River Valley News - Feb 17, 2022

Guest User

February 18, 2022

Mountain bike trails provide health benefits with little impact
Erin Bowker writes in an opinion piece; I simply cannot believe that council would consider shutting down Edmonton’s incredible single-track mountain bike trail network. As a parent of teen/young adults, I cannot over-emphasize the physical and mental health benefits that these trails have given our kids.

Our paved trails are wonderful but are not particularly appealing to their adventurous spirits. Of course, our single-track mountain bike trails are beloved by all ages of bikers, trail runners and trail walkers and we would all find our quality of life greatly diminished with the loss of Edmonton’s single track.

Environmental impact of single-track mountain bike trails seems to be the issue under scrutiny. When compared to the chemicals used to maintain our city golf courses and the pollution surrounding the homeless camps throughout the river valley, the environmental impact argument seems almost comical.

The majority of the single track in Edmonton is hidden from view with very little impact on the forest. The average mountain biker or trail runner/hiker stays on the trail and passes any given point in space in a matter of seconds. Maintenance is overwhelmingly provided by those who volunteer their time and love the sport.

Edmonton should be expanding healthy outdoor opportunities for its citizens, not limiting them. Read complete piece at https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-mountain-bike-trails-provide-health-benefits-with-little-impact

Is the City banning mountain biking or closing trails
No, the City is not banning or prohibiting mountain biking in the River Valley, and no trails are being closed at this time. That does not mean that, at some time in the future, if a trail is found to be causing too much disturbance in a natural area it won’t be closed or re-routed, but for the foreseeable future, no trails are being closed.

Most of the single-track trail network was built by trail users and the City has not had oversight of the construction of these trails, some of which are found in sensitive areas, so it does not know the ecological impact they have had.

The City needs time to do studies and on-the-ground assessment that consider local context and environment, and to understand the risk implications associated with some of the trails and structures within the network. The City of Edmonton has a responsibility to steward the environment and ensure we limit negative impacts, whether from cycling, hiking, horseback riding or other activities.

Detailed planning of mountain bike trails will take place in future work after the Ribbon of Green is complete. More answers to frequently asked questions at https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/initiatives_innovation/ribbon-of-green-public-engagement#FAQ

New park planned along the North Saskatchewan river
Strathcona County is developing a master plan for a new 290-acre regional park along the North Saskatchewan River. The plan will give the County direction for the next 15 years on the type of outdoor development and activity desired for the park.

The plan seeks to respond to community needs by engaging with stakeholders and the public throughout its development. It will support the County’s commitment to a regional approach to North Saskatchewan River accessibility, including work on the Edmonton-Strathcona County footbridge connecting 167 Ave on the west side to Township Road 540 on the east side; and to environmental stewardship, an area of focus in its Recreation and Culture Strategy.

Information, public engagement and feedback options at https://www.strathcona.ca/council-county/plans-and-reports/strategic-documents/open-space-facility-projects/parks-fields-trails/strathcona-regional-park-master-plan/

Research shows cities across country losing green space
Terry emails “It doesn't take much science expertise to know that when you replace green space - trees, shrubs, and low-lying vegetation such as grasses and replace them with cement, asphalt, shingles, siding and building structures you will remove heat absorption with heat repelling. Ritchie has lost close to 100 mature trees and yards and replaced with lots with buildings and cement with zero green left. From 50% green lots to zero green. All of them. And so exactly to the article's point - in just this neighborhood.”

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

Guest User

February 10, 2022

River Valley News - Feb 10, 2022

Guest User

February 10, 2022

Help decide the future of our river valley and ravine system
Edmonton’s City Plan, approved by City Council in 2020, describes the North Saskatchewan River Valley and Ravine System as the most important feature of our city. It is a vital ecological corridor, a valued recreation destination, a place of incredible cultural significance and a draw for visitors throughout the region.

The River Valley Planning Modernization Project seeks to renew the city’s strategic planning for the river valley and the processes and tools for evaluating and regulating development that is proposed within the system.

