River Valley News - Jan 6, 2022

12 Days of Noels in the river valley

Schoen Duo is posting a series of 12 site-specific music videos at various locations in Mill Creek Ravine. In the same way that you might enjoy a sculpture or a mural in a public place, this is an experiment in creating a public art musical performance that is available to anyone passing by.

Playing a baroque flute and violin, musicians Thomas and Kathleen Schoen are making a connection between changing seasons of the land and the music traditionally used during the Christmas and solstice celebrations of the early French settler culture.

The recordings are deliberately underproduced, to make it sound like the musicians are playing outdoors. You can interact with the performances by accessing them on your phone with a QR code that is posted in each location, or by a direct link to https://www.schoen-duo.ca/soundscape-projects-2/12-days-of-noels-project/

House finch has inched north due to climate change

House Finch is a small songbird that is a year-round resident. The bird is a member of the true finch family, which also includes canaries. They are quite acrobatic and can hang upside down on twigs and the side of buildings.

Males get their feather pigment from their food. If they eat a lot of food with yellow, red, or orange pigments they are more brightly coloured. It has been shown females prefer to mate with redder coloured males.

This bird illustrates two recent environmental phenomena, one of which is climate change. It has been inching its way north for some time. Edmonton is near the northern limits of its range, but its original range in Canada was the west coast up to the Rockies. It is also an introduced species in parts of North America.

In the 1940s wild birds from California were shipped to New York City and sold as caged birds. This was illegal so dealers released the birds, which quickly established a breeding population and spread north, south, and west. The birds we have in Alberta are a combination of western birds moving north and these introduced birds. More at https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-17-edmonton-am/clip/15886478-this-week-community-critters-common-yet-often-overlooked

Private golf courses open for free winter public use

As part of their lease with the City of Edmonton, Highlands Golf Club and the Royal Mayfair Golf Club are open for free winter public use

The Royal Mayfair, which is adjacent to Hawrelak Park, has a 3 km doubletrack family friendly trail. This Nordic ski trail can be used both directions and has an easy overall physical rating. On average it takes 22 minutes to complete this trail.

Highlands Golf Club was established more than 80 years and is on the southern boundary of the Highlands and Virginia Park communities. In the winter months, the course is popular with dog walkers as well as Edmontonians who ski, snowshoe or sled down hills. Highlands information at https://www.edmonton.ca/public-files/assets/document?path=HighlandsWalkingMap.pdf

December 30 newsletter

Liz writes “Well done, always interesting. You are helping all of us appreciate our wonderful gift of the river valley.”

Comment or contribution

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

Sincerely yours,

Harvey Voogd

North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society

780.691.1712

NSRVCS News - December 30, 2021

Tobogganing opportunities at city parks
You may be wondering where one can feel the urge to soar down a snow-covered hill and feel the brisk wind nip your cheeks. City maintained toboggan hills, with safe runouts, safety signage and reduced hazards, are located at several locations.

Hills can be found at Emily Murphy, Gallagher, Government House, Queen Elizabeth, Rundle and Whitemud parks https://www.edmonton.ca/activities_parks_recreation/toboggan-hills

Dogs are not permitted at city toboggan hills. Tobogganing can result in serious injuries. Though the city is concerned for safety, it is your responsibility. Slide at your own risk.

There are more tobogganing opportunities than the hills the city maintains. If you’re looking for places to toboggan with the family, the following link is a great place to start. It is filled with suggestions for toddlers to thrill-seekers, so you will find something for everyone.

Check out 11 Family Friendly Toboggan Hills in Edmonton + Area at
https://justanotheredmontonmommy.com/2016/12/friendly-toboggan-hills-edmonton-yegkids/

Edmonton city water history
In 1902, when the city’s population was 4,176 Edmontonians paid $1.25/m3 for water hauled by bucket from the river by a waterman. Edmonton Water and Light Company constructed the first water treatment plant at Rossdale in 1903.

It included one pumphouse complete with one low lift and one high lift pump and one sedimentation basin. It cost $140,000 to build, served 5,500 people with 16km of watermains, 55 fire hydrants, 103 water services, and one 330,000 litre elevated storage tank.

In 1914, when city’s population was 72,516 residents paid $0.09/m3 for water. People who had a tub and toilet paid an extra $8 yearly. In 2003, when the city’s population reached 700,000 Edmontonians paid $1.10/m3 for water and could have tubs and toilets at no extra cost.

By then Epcor had 3,600km of water pipe, 14,000 hydrants, 200,000 water services, and 800 million litres of water storage. Text and information from Living in the Shed by Billie Milholland, published by the North Saskatchewan River Watershed Alliance https://www.nswa.ab.ca/

Solitary predators provide valuable pest control
Edmonton's badger population is on the rise as they expand their hunting grounds in the capital region into the city, feasting on a growing number of city-dwelling pocket gophers, says Colleen Cassady St. Clair, a conservation biologist at the University of Alberta.

Native to Alberta, American badger have distinctive black-and-white facial markings with a line down the bridge of their noses. They prefer grasslands, especially areas where small rodents are plentiful. Badgers are opportunistic nocturnal omnivores. While considered essential to the prairie landscape, they are rarely seen.

