Well, the City of Saskatoon and Meewasin Valley Authority were right. Canvassing the afforestation areas does show that these semi-wilderness areas do provide habitats conducive to flora and fauna including species at risk. The count is up to around twenty species at risk at the current moment. Thank you to everyone using iNaturalist and helping to document the species in the afforestation areas.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Discovering an alliance and affiliation with nature. Taking photos through the iNaturalist app on the smartphone, to immerse an outdoor, nature-loving invigorating afternoon. An idyllic way to find a connection in the forest, to see the liason and relation between trees and understorey, to find the kinship between in this semi-wilderness area, and explore nature’s forest habitat. Experience a care-free healthful, informal nature relationship.
National Forest Week The last full week of September. Maple Leaf Day the Wednesday of that week.
This program for National Forest Week is brought to you by the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas an environmental non-profit charity that was created to preserve and restore the 326-acre Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the 148-acre George Genereux Urban Regional Park. Our work reinforces the 1979 City Council decision designating these afforestation areas on the western fringe of Saskatoon to “be preserved in perpetuity.” They are important habitat for wildlife as well as semi-wild public spaces for recreation and nature immersion. The larger of these two areas is named after Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889-1982), who has been called the “first global conservationist” and in recognition of this he was made the first Honorary Life Member of the World Wildlife Fund in 1969. A British forester who also homesteaded and studied in Saskatoon, he dedicated his entire life unfailingly to the preservation and planting of trees and forests.
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Autumn picture of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas supported by the non profit group Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. Please join now, like, support, share.
The Trembling Aspen is also referred to as the Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) Autumn colour of foliage CC 3 Walter Siegmund
This is one session in a week long series of events celebrating National Forest Week with a theme – “Our Forests – Continually Giving”
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Connect with nature, find out what is really in the forest! What will you discover? Come out and explore George Genereux Park. This event provides a snapshot of nature, ecology and the environment out at George Genereux Park in Saskatoon. It shows how healthy the environment is. It is great for young, families, youth groups. botanists, and the general public to have fun in nature. It sharpens your “Where’s Waldo?” skills and helps to become aware of your surroundings. Caterpillars, butterflies, birds, mushrooms, flowers, squirrels, are all various life forms to take pictures of with the iNaturalist app downloaded on your smart phone. It is amazing just how many of the bio-blitzes undertaken have found another species at risk to be aware of in the afforestation areas.
National Forest Week The last full week of September. Maple Leaf Day the Wednesday of that week.
This program for National Forest Week is brought to you by the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas an environmental non-profit charity that was created to preserve and restore the 326-acre Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the 148-acre George Genereux Urban Regional Park. Our work reinforces the 1979 City Council decision designating these afforestation areas on the western fringe of Saskatoon to “be preserved in perpetuity.” They are important habitat for wildlife as well as semi-wild public spaces for recreation and nature immersion. The larger of these two areas is named after Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889-1982), who has been called the “first global conservationist” and in recognition of this he was made the first Honorary Life Member of the World Wildlife Fund in 1969. A British forester who also homesteaded and studied in Saskatoon, he dedicated his entire life unfailingly to the preservation and planting of trees and forests.
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
Ranked S2 by SCDC
Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides
What will you find in the forest?
This is one session in a week long series of events celebrating National Forest Week with a theme – “Our Forests – Continually Giving”
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Ryan Brook has access to Saskatoon’s real night life. His Wildlife Ecology and Community Engagement (WECE) lab at the University of Saskatchewan uses 30 trail cameras strapped to trees to photograph the different animals that are coming and going in the city and on its fringes. Approximately 85% of the photographs in the first four months were of animals active at night. Our river corridor is a living habitat that’s home to a lot species including coyotes, skunks, foxes, moose, deer, rabbits, porcupines, beavers, and muskrats, but there have been cougar and bear sightings.
The U of S project is part of the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN), which has dozens of cities compiling and sharing similar data with each other. Saskatoon is one of the first Canadian cities involved in this alliance of urban wildlife scientists committed to doing the research necessary to enhance the ability for people and wildlife to coexist in cities. The WECE lab data will be invaluable to better understanding animal patterns in Saskatoon and could be used to shape wildlife policy and land use planning. The Saskatoon metropolitan area is anticipated to grow to ½ million people and there are important Green Network Study Areas in the works which are vital for ecological connections along the river and the associated northeast swale, small swale, Hudson Bay Swale and west swale which are all part of the South Saskatchewan watershed.
