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June 2, 2022

River Valley News - June 2, 2022

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June 2, 2022

Councillors agree city needs a river valley trail strategy
City Councillors approved a motion this week asking city administration to develop a recreational trail strategy for the 2023-2026 budget deliberations which will take place in the fall. The strategy will identify a sustainable network of improved and natural tread trails and specify ongoing operations and maintenance requirements for a comprehensive trail system that meets the needs of recreational users in balance with the ecological sensitivity of the River Valley.

The motion also asked for an amended agreement with the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance to allow authorized maintenance of the City’s existing natural surface trails, within preservation areas, until the River Valley Trail strategy is approved and funded, and until on the ground assessments are completed by way of the River Valley Parks Master Plan.

Prior to the meeting of Council’s Urban Planning Committee, the Edmonton Journal published two opinion pieces reflecting the spectrum of concerns.

Protect Edmonton's river valley from death by a thousand ruts by Geoffrey Pounder
https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-protect-edmontons-river-valley-from-death-by-a-thousand-ruts

Why mountain biking should be allowed in Edmonton's river valley by Joe Yurkovich
https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-why-mountain-biking-should-be-allowed-in-edmontons-river-valley

Sweet Grass an attractive native plant
Sweetgrass is a very attractive grass, not too tall, with wide, glossy leaves that are a vibrant light green in spring. It flowers early and the seed heads are heavy with plump seeds by June. This grass is very hard to grow from seed, and it rarely self-seeds. It is best to start with a small plant, not seeds, if you want to add this grass to your garden.

If you find some Sweetgrass in the wild and want to identify it, try the scratch and sniff test. Take a piece of a leaf and scratch it with your fingernail. Have a sniff, it should have an unmistakable sweet vanilla-like smell. This is due to the presence of coumarin, a fragrant organic chemical compound.

Sweetgrass is rhizomatous and spreads like wildfire in all directions. This would not be a good situation if you have a small yard. It could take over your whole garden. If you have a small space but would love some Sweetgrass, find a large pot, cut the bottom out and bury it. Then fill it with soil and plant your Sweetgrass. It will be contained and will not be able to escape. Learn more about native grasses from the Edmonton Native Plant Society http://eng.snappages.com/native-grasses-etc.htm

Making Space for new perspectives on zoning
The City of Edmonton launched its first-ever podcast, Making Space, as part of the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative. This five-episode series, released every Tuesday until June 28, tells the stories of people and communities whose lives have been impacted by how we plan our cities and the hard-won lessons of how we can make Edmonton more equitable for everyone.

“We wanted to tell stories of how zoning and planning impacts our communities,” said Livia Balone, Director of the Zoning Bylaw Renewal Initiative. “Exploring zoning’s dual legacy of discrimination and promoting the public good is key to ensuring we move forward as a city and make space for everyone who calls Edmonton home.”

Because zoning, the rules for how land can be used and what can be built where affects everyone, the Zoning Bylaw Renewal initiative will affect all land in Edmonton, including our River Valley and Ravine System.

Listeners will learn how and why the City regulates land development by exploring the ways different areas around Edmonton embody the complexities of zoning. The first episode, titled The Million Dollar Parking Lot, was released this week, and can be found at https://transforming.edmonton.ca/making-space-podcast/

Edmonton BiodiverCity Challenge June 9-12
The purpose of this event is to see how many wild species can be found in the Edmonton area over the four-day period. It is a wonderful way to get people out appreciating nature, and to generate important observations of the wild species that share the Edmonton area with us. The bioblitz covers all living things, from birds, bugs, and plants, to fungi and algae. Domestic plants and animals are excluded.

This bioblitz is based on the iNaturalist app https://inaturalist.ca/ All iNaturalist submissions made in the metro Edmonton area over those dates will automatically be tabulated. You can see a map of the defined metro Edmonton area at https://inaturalist.ca/projects/metro-edmonton-biodivercity-challenge-2022

Additionally, the Edmonton Nature Club is coordinating a submission of eBird records to the bioblitz. Your contributions will be used to help understand more about the species that call our city home. Information at https://biodivercity.ca/

Trembling Aspen grove at Terwillegar Park – photo by Jason Teare

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.

If you have a comment, concern, or question, contact us at nsrivervalley@gmail.com Please 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

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May 27, 2022

River Valley News - May 26, 2022

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May 27, 2022

Edmonton National Urban Park update
There are 48 national parks in Canada. Only one, Rouge National Urban Park, is in an urban setting, even though 80 per cent of Canadians identify as urban dwellers. Rouge is in the country's largest metropolitan area, overlapping the Ontario cities of Toronto, Markham, and Pickering.

By 2030, Canada could have 16 more national urban parks. The hope is to have at least one in every province and territory by 2030, according to Miriam Padolsky, director of urban park and ecological corridors at Parks Canada.

In Edmonton, conversations have begun with environmental groups, municipal leaders, and Indigenous nations. Chief Tony Alexis, of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, says "Having an urban park in Treaty 6 territory is a step in the right direction towards reconciliation."

Alexis says Parks Canada has provided assurances that the collaboration will continue once the park opens, "to showcase Indigenous stewardship and provide opportunities for connections to the land, based on Indigenous knowledge and values." Learn more at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/parks-canada-miriam-padolsky-tony-alexis-rouge-larry-noonan-national-urban-park-1.6445937

It is time to include fungi in global conservation goals
It’s no secret that Earth’s biodiversity is at risk. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 26% of mammals, 14% of birds and 41% of amphibians are currently threatened worldwide, mainly due to human impacts such as climate change and development.

And then there are fungi, microbes that often go unnoticed, with an estimated 2-4 million species. Fewer than 150,000 fungi have received formal scientific descriptions and classifications.

