Two new conservation lands – New Jubilee and Evelyn’s Acres
Edmonton & Area Land Trust has announced the securement of two adjacent conservation lands tucked into a curve of the North Saskatchewan River in northeast Edmonton. Through conservation easements with EALT, the ecological and agricultural values of these lands are conserved in perpetuity. Both conservation lands are important additions to the network of natural areas throughout the river alley.
New Jubilee boasts 93 acres of intact old-growth forest and fertile farmland. Conserved by Doug Visser to honour his parents and continue their legacy of land stewardship, the land has exceptional ecological, cultural, and community value.
Evelyn's Acres is 140 acres of prime agricultural lands and mixed wood forest and is home to Riverbend Gardens, a small-scale family farm operated by Janelle and Aaron Herbert. Two types of soil and a unique microclimate allow for extended growing seasons that make this land especially suited for growing Riverbend Garden's diverse and bountiful market vegetables. The strip of mixed wood forest offers excellent habitat for local wildlife. Read more at https://www.ealt.ca/blog/new-jubilee-evelyns-acres-announcement
Start gardening with native plants
Some people are attracted to the idea of gardening with native plants, but they do not know where to begin. It seems like a big issue, with lots of unfamiliar plant names and difficult questions about what is truly native. An excellent resource is the native plant database of the Canadian based North American Native Plant Society.
Their web site provides gardening tips and information in an easily accessible manner. The native plant database has photos and information on a wide variety of plant types and lets you sort by habitats, light requirements, soil moistures and the common or botanical name. Use the plant catalogue to see what native plants could fit into your garden plans. You will find native plants for almost every spot in your garden.
NANPS is committed to preserving native plant habitat in wild areas and restoring indigenous flora to developed areas. Its key purpose is to provide information and inspire an appreciation of native plants with an aim to restoring healthy ecosystems across the continent. They believe nature belongs in urban, suburban, and rural areas as much as in remote areas. Learn more at http://nanps.org/native-plant-database/
Hawrelak Park to MacKenzie Ravine trail
MacKenzie Ravine is a west-end neighbourhood treasure, but it can also be reached via a dirt trail from Hawrelak Park. Just two kilometres from Buena Vista footbridge, this route has you follow a beautiful, treed riverside trail that leads to the scenic wooden boardwalk of MacKenzie Ravine.
Park at Hawrelak Park’s Picnic Site 2 which is near the very end of the Hawrelak driving loop. Walk past the picnic area towards the Buena Vista footbridge. Cross the footbridge, where you will reach a three-way crossroads. Going left takes you to Laurier Park. Going straight takes you to the Buena Vista dog park. For this route, you will go right.
After 2 km, you will reach the MacKenzie Ravine wooden walkway. This beautiful boardwalk is a great instagrammable spot and hidden gem in the river valley! Once on the wooden walkway, turn left to continue into MacKenzie Ravine, a deep ravine that comes out at 142 St.
Another option at the boardwalk is to not turn left and make your riverside route longer by keeping on the trail and walking to the next ravine over, MacKinnon Ravine. More info at
https://rivervalley.ab.ca/news/trail-trek-how-to-hawrelak-park-to-mackenzie-ravine/
Clover Bar a site for industry and trade for millennia
Part of northeast Edmonton is the Clover Bar area which lies east of the North Saskatchewan river. First Peoples used this area for over 5,000 years as a quarry and camping site. The stone materials found here, along with animal remains and existence of fire pits, suggest use over the millennia by several groups. The evidence of cord-marked pottery indicates the site was being used by Indigenous peoples well into the late 1700s.
In the early 1830s, you might hear a very distinct sound along these same trails: the rhythmic screeching of the Red River cart. The insufferable noise, produced by the grinding of two large wooden wheels around a wooden axle, announced the coming of a trading caravan long before you would catch sight of it. The group might be transporting goods to trade at Fort Edmonton, just a few miles upstream on the North Saskatchewan River. Pulled by horse or oxen, the large wooden carts were used primarily by the Métis people.
The area is named after a gold prospector named Thomas Clover who arrived at Fort Edmonton in 1860. He tried out several locations along the river and chose a small sand bar on the south bank which became known as Clover's Bar. The return for the effort was not enough to convince Tom to stay and he left after four seasons.
The first settlers arrived in 1881. One early settler, Tom Daly, produced award-winning grain and took first place at the 1901 World's Fair in Paris for his banner oats. In 1970, Clover Bar’s 47 buildings were either moved or razed as a cloverleaf interchange was built at Highway 16 and Highway 216 and the village was no more. Learn more about this history at https://www.strathcona.ca/council-county/history-and-heritage/narratives-and-accounts/listen-echoes-clover-bar/
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