This program for National Forest Week is brought to you by the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas an environmental non-profit charity that was created to preserve and restore the 326-acre Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the 148-acre George Genereux Urban Regional Park. Our work reinforces the 1979 City Council decision designating these afforestation areas on the western fringe of Saskatoon to “be preserved in perpetuity.” They are important habitat for wildlife as well as semi-wild public spaces for recreation and nature immersion. The larger of these two areas is named after Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889-1982), who has been called the “first global conservationist” and in recognition of this he was made the first Honorary Life Member of the World Wildlife Fund in 1969. A British forester who also homesteaded and studied in Saskatoon, he dedicated his entire life unfailingly to the preservation and planting of trees and forests.
National Forest Week The last full week of September. Maple Leaf Day the Wednesday of that week.
As a member of the Indigenous Land Management Institute in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Brook combines traditional knowledge, wildlife ecology, ecosystem monitoring science and a wealth of data about wildlife movement and activities in Saskatoon. Join us on Saturday Sept. 18 at 7:00 pm as we discover what Brook’s lab has discovered and how we can better understand urban wildlife and the ecology around us. It is a great opportunity to increase our capacity to connect with and co-exist with our urban wildlife.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
On the south west of the City of Saskatoon is an urban regional park named George Genereux Park at 147.8 acres in size. It is on the west side of Saskatchewan Highway 7 (the Pike Lake Highway.) The Saskatoon border loops around the quarter section. As shown on the map below, the afforestation area is a park surrounded by the neighbouring agricultural lands of the RM of Corman Park 344.
George Genereux Park just west off of the Pike Lake Highway (Sk Hwy 7) at Range Road 3063 Please don’t drive in the forest, and respect the signs placed in the park
Many people from Saskatoon, the RM of Corman Park, and tourists have not known that this forest tucked beside the CNR overpass is really an urban regional park to enjoy nature, go for walks, watch birds, engage in health and wellness by bicycle, hiking and cross country skiing. Many classroom activities are planned for George Genereux Park as it truly is an amazing place for place-based learning nature field trips.
This park is an amazing mixed woodlands, a laboratory in ecological succession, and as such has many attributes of a boreal forest ecotone merging with the moist mixed grasslands. Many people local to this area enjoy this urban regional park as they don’t have to drive north of the provincial tree line to immerse in a delightful forest experience with changing microecosystems of evergreens, deciduous trees and meadows.
Back in 1972, when this tree nursery was created, the tree planters could randomly select from a wide variety of hardy drought-resistant saplings. This results in a unique experience. As you walk, one area of the parkspace will be quite distinct and individual from another region. Tt is fascinating to see how the existing aspen bluffs, and prairie animals have adapted to the trees planted in 1972. There are species at risk in the afforestation areas commonly found in a boreal forest ecosystem at a higher elevation, but rare on the prairies.
The trees selected for planting, were planted in a weaving pattern and not north-south and east-west in rows. This weaving pattern gives the park a naturalized appearance. The original intention was that the forests would become urban regional parks for Saskatoon and area to enjoy when the city grew out this way, which is happening now with the P4G and Blairmore Sector plans. The greenspaces started out a tree nurseries to transplant trees into city parks, and now, 50 years later, the trees are too large to transplant.
Here is a summer breeding bird checklist for the park space. Members of the Saskatoon Nature Society have been ringing (banding) birds at George Genereux Park for a number of years.
And a trail map for the park to help and assist park users enjoying George Genereux Park.
Map to the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Arrow indicates the South West Off Leash Recreation Area Parking Lot. Saskatoon, SK, CA
Please enjoy these urban regional parks located on the west side of Saskatoon! Richard St. Barbe Baker has the Chappell Marsh wetlands located within it, and to the south of Cedar Villa Road (Tsp Rd 362A) is the other side of the wetlands at Chappell Marsh Conservation Area owned by Ducks Unlimited in the RM of Corman Park. Both the afforestation areas are in the peri-urban region of the City of Saskatoon, and the greenspaces are enjoyed by health and wellness enthusiasts, dog walkers, and nature lovers. You are invited and welcomed to come out and explore these Undiscovered Forests of Saskatoon! The afforestation areas are amazing in all seasons. What will you discover?