The question at the heart of the project is this: How will we ensure that the river valley, the backbone of our open space network, remains vibrant and ecologically resilient as the city grows?

The city wants your feedback through an interactive portal and a public survey no later than February 17 at https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/initiatives_innovation/ribbon-of-green-public-engagement

Great Backyard Bird Count is Feb 18-21
Each February the world comes together for the love of birds. Over four days, people are invited to spend time in their favorite places watching and counting as many birds as they can find and reporting them

Launched in 1998, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) was the first online citizen-science project, also referred to as community science, to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real time. GBBC uses eBird, one of the world’s largest nature databases.

These observations help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations. Learn more, including how to register and participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count at https://www.birdcount.org/

Research shows cities across country losing green space
Statistics Canada’s first survey of urban green space shows that cities, including Edmonton, are losing their green spaces. The survey used satellite data to compare changes in parks, urban green spaces, yards, and other areas in 2001, 2011, and 2019.

Studies show benefits of vegetation include trees removing air pollutants, reductions in energy use, and human health benefits. Green spaces also reduce what is called urban heat islands, bubbles of high temperature around cities.

Sandeep Agrawal, a geographer and urban planner at the University of Alberta, has found the temperature difference between a city such as Edmonton and the surrounding countryside can be as high as five or six degrees. That differential is linked with the amount of urban green. “If the tree cover goes down, the urban heat island effect goes up quite a bit,” he said.

Heat islands can help cause human health problems such as respiratory failure or heat stroke, a problem worsened in heat waves such as that experienced last summer over much of Western Canada. Read more at https://rdnewsnow.com/2022/02/01/long-term-statistics-canada-research-shows-cities-across-country-losing-green-space/

**Beaver Hills, Papaschase and the dinosaur man**
The Beaver Hills, 20 minutes east of Edmonton, was designated as a biosphere in 2016 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO-designated biospheres are regions in which people live and work in harmony with nature. The Beaver Hills Biosphere encompasses an area of approximately 1600 square kms that includes portions of five counties and Elk Island National Park.

Joseph Tyrrell, famous for discovering dinosaurs near Drumheller, made an 1886 survey through the heart of the Beaver Hills meticulously documenting what he saw. An historically significant legacy of this journey is a map sketched by Chief Papaschase in the back pages of Tyrrell’s field book.

Tyrrell got lost entering the Beaver Hills and doubled back to Papaschase’s camp at Two Hills, now known in Edmonton as Huntington Hill and Mount Pleasant Cemetery, which was adjacent to Two Hills Lake later drained by city planners.

Papaschase drew a map of the trail, the Beaver Hills and marked down 3 places where Tyrrell should camp. The 135-year-old map he drew provided a complete picture of one of the oldest and very few paths that wound through the Beaver Hills in 1886. A 20-minute informative and entertaining video of this history, titled BHB Episode 8-Tyrrell and Papachase, Part 1, is at https://www.beaverhills.ca/explore/videos

Time to turn Edmonton's river valley golf courses into public parks
Liz writes “It is time to turn our river valley's golf courses into public parks. It is outrageous that so much precious park space is reserved for golfers. I was amazed that the previous city council gave a new 50-year lease to the private Mayfair Golf club to use that wonderful space only for their members.

Hawrelak Park, which we need to change back to Mayfair Park, will be closed for three years. I go to this park many times a month. Where will I turn for the three long years that it is closed for renovation?”

Hawrelak Park closure
Ria emails “It is with great dismay that I heard about Hawrelak being closed for three years for improvements to be carried out. Does the entire park have to be closed for the work to happen? Is the work really necessary? I can't imagine the southside without Hawrelak.”

Guest User

February 3, 2022

River Valley News - Feb 3, 2022

Guest User

February 3, 2022

Time to turn Edmonton's river valley golf courses into public parks
The news that Hawrelak Park will be closed for a minimum of three years raises concerns and begs the question of how green space is allocated in a growing and modernizing city, writes Helen Sadowksi in an opinion piece. With the shutdown of Hawrelak Park, families and others in central neighbourhoods will have limited access to nearby green space.

