Beaverhill lake water level ebbs and flows according to rainfall
An important bird migratory habitat, Beaverhill lake in 1987 was designated a Ramsar site under the 1971 Ramsar Convention, an international agreement that identifies and protects wetlands of importance to migratory birds. As a prairie pothole lake, its water level has fluctuated depending on drought or rainfall.
William Rowland remembered “In 1885, the buffalo had to go to the springs in the centre of Beaverhill lake for water.” In the fall of 1899, a rainy cycle that lasted until 1903 replaced the dry years and the lake is reported to have risen 18 feet.
The level remained much the same until 1950-51, when the lake came close to drying up completely. It completely dried up in 2006, the primary cause being a ten-year cycle of drought beginning in 1995.
The birds of Beaverhill lake have been under the eyes of ornithologists since 1920, when Professors William Rowan and Robert Lister of the University of Alberta Zoology department began their 37-year study. The lake and surrounding wetland have been a Ducks Unlimited Canada project since 1969. https://archive.org/details/livinginshedalbe00milh/
The problem with commercial wildflower seed mixes
The Alberta Native Plant Council has been very vocal in warning against the dangers of commercial wildflower seed mixes. The seeds in commercially produced packets are usually of cultivated plants or are invariably not native to the place of purchase of the packet. They are designed to contain mainly annuals which will germinate and grow easily to produce a colourful show that appeals to consumers.
Sometimes plants that have been legally categorized as weeds can be included in these seed mixes, which, because they grow and fruit easily, can become invasive. Examples are baby's-breath (Gypsophila paniculata) and Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule).
In contrast, the Edmonton Native Plant Society sells seed, one species per packet, and seedlings which are native to our local area. As perennials, once established they should live out their natural lifespans and provide a reliable resource of pollen and nectar for local pollinators.
Creating a true native wildflower garden is a difficult task. Bottom line, sowing a commercial wildflower seed mix is not a shortcut to having an authentic wildflower garden and does not provide a long-term benefit to the local ecology. https://www.enps.ca/
The Hudson’s Bay company plan for a model community
When the pre-WW1 real estate boom went bust, the Hudson’s Bay Company was left with 600 acres of unsold land north of downtown. For years, the area comprising the modern-day Queen Mary Park, Central McDougall, and Prince Rupert neighbourhoods sat as a mostly undeveloped expanse of shrub and marsh.
That began to change in 1920, when an acute housing shortage in Edmonton led Hudson’s Bay to offer to supply new homes to veterans and to help kickstart development on its empty tracts. The Company envisioned a model community. They would sell pre-built homes constructed to high-standards and a set of uniform plans.
The City proved enthusiastic and formally ordered the extension of utilities into the reserve on August 10, 1920. Construction on the Bay’s first eight homes began shortly thereafter. Each was located on roomy fifty-foot lots immediately south of Portage (Kingsway) Avenue between 107th and 108th Streets.
The Beaver, the Bay’s employee magazine, stated “They will be moderate in size and fully modern. They will not be elaborate or pretentious in respect of non-essential details, but will be built along practical lines, of good, sound material. Particular attention is being given to a satisfactory heating system.” More followed over the coming years, raising the total number of homes in the small colony to eighteen.
Unfortunately for the Bay, their plans to transform their land reserve fizzled away as an economic slump set in and the Great Depression later took hold. It would not be until the late-1940s when Queen Mary Park and Central McDougall finally filled with housing. https://www.forgottenedmonton.com/blog/the-hudsons-bay-co-houses
Black flies found worldwide except in Antarctica
Black flies are small, dark-coloured insects. Of the world’s more than 2,300 species, at least 164 are found in Canada. They can be found virtually anywhere there is flowing water to serve as habitat for larvae. In Canada, they are especially abundant in northern wooded areas and near large rivers and lake outlets.
Because female black flies need to feed on blood to lay eggs, their biting can be a nuisance to humans and other animals Males do not bite and are rarely seen. Both sexes consume nectar to give them energy to fly, while females use nutrients from blood to produce eggs. Unlike mosquitoes, adult black flies are mainly active during the day.
North American Indigenous peoples deterred black flies using naturally occurring insect repellents found in bracket fungi and in plants such as fireweed and sweetgrass.
A Canadian folk song by Wade Hemsworth, The Black Fly Song, recounts the torment caused by these insects while surveying for a hydroelectric dam in Northern Ontario. The song was adapted as a National Film Board animated film. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/black-fly
City naturalization survey needs your participation
Shelagh writes “I tried taking the survey but it finished after I answered No to the first question. I let the city tech support know.”
Continuum by Cezary and Danielle Gajewski, Century Park LRT station
https://www.edmontonarts.ca/public-art/continuum
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