Stay tuned for Sept 19-26 2021 National Forest Week events, the Nov 6 2021 Celebration honouring Richard St. Barbe Baker and the anniversary when he was bestowed the honourary Doctorate of Laws from the U of S for extraordinary humanitarian service, and the 2022 Birthday Party planned for the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas.
NE 21-36-6 W3
The Magic Of George Genereux Park, City of Saskatoon at the RM of Corman Park boundary
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
What do Sherlock Holmes, Nature, “Where’s Waldo”, conservation and Word Search puzzles have in common? Have fun detecting, and finding nature out of doors in the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas. We need your skills! The more eyes that come out the merrier, and the more variety in species can be found! Young, old and anywhere between, groups and individuals, it all makes a difference to compiling a baseline data inventory at the Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and at George Genereux Park in the City of Saskatoon!
There has not been an ecological assessment conducted at the afforestation areas yet. So many people think that there are only afforested tree species [exotic], and brome grass and nothing else, yet how does that explain a baker’s dozen species at risk? How does that explain the moist mixed grassland prairie species in the trembling aspen bluffs which have remained since before 1972, they are over 50 years old? How many people can actually see the laboratory in ecological succession happening in the afforestation areas? What about the wetlands? How come the forest is raising the water-table for the wetlands, and it has not dried up yet? This was a feature which Richard St. Barbe Baker advocated for a lot. What is it that trees do? Their roots go down, down, down, and bring water up to the leave, where there is transpiration, and there are micro-climates of rain for the trees and forests. Can you imagine if there were more and more trees and forests? Then there would not be micro-climates, there would be larger scale nature based solutions to climate change.
Threatened in Saskatchewan as recorded by SCDC Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
Ranked S2 by SCDC
Woodland Skipper Ochlodes sylvanoides
Two sundays in a row two different species at risk have been identified. Their lives depend on you to help document the biodiversity in the afforestation areas! So what will happen next Sunday?
Come out on your own or venture out at a group meet up time as follows:
Aug 8 meet at George Genereux Urban Regional Park GPS 52.1089473,-106.7925807 Aug 15 meet at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area GPS 52.1006373,-106.755882 SW OLRA Aug 22 meet at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area GPS 52.1038557,-106.7890613 West Side Aug 29 meet at George Genereux Urban Regional Park GPS 52.1089473,-106.7925807 Sep 5 meet at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area GPS GPS 52.1006373,-106.755882 SW OLRA Sep 12 meet at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area GPS 52.1038557,-106.7890613 West Side Sep 19 meet at George Genereux Urban Regional Park GPS 52.1089473,-106.7925807 Sep 26 meet at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area GPS 52.1006373,-106.755882 SW OLRA At the meetups, we can help you get familiar with the iNaturalist app.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
In this year of severe drought, there are so many wetlands drying up, it is a wonder that those birds which migrated north have any water at all.
To begin to look at the species profile and why they are considered threatened, well there are little to no wetlands policies around for conservation when development wishes to go through, and then drought has taken what little there is away. And the reason for the threatened designation is that there are substantial declines recorded in bird surveys. Loss of wetlands is one concern, but there is also climate change taking its toll along with other factors.
Society has started to rally with Bee crusades, and Monarch butterfly flyways and pollinator gardens, but who has started a shorebirds action? Who has said that the wetlands policy must become a bylaw, and that it should protect the habitats of species at risk? So, COSEWIC provided the threatened designation 21 years ago for the Lesser Yellow Legs, and sadly to say, it has not changed. Are you good at letter writing. Can you write a letter to your Member of Parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly, or Councillor? What would happen to mankind if we did nothing for the decline in homo sapiens species from Coronavirus COVID-19 for 21 years? Society surely did rally to fix the rapidly declining deaths and illness from COVID through a number of vaccines. The Lesser Yellow Legs is not sick, so it doesn’t need a rapidly developed vaccine. The population of the Lesser Yellow Legs has gone down because they have no home to live in. Their homes are wetlands. And what do we do with wetlands? Fill them in as quickly as possible with compost, gravel or any excavation material so we can build on them – who cares how many basements are flooded, and who cares how many Lesser Yellowlegs die without a home.
