch a video on the naming of Dene ward https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EPyVhA_uaQ

Female bird attracted to the ability of the male to learn
A rich, russet-and-gray bird with bold streaks down its white chest, the Song Sparrow is found throughout most of North America, but birds of different areas can look surprisingly different. Despite the large differences in size and coloration across its range, genetic divergence is low.

Song Sparrows seem to have a clear idea of what makes a good nest. Field researchers working for many years on the same parcels of land have noticed that some choice spots, the base of a rose bush, or a particular hollow under a hummock of grass, get used repeatedly, even when entirely new birds take over the territory.

The Song Sparrow, like most other North American breeding birds, uses increasing day length as a cue for when to come into breeding condition. Other cues can be important too, such as local temperature and food abundance.

Like many other songbirds, the male Song Sparrow uses its song to attract mates as well as defend its territory. Laboratory studies have shown that the female Song Sparrow is attracted not just to the song itself, but to how well it reflects the ability of the male to learn. Learn more at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/overview

Muttart Conservatory a horticultural wonder
The Muttart Conservatory has reopened after being closed to the public in July 2019 for a $13.3 million rehabilitation to replace aging facility systems, followed by closure in response to pandemic public health orders. Built in 1976, it has attracted visitors for over 42 years

Muttart Conservatory describes itself as Edmonton's premier horticultural attraction. Its pyramids are nestled in the river valley and features more than 700 species of plants in 3 climate regulated biomes; arid, temperate, and tropical and a feature biome located within its pyramids. More information at https://www.edmonton.ca/attractions_events/muttart-conservatory

Frieda says thank you for sending me the newsletter. I find the stories about the river valley very interesting.

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July 31, 2021

NSRVCS Newsletter - July 30, 2021

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July 31, 2021

Dene ward honours continent’s largest Indigenous language group
Dene is the biggest Indigenous language group in North America, stretching from Alaska to New Mexico. The North Saskatchewan River was one of the main highways long before Europeans came out this way. Dene travelled all over North America. Edmonton was one of the areas people would stop and camp and then continue their journey.

Dene people in Alberta include the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, the Cold Lake First Nations, and Dene Tha First Nation. Dene people are spread across Canada with the largest concentration of Dene language speakers living in Saskatchewan. Dene languages became one of the official languages of the Northwest Territories in 1990.

Dene means people and refers to the various tribes and people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, that settled along the North Saskatchewan River and who live there now. Many Dene tribes settled along the shores of the river, including the area where Edmonton now sits. Watch a video on the naming of Dene ward at https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1874146371557

This amphibian darkens when cold to absorb more heat
The Wood Frog is the most widely distributed amphibian in Canada and is found in every province and territory. Although found in tundra to the north and occasionally in grasslands in the west, it is commonly associated with moist woodlands and vernal woodland pools, including in Edmonton’s river valley.

Wood Frogs are the earliest breeders in most of their range, often beginning to call when there is still ice on the ponds in spring. The egg mass of up to 2000 eggs is attached to submerged vegetation. Most of the egg masses in a population will be laid within a few days and clustered together so their combined dark colouration warms them and speeds hatching. The tadpoles transform after 44-85 days.

Wood Frogs are freeze tolerant and hibernate under logs or leaf litter on the forest floor. They can change colour rapidly from very dark to very light and will darken when cold to absorb more heat. Learn more at https://www.naturewatch.ca/frogwatch/wood-frog/

Edmonton peony garden was a major tourist attraction
Prominent Edmonton physician James Frederick Brander came to Edmonton from Nova Scotia in 1921 and, along with his father George, soon established a peony garden in the Bonnie Doon area on an empty plot of land that George couldn’t stand to see go to waste.

The Silver Heights Peony Garden, located at 93 Avenue and 85 Street in Bonnie Doon, was a major tourist attraction and source of most of the peonies in Alberta from 1923 until the 1940s. Father and son proved that the soil and climate conditions in the area were ideal for the peony, which had previously been regarded as exotic and too delicate for the frigid north.

The first planting was small, but in later years as many as 5000 roots arrived from Holland in a single shipment. Altogether, 200 named varieties were grown and, in full flowering time, an estimated quarter of a million blooms could be seen.

When George Brander died in 1933, his family continued the Peony Gardens until the Second World War made such large-scale flower operations impractical. The plants were dug up, divided into 50,000 roots, and sold to gardening aficionados around Edmonton.

In 2002, Fort Edmonton Park completed a recreation of the peony garden, which included 26 varieties of peonies. Read about the horticultural significance of the Silver Heights Peony Garden at https://www.fortedmontonpark.ca/learn/blog/post/horticultural-significance-of-the-silver-heights-peony-garden

Free online workshop to kickstart your volunteer journey
Volunteer Connections is a free online course made possible by The Wellness Network. In this short course, volunteer hopefuls will learn all about how to get involved in their community; what it means to volunteer, the benefits of volunteering, and how to get started.

The course is self-guided and available at https://ecvo.teachable.com/p/volunteer-connections

Elna writes “The Snow Valley Ski area is undergoing some densification. There is already a climbing feature at the SW corner of the campground. On the ski hill property, there is a newly opened BBQ facility which operates weekends offering food and drink. There is also a new golf venue on the hill. It’s getting crowded. I’m worried that access to the Whitemud Nature Reserve will be compromised and encourage bicycles which is not allowed.

On the east side of Whitemud Ravine between Grandview and Lansdowne, the West 240 university farm (Section 14) is to be sold and developed. The UofA is moving quickly on this initiative. Once the West 240 is developed, the land is gone, no vision, just income for the UofA.”