River Valley News - May 16/24

YEG’s highest value public tree a laurel leaf willow valued at $109,000

Edmonton’s highest-valued public tree is a laurel leaf willow on Mackenzie Drive NW near 95 Avenue NW, whose value in 2020 was $109,552.38. An American elm in Rossdale, near 102 Street and 97 Avenue NW, is estimated to be 100 years old, the same age as the neighbourhood, and is valued at $81,127.69.

The city maintains an inventory of trees growing on or along city-owned boulevards, roadways and parks which account for 380,000 of Edmonton's estimated 12.8 million trees. City crews update this inventory over the course of two years, canvassing one half of the city's canopy one year, as they will do in the east this year, and the other half the next, recording the health and growth of each of the 380,000 trees.

“We look at trees as our green infrastructure, the same way as you would look at a light pole, a sidewalk, or a road," explained Jacqueline Butler, the city's project forestry leader. Butler said Edmonton does this to help encourage citizens or nearby workers to think about its value. "It gives people an idea for value other than the eco benefits that everybody knows about."

The formula is also used to calculate what a person or company that damages a tree could be on the hook for. "When we get trees this big, they're not replaceable in our lifetime, so it's very important to have programs available like the public tree bylaw and protection requirements around our mature canopy.”

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/edmonton-tree-inventory-shows-almost-2-7b-in-green-infrastructure-1.6882211?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

Boating in the fur trade hard on paddlers

The first European fur traders adopted an eastern Algonkian-style of birch bark canoe. Every year, hundreds of people in Alberta gathered supplies and moulded lightweight express canoes at major fur trade boat building centres like Fort Edmonton, and Rocky Mountain House. While canoes and physical traces of boat building at these forts have long since decayed, other lines of evidence of early boating are preserved.

Trading posts needed access to good birch and it is no coincidence that the locations of forts were near birch trees. Henday camped by the Birch Hills near Edmonton in 1755 when he and his party built 35 canoes to send furs to Hudson Bay. The Hudson’s Bay Company designed the York boat to increase cargo weight and decrease the number of required men. The first one in Alberta was built at Edmonton House by 1795.

Voyageur skeletons from Fort Edmonton and Rocky Mountain House also tell the story of early boating. Being on the water all day was wearying but it was the burden of packing gear over portages that broke men and deformed their bones.

Archaeologists at the University of Alberta have shown that men bore severe spinal abnormalities due to heavy loads while arm and foot joints had osteoarthritis and huge muscle attachments from endless hours of paddling, kneeling, and packing. Even skulls were altered by the use of tumplines around the forehead. https://albertashistoricplaces.com/2015/08/19/birch-bark-buccaneers-and-prairie-paddlers-an-illustrated-look-at-albertas-early-boating-part-2/

Rusty-patched bumble bee a conservation success story

Edmonton Valley Zoo is hosting Wildlife Rescue: Second Chance at Survival, a travelling exhibit of 12 detailed sculptures showcasing species of animals that have been pushed to the brink of extinction but have been successfully reintroduced to their natural ranges with the help of humans. The exhibition focuses on translating scientific knowledge into exciting works of art.

The exhibit features 12 climbable animal sculptures along with tales of conservation and reintroduction to the wild. Species highlighted include Atlantic sturgeon, bald eagle, black-footed ferret, burrowing owl, cane toad, crested gecko, flame knee tarantula, leatherback sea turtle, northern leopard frog, Orinoco crocodile, rusty-patched bumble bee, and the snow leopard.

The rusty-patched bumble bee was previously a common species in its historical Canadian range in southern Ontario and Quebec, and less common in western New Brunswick. It experienced rapid declines in the 1980s and 1990s and, as a result, was listed as endangered in Canada.

The species remains rare, or possibly extirpated, in Canada as no individuals have been found since 2009 despite extensive search effort and public interest. It is still found in parts of its range, primarily Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. https://exhibits.littlerays.org/wildlife-rescue/

International Trails day celebration on June 1

International Trails Day, celebrated each year on the first Saturday in June, is an annual celebration of trails, trail development and the healthy lifestyle they encourage. Started by the American Hiking Society in 1992, it has spread to encompass all forms of recreational trail usage in more than a dozen countries worldwide. The day promotes public awareness of and appreciation for trails and the people who build and maintain them.