If you enjoy bread, wine, soy sauce, and taken penicillin or immunosuppressant drugs, thank fungi, which make all these products possible. Except for baker’s yeast and button mushrooms, most fungi remain overlooked and thrive hidden in the dark and damp. But they are valuable organisms worth protecting.

Mycologists have devoted their careers to understanding the critical roles fungi play. These relationships can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral for the fungus’s partner organism. But it is not an overstatement to say that without fungi breaking down dead matter and recycling its nutrients, life on Earth would be unrecognizable. More at
https://theconversation.com/beyond-flora-and-fauna-why-its-time-to-include-fungi-in-global-conservation-goals-181226

Celebrate Queen’s Jubilee with Commonwealth Walkway stroll
The heart of Edmonton’s trails, from Government House Park to the Funicular, is triple blessed. It is part of three important systems: the TransCanada Trail, the River Valley trail from Devon to Fort Saskatchewan, and the Edmonton Commonwealth Walkway.

The Commonwealth Walkway is a 1,000 km walkable path, linking 100 cities, marking 2,000 points of significance, and providing an opportunity for a third of the world’s population to be more active. Each point of interest has a gunmetal-bronze medallion bearing Queen Elizabeth’s monogram and crown.

The Queen's coronation took place 70 years ago, on June 2, 1953. The Platinum Jubilee celebrations will begin June 2 and continue until June 5, a perfect time for monarchists to stroll Edmonton’s Commonwealth Walkway.

There are thirty points of interest along the route from Government House to the Funicular, with side trips in between. An interactive app provides 100 stories on five themes: River, History, Indigenous, Family, and Winter as you follow the route. Download the interactive app at https://www.edmontoncommonwealthwalkway.com/

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May 19, 2022

River Valley News - May 19, 2022

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May 19, 2022

Lamoureux Trail historical interpretive walk

Join River Valley Alliance and Fort Heritage Precinct at 1pm on Saturday May 28 for a free historical interpretive walk of the Lamoureux Trail, which is across the river from Fort Saskatchewan.

The walk will begin at the trailhead and be at a leisurely pace, with stops along the way for historical interpretation. The route is mostly flat, approximately 4 km, and takes around 1.5-2 hours to complete.

All abilities are welcome. Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Dogs are welcome on this walk but must remain on-leash. There is no fee for the walk, but online registration is encouraged. Information and registration at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/trekthetrails-river-valley-alliance-fort-heritage-precinct-trail-walk-tickets-330142624477

Front Yards in Bloom to highlight Edible Yards

Front Yards in Bloom is back and will include a celebration of 2022 being proclaimed Canada’s Year of the Garden. The proclamation celebrates Canada’s rich horticulture and garden heritage, today’s vibrant garden culture and creates legacies for a sustainable future. Year of the Garden 2022 invites us to plant something red to express our Canadian garden pride.

In honour of Canada’s Year of the Garden initiative, Front Yards in Bloom will highlight the Edible Yard category, which includes everything from vegetables and grains to fruiting trees, berry bushes, perennials, flowers and even mushrooms.

Everyone can participate by nominating a yard or space that you admire. Nominees will receive a yard sign and be recognized in one of six categories: General, Natural, Edible, Public Spaces, Tiny Yards, and Balconies in Bloom. Nominations accepted from May 20 to July 5. For more information or to nominate a front yard, public space or balcony, visit frontyardsinbloom.ca

Edmonton River Valley at the Art Gallery of Alberta

Traditional Métis river lots were determined by the river and are a way to share land so that everyone got access to water. A family’s land would extend out from the river in long narrow lots that all had river access.

In the late 1800s, the north and south banks of what we now know as the Edmonton River Valley were divided into 44 river lots. Those river lots dictate much of the layout of contemporary Edmonton, and Métis landowners like Garneau, Fraser and Groat are now memorialized in namesake communities. 

Tiffany Shaw has mapped the section of the North Saskatchewan River that flows through the city limits of amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) while thinking about the Métis scrip process. The undulating river is seen from above and references topical mapping and river lots but relies solely on the river itself as land marker.

Shaw's Edmonton River Valley is free of markers of Metis, colonial, and contemporary land division. The rhythm of the river itself is trusted to hold these past and present stories. The exhibit runs until November 13, 2023. More at https://www.youraga.ca/exhibitions/tiffany-shaw-edmonton-river-valley

Common Snowberry a natural antiperspirant

Snowberry is a durable and hardy small shrub which produces small pink flowers and showy white berries in fall and into winter. It is found in dry to moist open forests, clearings, and rocky slopes. This shrub is incredibly adaptable to poor conditions and performs well in shade.

Indigenous people used its berries as a shampoo to clean hair. Crushed berries were rubbed on the skin to treat burns, warts, rashes, and sores; and rubbed in armpits as an antiperspirant. Various parts were infused and used as an eyewash for sore eyes. A tea made from the roots was used for stomach disorders; a tea made from the twigs was used for fevers.

Snowberry berries are an important food for grouse, grosbeaks, robins, and thrushes. The shrub provides good cover and nesting sites for gamebirds, rabbits, and other small animals. Pocket gophers burrow underneath it. The pink flowers attract hummingbirds but are mostly pollinated by bees. Learn more at http://nativeplantspnw.com/common-snowberry-symphoricarpos-albus/

Water spaces at Rundle Park

Sandra writes “Thought I would reach out to you regarding the filling of the ponds in Rundle Park. With one major park closing in Edmonton for two years, I would think the surrounding parks should receive extra attention for the population that needs more green space now. Rundle is a little-known gem. Green space is so important for kids who have had so much home time!”

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