Virtual night out on the North Saskatchewan
Dark Night Skies is the theme of the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition’s annual online fundraising event on Wednesday, November 8 from 7 to 9pm. Tickets are free, with donations welcome. Speakers will talk about saw-whet owls, urban light pollution and its ecological impacts, and astronomy and star stories from an Indigenous perspective.
Learn from the chair of the Beaverhill Bird Observatory, Geoff Holroyd, about light pollution and other impacts on the saw-whet owl, once thought to be rare in the Edmonton River Valley. Elder Francis Alexis will talk about astronomy and star stories from an Indigenous perspective.
Robert Dick, a former astronomy professor who manages the light pollution abatement program for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, will share his experience of helping to initiate Dark-Sky Preserves There will be time for questions and a panel discussion, and an ecologically themed live auction. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/night-out-on-the-north-saskatchewan-tickets-737406561877?aff=oddtdtcreator
Our thoughts on Edmonton’s new zoning bylaw
The North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society participated in the Public Hearing on the new zoning bylaw by sending City Council a letter. We reminded them that from the outset of our involvement, we had asked that the Zoning Bylaw Renewal be synchronized with improved environmental protection measures, namely, the River Valley Modernization Project to update the North Saskatchewan River Valley Area Redevelopment Plan Bylaw.
That important project has fallen behind the new Zoning Bylaw, which is designed to facilitate development rather than provide updated and comprehensive environmental protection measures for the River Valley and Ravine System. The City Administration and Council appeared determined to fully adopt the new Zoning Bylaw before year end with the result that the Modernization Project will fall even further behind.
We requested that if the new zoning bylaw is adopted, that Council direct a moratorium on all development applications for discretionary uses within the new A-River Valley Zone pending the adoption of an updated Area Redevelopment Plan bylaw for the River Valley and Ravine System. We also asked that Council direct the Administration to accelerate the completion of the Modernization Project at which time the moratorium would be lifted.
City Council, by a 11 to 2 vote, adopted the new zoning bylaw. It did not agree to either of our two requests. Read our letter and attachments https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/projects
Pileated Woodpecker the official bird of Strathcona County
On April 20, 2022, Strathcona County became the 12th municipality in the country to earn Nature Canada’s Bird Friendly City designation. The certification is a badge of honour that celebrates the contributions municipalities make to save bird lives.
To celebrate being recognized as a Bird Friendly Community, the County asked residents for suggestions for a community bird. Community members weighed in throughout the past spring and summer, and in October the Pileated Woodpecker was announced as official bird of Strathcona County!
Birds play an essential role in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems in our communities and on our planet. But there are three billion fewer wild birds in North America today than 50 years ago. This is a 25 per cent drop. Strathcona County wants to help reverse this alarming trend. Learn more at https://www.strathcona.ca/agriculture-environment/wildlife/bird-friendly-community/
Mayor Sohi’s favourite park is ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW) River Lot 11∞ Indigenous Art Park
One of Canada’s first outdoor curated Indigenous art parks stands amidst the forest on the south side of the river valley, overlooking the Walterdale Bridge and downtown Edmonton. The name ᐄᓃᐤ (ÎNÎW), pronounced (EE-NU), is a Cree word meaning “I am of the Earth.”
The importance of giving a name in the language native to the area is to acknowledge its historical significance and proclaim the ancestral lands of the Indigenous Peoples. A Treaty signed between the Indigenous and the British Crown resulted in the territory being opened for settlement.
The River Lot 11 in the park name helps tell the story of the historic river lot that was in this very location. Lot 11 stretched from the North Saskatchewan River to University Avenue, and from 104 to 107 Street. It was home to Métis settlers Joseph McDonald and Margaret Fraser.
They began homesteading there in 1878, after the family made a personal agreement with the Papaschase Cree for the use of the land. As some of the first settlers on the south side of the river, the couple farmed the land while raising their family. Joseph also worked trading furs and hauling cargo for the Hudson’s Bay Company.
https://transforming.edmonton.ca/pick-a-park-with-city-council/
Autonomous recording units used to monitor noisy species
Ivan writes “When I think of noisy species, I think of Harley Davidson motorcycles at 2:00am, jet boats on the river, and lawn care companies with their 85 decibel, dust and exhaust machines on Saturday mornings. Bring on the noisy birds, music to my ears!
John Janzen by Genevieve Simms, John Janzen Nature Centre
https://www.edmontonarts.ca/public-art/john-janzen-nature-centre
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