River Valley Alliance in collaboration with Trans Canada Trail will host the local celebration on Saturday, June 1, 9:30am – 1:30pm at the Alfred Savage Centre, 13909 Fox Dr NW, in Edmonton. Activities include information booths and displays by local organizations that play pivotal roles in enhancing our river valley.

A guided trail walk starts at 10am but will be limited to the first 40 participants. Arrive early to secure your spot. Experience Whitemud Creek trails firsthand and learn about ongoing projects and future plans. A free hot dog BBQ, available from 11:30am to 1:30pm, will be a wonderful place to meet fellow trail enthusiasts and enjoy some delicious food in our beautiful river valley.

The Trans Canada Trail is the longest trail network in the world and connects Canadians and visitors to nature and to one another, from coast to coast to coast, through accessible and inclusive outdoor activities. Through collaboration and partnerships, it builds, maintains and stewards Canada’s unique system of connected urban and rural trails. https://tctrail.ca/

Edmonton and Strathcona 1912 merger created street names uproar

Patrick writes “I love Edmonton’s numbering system. Numbered avenues run east-west; streets run north-south. House numbers on the west side of a street are even; addresses on east side are uneven numbers. House numbers on the north side of avenues are even; on the south side of the avenue, house numbers are uneven.

Decades ago, I lived in Parkview, near 142 street and 92nd avenue. If someone from another part of the city gave me his-her address, I had a pretty good idea of the distance from my house to his/her house. And I’d know how to get there. Yes, numbers may be a tad boring, but numbers on streets, avenues, and houses are very informative.”

Prairie Town by Peter von Tiesenhausen, Edmonton City Hall

https://www.edmontonarts.ca/public-art/prairie-town

Comment or Contributions

Please note articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley.

Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com

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River Valley News - May 9/24

Edmonton and Strathcona 1912 merger created street names uproar

The merger of Edmonton and Strathcona in 1912 created a huge amount of confusion. Dozens of street names were duplicated on either side of the river. The new city was also in a development boom and developers created street names to market their neighbourhoods, to advertise prominent businesses, even to honour members of their families.

Mayor William Short and city council decided to act unilaterally and without public consultation, introduced the numbered street system that we use today. In 1913, the City started tearing down its named street signs and installing standardized number signs instead. The backlash was instantaneous and later in 1913 Mayor Short was voted out of office, the first time an incumbent mayor had lost an election in Edmonton’s history.

Public discontent led to an April 6, 1914, plebiscite which asked, “Which do you favor: The all-numerical scheme of 1913 whereby large numbers are in the centre of the city, or The scheme of Edmonscona, partly numerical and partly names, and giving small numbers in the two centres of the city, one on each side of the river.” In the end Mayor Short’s 1913 plan won by six hundred votes.

Despite the plebiscite’s results, criticism of the 1913 Plan persisted. “People can’t remember these big numbers,” said Alderman Joseph Henri Picard in 1915. “I know I cannot, for I can’t even tell where the streetcars are going. We don’t want to be given numbers like convicts who have no reason to be known by their names.” https://citymuseumedmonton.ca/2016/03/15/the-edmonscona-plan/

Health benefits of nature

Nature protects drinking water, filtering pollutants, purifying the air, and moderating our climate. Tree loss in communities correlates with increased mortality from cardiovascular and lower respiratory diseases. Elderly people are more likely to get the recommended 2.5 hours of weekly walking when they have access to green space.

Interactions with nature can lower blood pressure, reduce depression and feelings of fear, anger or aggression. Spending time in green spaces allows people to think more clearly. Children exposed to nature at a younger age develop better immune systems and have reduced rates of asthma. For every 350 trees per square km, asthma rates can drop by as much as 25% in young children.