Historically, badger territory didn't reach far outside southern Alberta but the critters have been increasingly common in northern and central parts of the province over the past decade, Cassady St. Clair said.

Trail cameras have captured a badger ambling through heavy snow on the northern outskirts of the city. Set up across Edmonton, the cameras are used in an ongoing survey of urban wildlife that is a collaboration between city wildlife officials and researchers at the U of A. More at https://www.cbc.ca/news/

Cross-country skiing in the river valley
The City of Edmonton has many groomed cross-country ski trails, and our river valley is home to many of them. These trails are accessible, open to everyone and regularly groomed to accommodate different levels of skiers. Most trails are set for both classic and skate skiing cross-country techniques. Information at
https://www.edmonton.ca/activities_parks_recreation/cross-country-skiing

The word “Ski” comes from the Old Norse “Skid,” meaning a board or a piece of split wood. Archeological finds show that skis have been used in large parts of Siberia and Northern Europe for 5-6000 years. The Edmonton Nordic Ski Club, founded in 1978, is one of Canada’s largest Nordic ski clubs.

Over the past 20 years, the club has developed the ski trail system in Goldbar and Goldstick parks. The two adjoining river valley parks feature 10 kilometres of interconnected, illuminated ski trails ranging from the very easy to the more challenging. Information at https://www.edmontonnordic.ca/

Fisher a predator of porcupines
Richard writes “Thanks for the interesting info on the fisher/porcupine relationship. As you probably know, fishers were re-introduced to Elk Island Park and were monitored there by the Friends of Elk Island. I have only seen one in my life on the high trail of the Canmore Nordic Center. Thanks again for your ongoing monitoring of the NSRV.”

Chilly winter weather part of YEG lore
Patrick emails “I remember that winter well. For me, it became a personal baseline for cold. Edmonton is the only place I’ve lived where my car tires would freeze overnight and, in the morning, I’d bump along on square tires for the first mile or so. Since 1972, I’ve lived in several places (B.C., MT, ID and CO) but none were as cold as Edmonton.”

Comment or contribution
If you have a comment, concern, or question, contact us at nsrivervalley@gmail.com Please also email us river valley photos or event information. Your friends, neighbours and colleagues can sign up for this newsletter on our web site https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/

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

NSRVCS News - December 23, 2021

Chilly winter weather part of YEG lore
In 1969, Edmonton recorded 26 consecutive days of daytime high temperatures which did not rise above -21C. Between January 7 and February 1, the city was a frozen wasteland. The deep freeze was such a momentous event, the Edmonton Journal made a certificate which readers could clip from the paper and sign to prove that they had been there when it happened.

“I was there,” reads a certificate that Edmonton Journal cartoonist Edd Uluschak drew for survivors to collect in the aftermath of the cold snap. The high and low temperatures for each day are listed at the bottom in Fahrenheit. Canada started measuring temperatures in Celsius in 1975.

“January 1969 was a cold month, but not the coldest January that we’ve had,” said Edmonton-based Environment Canada meteorologist Dan Kulak. He said the national weather service does not track statistics on stretches, but he was able to review the mean temperature, taken from the average daytime high and nighttime low, for every January back to 1880.

Although 1969 had a mean of -26 C, 1950 holds the title of the most bitterly cold January on record at -27.7 C. More at https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/that-ones-a-real-humdinger-50-years-later-edmontonians-remember-the-1969-cold-snap

Jack pine known for its unique shape
The jack pine is the most widely distributed tree in Canada. When it grows in rocky shallow soil, it is gnarled and lopsided, a view made famous by Canadian painter Tom Thomson. This native species has become a symbol of our harsh, but beautiful landscape.

This tree can thrive in the poorest of conditions and is as hardy as they come. Found mainly in plains and shield eco-zones, jack pine is salt and drought tolerant, preferring sandy and acidic soils. It is attractive to birds and squirrels and is a major source for the pulp and paper industry.

The tree has been used by Indigenous peoples as food and medicine for centuries. Leaves and bark were used medicinally in ointments and stimulants. Roots were used to sew canoe seams and bark roofs, and seams sealed with resin

It is also an important player in reforestation after forest fires. The heat of the fire allows the cones to open, releasing the seeds, so they are some of the first plants to come back from the devastation. More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_pine

Fisher a predator of porcupines
The fisher is possibly the swiftest and most agile member of the weasel family. These elusive creatures are primarily nocturnal but may be spotted during the day. They are agile tree climbing carnivores but spend most of their time on the ground. Fishers are also known as Fisher cat, or Pennant’s cat, but it is not a cat, nor does it fish.

They are one of the main predators of porcupines, which can easily feed it for two days. The fisher will follow a porcupine up a tree, overtake it, and then attack the porcupine from above. Its ability to descend trees head-first, aided by retractable claws, helps the fisher approach the porcupine stealthily, and attack the only quill-free spot on the porcupine’s body-the face.

Fishers have delayed implantation, meaning the embryo begins to develop but then stops growing and stays suspended until late winter, when it implants, and development continues. This also occurs in Alberta bears. More at https://www.ealt.ca/species-spotlight-list/fisher

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
If you have a comment, concern, or question, contact us at nsrivervalley@gmail.com Please also email us river valley photos or event information. Your friends, neighbours and colleagues can sign up for this newsletter on our web site https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/

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