Luckily in Saskatoon the long range planners are doing a Green Network Connectivity Strategy to keep the wetlands of the West Swale! The West Swale joins the North Saskatchewan River Valley to the South Saskatchewan River Valley, and what a marvellous wetlands corridor that is! That surely shows continuous improvements and environmental leadership!
When will action start for the shorebirds? It is surely good that this decade is the United Nations Decade on Ecological Restoration, and we can love some shorebirds and protect their habitat. What thinks you?
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
A tribute presented to the forest, a great enhancement. A wonderful place to sit and watch the birds at the bird feeders
"Wild bird, whose warble, liquid sweet,
Rings Eden through the budded quicks,
Oh, tell me where the senses mix,
Oh, tell me where the passions meet,"
Lord Alfred Tennyson
These little bird statues represent the embodiment of place and time, of humanity in the forest, and connecting with nature.
They symbolize the mysterious interconnection between society and nature, people connecting with Mother Earth.
What a beautiful gift for the Afforestation Area. Along with bird feed, and peanuts, users of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, grace the benches near the bird feeding stations with a fitting tribute and honour.
Thank you so much!
The benches are enjoyed by many people, as are the afforestation areas. In gratitude to the City of Saskatoon for the Take It Outside initiative enable the benches and two of the bird stations. Thank you!
And now, wouldst thou, O man, delight the ear With earth’s delicious sounds, or charm the eye With beautiful creations, then pass forth And find them midst those many-colored birds That fill the glowing woods. The richest hues Lie in their splendid plumage, and their tones Are sweeter than the music of the lute.”
Elizabeth and Joseph Grinnell
Robin, Sir Robin, gay-vested knight, Now you have come to us, summer’s in sight; You never dream of the wonders you bring— Visions that follow the flash of your wing. How all the beautiful by and by Around you and after you seems to fly; Sing on, or eat on, as pleases your mind. Well have you earned every morsel you find. “Aye! ha! ha! ha!” whistles Robin. My dear, Let us all take our own choice of good cheer.
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail / e-transfers )Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Donate your vehicle to Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. to raise funds for afforestation areas. Click here to find out more. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date! Canada Helps
World Wildlife Day is March 3! What an opportunity!
What are you most interested in today? Maybe birds? More than one kind of bird, and identifying them! That would be fantastic to be on a bird scavenger hunt. So instead of staying at home with your “Where’s Waldo?” puzzles, come into the forest, and find birds, bird nests, and bird tracks.
Look in the bushy areas, and the swampy areas. Come out to the woods and immerse yourself in the sights, smells, and sounds of nature, and take away an experience that will stay with you for a lifetime of memories!
Download the winter bird checklist pamphlet and see how many of the birds in the listing you can see in the forest, and at the bird feeders! That is the scavenger hunt for today. If you email your Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Bird sighting list to us or let us know your e-Bird user name, or iNaturalist user name for your afforestation area sightings, and you can be entered and be eligible for the prize draw taking place at the end of the month!
World Wildlife Day celebrates more than birds. Let us know the squirrels, or other animals, scat, footprints or animal signs you may see in the afforestation areas via email to be entered and be eligible for the prize draw taking place at the end of the month! Good Luck!
Richard St. Barbe Baker was the first person to be honoured with a lifetime membership in the World Wildlife Federation. Baker created and protected so many habitats worldwide in his tree planting endeavours.
“A simple act of kindness and compassion towards a single animal may not mean anything to all creatures, but will mean everything to one.” ― Paul Oxton
“To be standing together in a frosty field, looking up into the sky, marvelling at birds and revelling in the natural world around us, was a simple miracle. And I wondered why we were so rarely able to appreciate it.”
Lynn Thomson
“No matter how few possessions you own or how little money you have, loving wildlife and nature will make you rich beyond measure.” ― Paul Oxton
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 