When we lose nature, and the plant and animal diversity it houses, we lose opportunities to discover new medicines. Some of the medical treatments discovered in nature include Aspirin from willows, and Taxol, used in chemotherapy for a range of cancers, from the Pacific Yew tree. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/569ec99b841abaccb7c7e74c/t/5e6bca8e810aeb772521f2bd/1584122514485/Health+Benefits+-+Updated+2020.pdf

Alberta Indigenous boats

First Nations’ boats on the plains were often made of buffalo hides stretched over willow or pine frames. This bull boat was a small, circular craft quickly built from tipi hides and recycled shortly after. It enabled safe river crossings but wasn’t designed for long trips. Like tipis, bull boats were traditionally the property of women who built and paddled them.

In the boreal forest, rivers are often the only relief from dense trees or muskeg and here a niche was carved for dugout canoes. Dugouts were formed by chipping soaked or partially burned logs with stone axes. The final gouging was done with a clever tool borrowed from nature’s furry carpenters: beaver teeth.

Early boat builders used chisels made of beaver incisors tied to wooden handles. With use, beaver tooth dentine is worn away, which exposes new sharp enamel ridges. The result is a self-sharpening chisel that was used by Cree and Dene across the boreal forest.

The birch bark canoe was made of sheets moulded into place then sewn together with tree roots. Holes were glued shut with sap or, in Northeast Alberta, bitumen. Great skill was needed to harvest the right bark, steam the sheets, and bend the frames. The birch bark canoe turned endless tendrils of water into interconnected arteries of movement.

It expanded social networks, was a conduit for information, and opened new worlds to exploitation. People used canoes to hunt big game at water crossings and to set fish nets. Torches mounted on the ends of canoes at night attracted fish for spearing. And when game failed, people could move long distances to find relief. https://albertashistoricplaces.com/2015/08/12/birch-bark-buccaneers-and-prairie-paddlers-an-illustrated-look-at-albertas-early-boating-part-1/

Riparian areas critical to many species

Mike writes “I want to add a comment that relates to two of the items in the newsletter. The area of the proposed YEG national urban park includes some of the last intact riparian wetland areas left in Edmonton. The oxbows and semi-permanent wetlands around Big Island, and in the "Bigger Island/Snake Valley" region of the proposed park provide natural habitat for amphibians, dragonflies, and several species of songbird that have largely been driven out of the more developed parks, golf courses, neighborhoods, and former landfills that sit alongside the river through the rest of the city. Conservation of these wetlands should be a priority for all levels of government.”

South LRT monuments by Aaron Paquette, Jason Carter, Chloe Mustooch. Art panels along the South LRT line https://www.edmontonarts.ca/public-art/south-lrt-monuments

Comment or Contributions

Please note articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley.

Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com

Forward this link to anyone you think may want to sign up for this newsletter https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/newsletter-signup

River Valley News - May 2/24

Province to set conditions for YEG national urban park

David Bajer photo

Bill 204, which recently passed in the legislature, grants the Alberta government more power over decisions around national urban parks. The bill states that the province can prescribe conditions under which a municipal council may negotiate a proposed national urban park plan and councils would be required to follow those conditions. 

In 2021, the federal government launched the National Urban Parks program to create parks in urban centres. The City of Edmonton and Parks Canada entered into a formal agreement to explore the possibility of creating a national urban park in the river valley in 2022. 

In a written statement to CBC, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the city will "never cede control of our cherished river valley to any other level of government, be it federal or provincial. This bill is another example of the province creating more red tape and getting in the way of the City of Edmonton working collaboratively with other levels of government and community stakeholders."

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society asked why the province would introduce roadblocks to the park creation process. "Albertans have made it abundantly clear that they love parks and want to see more, not fewer, parks," said Kecia Kerr, CPAWS northern Alberta's executive director.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/new-bill-allows-alberta-government-to-set-conditions-for-national-urban-park-decisions-1.7177597

Carbyn Creek Wildlands open for visitors

Edmonton and Area Land Trust has announced the opening of the Carbyn Creek Wildlands conservation site. It is in Westlock County, south of Cross Lake Provincial Park, a 1.5-hour drive from Edmonton. The wildlands are a protected breeding, nesting, and staging area for migratory and resident birds, and for research, education and nature appreciation.

