North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society News

You are invited to help create the policy direction of Edmonton’s new City Plan
The City Plan https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_vision_and_strategic_plan/city-plan.aspx?utm_source=virtualaddress&utm_campaign=cityplan charts out how we will grow to a future city of two million people, a city that has the benefits we enjoy today with new opportunities for the future.

At the workshop, attendees will work together to create draft policy to support the City Plan’s five Big City Moves https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_vision_and_strategic_plan/big-city-moves.aspx

You can attend workshops on either April 2 or April 9 by registering through the Eventbrite invitations below:
April 2, 2019: Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre, 6-9pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-city-plan-big-city-moves-workshop-april-2-2019-tickets-58443469992
April 9, 2019: Claireview Community Recreation Centre, 9am-12pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-city-plan-big-city-moves-workshop-april-9-2019-tickets-58444071792

River Valley Formation – first deeper, than wider
The North Saskatchewan River began to carve a valley into the underlying sediments and rocks around 12,000 years ago, after the glaciers melted and Glacier Lake Edmonton drained away. Sometimes the river stopped cutting downward and deposited sand and gravel. Some of the original beds and bars are preserved as terraces along the side of the valley.

Each terrace is a stack of sediment layers, like a book on its side, with the start of the story (oldest part) at the bottom of the terrace. When we ‘read’ a low terrace, we see clay layers that are records of floods that occurred thousands of years ago and a white band of volcanic ash from Mount Mazama in Oregon. This volcano exploded about 8,000 years ago leaving a deep crater now occupied by Crater Lake, and spewed ash into the air that was blown north-eastwards into Alberta.

The terrace below the south end of the LRT bridge contains a thin, white layer of volcanic ash that records the spectacular volcanic eruption. Learn more and download a free PDF at https://ags.aer.ca/document/INF/INF_126.pdf

River Valley stories requested to highlight its uniqueness and diversity
Edmonton’s river valley is ingrained in our city’s identity, and we want to engage local stakeholders to share stories that highlight its uniqueness and diversity in such areas as geology, flora, fauna, fish, geology, history, Indigenous, water, etc. These stories may be used in a multimedia interpretive walk.

Do you have suggestions for stories? Please send your story suggestion with either a content link or contact info for someone who can provide knowledge on your suggestion to nsrivervalley@gmail.com

Provincial Flower a prickly presence in river valley
The Prickly Rose became the flower emblem of Alberta in 1930 after it was voted on by the province’s school children. It is a bushy shrub with dark green foliage, growing up to 2.5 metres tall, and found in open woods, thickets and river banks. Its obvious characteristic is the many small bristles and prickles that cover the stems and the fruit is the well-known scarlet, fleshy hips.

Aboriginal peoples used all of the plant – as a tea from steeped petals to produce a gentle eye wash, young stems for salads, boiled roots to make a tea for coughs, and the hips as a nutritious vitamin C rich food. More recent Albertans make a very fragrant rose water and have been known to make rose wine.

Wildlife has been aware of the value of roses as food long before humans entered the province, and because the hips remain on the shrubs all winter they are a valuable survival food over the winter. Learn how to harvest and use rose hips at https://www.thespruce.com/what-are-rose-hips-and-what-do-they-do-1403046

Edmonton & Area Land Trust looking for Executive Director
Are you looking for a leadership opportunity that will make a difference in the conservation and stewardship of natural areas in the Edmonton region? Are you keenly interested in protecting our water, air, land, and wildlife as well as the scenic beauty of the region? Are you knowledgeable and experienced in land use planning, environmental management or the land trust movement?

Deadline to apply is April 15, 2019. For more information about the Executive Director position go to https://www.ealt.ca/job-openings?fbclid=IwAR3cpwDYdamOpM5K-xHTH7lXAnZ2QBTA2Ibnn52Wcra8UpS3Jr7JaZP3XAI