And yet it’s abundantly clear that there is ample green space in our central river valley. It’s a matter of how this public green space is allocated, who gets priority, and what decisions were made by earlier city councils to assign this now precious space. Four golf courses; Victoria (1909), Mayfair (1923), Highlands (1929), and Riverside (1953) occupy 600 acres of our ribbon of green, within minutes of downtown.

Those decisions that gave priority to golfers were made at a different time, when the city was smaller, less populated, and less diverse. Even if those decisions made sense at that time, they no longer do. Can we still make sense of the decision to assign 640 acres of the city’s prime green space to golfers, who have many other options for enjoying their pastimes?

We have to ask ourselves: Who gets to use public spaces? Who is the city being designed for? What decisions need to be revisited? What is the most equitable and efficient way to use public spaces such as our river valley? Read complete article at https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-its-time-to-turn-edmontons-river-valley-golf-courses-into-public-parks

Law's relationship with the North Saskatchewan River
University of Alberta Associate Professor Cameron Jefferies will critique sustainable development as an objective of environmental law and will instead present ecological sustainability and intergenerational stewardship as alternative and preferable perspectives for re-imagining a legal relationship with the North Saskatchewan River.

This presentation is part of the Environmental Law Centre’s series, Reimagining Rivers: Rethinking and Reframing Relationship with the Environment. Legal rights govern how we interact with each other and with the world around us. Various jurisdictions, for example, are now granting legal rights to aspects of the environment such as rivers.

This series, jointly organized by the Centre for Constitutional Studies and the Environmental Law Centre, provides opportunities to learn from expert speakers about jurisdictional hurdles that impact the thriving of our environment as well as innovative approaches to rethinking relationship with it.

The series will culminate in a symposium which will explore different conceptions of the North Saskatchewan River, as a legal person, as an agent, as a relation. Register for Cameron Jefferies’ February 16, 12:00-1:30pm online seminar at https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NnuA3uTjQKyc4TsPhd6ejg

Silver Skate Festival a combination of fire and ice
The Silver Skate Festival, Edmonton’s longest running winter festival, has been creating winter experiences in Hawrelak Park for over 30 years. What began as a small annual skating event rooted in Dutch winter traditions, is back Feb 11-21 and has blossomed into an all-embracing celebration of winter sport, art, music, and recreation.

Recreation events include ball hockey, jam can curling and frisbee golf. Snow sculptures, story telling, skating, live music, and Frisbee Rod’s world record attempt is a brief list of other activities that will bring you joy.

Throughout each weekend, a team of fire artists will be building a sculpture that will be burned at 7:45pm on each of those days. Each day features a different team of artists. The fire represents renewal and the release of thoughts that make us sad or any fear or regret that chases love from our hearts.

In the Storytelling tent the public is invited to write down their thoughts to be offered to the fire sculpture. Festival information at https://silverskate.ca/

Better protection of Edmonton’s river valley needed
Carol writes “I support a Parks Department 100%!”

John suggests “There are two specific ways public access to the river can be improved for minimal cost. The first is in Riverdale where the river bends north. There is at least one lot fenced to the water's edge and several others with no trespassing signs. This forces walkers and cyclists to detour onto a back lane and a public street which is both dangerous and unnecessary. The houses are set back far enough that the city should be able to purchase a sufficiently wide right of way to restore public access to the river's edge.

The second is below the Beverly Heights neighbourhood which requires an even more arduous detour all the way up to the top of the bank. Public access is blocked between the 50th Street and Ainsworth Dyer foot bridges by the presence of a handful of residential properties along 110 Avenue and Hillside Crescent. The City should purchase any properties it doesn't already own, and either remove or re-purpose the existing buildings for public use.

Removing these blockages would allow the entire stretch along the north side of the river between Downtown and Rundle Park to be available for public access and enjoyment.”