A variety of bird species have been recorded during breeding bird surveys including Pileated Woodpecker, Broad-winged Hawk, and many songbirds such as the Black-and-White Warbler, Boreal Chickadee, and Blue-headed Vireo. This land also provides habitat for other species including moose, bear, and amphibians like the western toad.

The trails at Carbyn Creek Wildlands lead visitors through mature mixed woods forest and spruce bogs, with a view of the creek that winds its way through the boreal forest landscape. Lu Carbyn, a renowned biologist, donated the land in the hope it will provide incentive to protect surrounding lands in the area. A guided tour led by Lu, will take place on May 10 from 10am to 2pm. Register at https://www.ealt.ca/event-listing/carbyn-creek-walk

Is your neighbourhood vulnerable to climate change

Mack Male photo

University of Alberta researchers have used public data to create a set of maps that illustrate the Edmonton neighbourhoods where residents are most vulnerable to negative health outcomes caused by climate change.

The team found that much of the city’s south and west have more exposure to pollution and extreme weather, less natural protection, and more people who hail from vulnerable demographics. City areas and residents least vulnerable to climate change are around the university, downtown, Oliver (soon to be wîhkwêntôwin), Bonnie Doon, North Glenora, Spruce Avenue, Beverly, and Mill Woods Town Centre.

“These maps aren’t meant to stigmatize any particular areas, just because you might live in an area with higher vulnerability, we’re not saying you need to move,” said Sammy Lowe, research lead of UofA’s Climate, Health, and Environment Epidemiology Research lab. “Edmonton, in general, is doing well in the grand scheme of things in terms of climate health vulnerability. So even though some of these areas are a bit worse, they’re not necessarily doing terribly.”

When determining how vulnerable a neighbourhood is, the lab takes three domains into account: its risk of experiencing pollutants and extreme weather (exposure), its features that can mitigate those consequences of climate change (adaptability), and socioeconomic and demographic traits that can make its residents more susceptible (sensitivity). Those three factors combine to indicate a neighbourhood’s vulnerability.

https://edmonton.taproot.news/news/2024/04/24/is-your-neighbourhood-vulnerable-to-climate-change-new-research-provides-answers

Riparian areas critical to many species

Riparian areas are transition zones between terrestrial upland and aquatic ecosystems. They occur along waterbodies such as streams, lakes, rivers and wetlands, and are one of the most productive ecosystem types, supporting diverse flora and fauna including fish, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, and plant communities.

These lands provide critical sheltering, rearing, feeding, and reproduction habitats for many species, some of which are not found anywhere else on the landscape. Its vegetation includes moisture loving sedges, rushes, shrubs, grasses and forbs, which slow the flow of water and allows water to seep into the soil, replenishing ground water reserves in the spring. In drier periods, ground water seeps back into streams to maintain stream flow.

Riparian vegetation acts as a filter for any sediments and chemical pollutants in run off. This is important, as excess nutrients going into waterbodies can result in algae blooms, depleting dissolved oxygen in water, and leading to high fish mortality.

Healthy, well functioning riparian lands are more resilient to environmental stresses and natural or human disturbances. They do not have many weeds since weeds colonize areas where disturbance has created bare soil. The presence of woody plants, like willows, in varied age classes is a sign of ecological stability. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/569ec99b841abaccb7c7e74c/t/5e6bcdbbb33b15147b2a83b1/1584123329394/Riparian+Areas+-+Updated+2020.pdf

What is this

Mark writes “The brick structure on the single-track trail below Keillor Road is likely an old coal mine entrance, similar to some along the river between Dawson Park and Rat creek.”

Tsa Tsa Ke K’e – Iron Foot Place by Alex Janvier, Rogers Place Arena - Ford Hall

https://www.edmontonarts.ca/public-art/tsa-tsa-ke-ke-iron-foot-place

Comment or Contributions

Please note articles may not reflect the position of NSRVCS. River Valley News is meant to be a clearinghouse for the variety of opinions and ideas about Edmonton’s River Valley.

Email river valley photos, event information, comments, or questions to nsrivervalley@gmail.com

Forward this link to anyone you think may want to sign up for this newsletter https://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/newsletter-signup