bollard – Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park.

Progress Report

Baby Deer ~ Fawn

Pelican Preenning

The present is full of opportunity. Never before in the history of the planet has mankind been given the privileges and opportunities that are at his disposal today. A great light has been raised and is penetrating the darkness of the world, but alas, too many with dust blinded eyes have yet to catch the vision. Some of us have. That is our privilege and our responsibility.
The fate of an individual or a nation will always be determined by the degree of his or its harmony with the forces and laws of Nature and the universe. Man is not alone in the universe but is surrounded by sources of power, harmony and knowledge.
The fullness of life depends upon man’s harmony with the totality of the natural cosmic laws. Our individual evolution is a job that has to be carried on day by day by each individual himself. It is a lifelong task.”~Richard St. Barbe Baker

The Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area are very fortunate to have a very strong and effective governance over all fiscal operations. The Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area have partnered with the Meewasin Valley Authority, and all contributions are held in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund. Financial stewardship for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is paramount in order to support the stewardship of the afforestation area is the main goal for the Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and this goal manifests in the following avenues;

“strategic goal of quality of life”
“strategic goal of environmental leadership”

The charitable donations and dollars have, in fact, gone straight to work at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. How have the very much appreciated contributions to the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area paid off so far?

Donations supported the 2016 volunteer clean up initiative with incentives, and very importantly ensured the safety of community volunteers who assembled for clean ups of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area.
Funding supported the appropriate environmentally friendly recycling of 85 tires. When properly disposed of scrap tires to do adversely affect the environment. The safe removal of the tires was not only improved the visual appearance of this semi-wilderness wildlife habitat, but it also went a long ways to restoring the quality of the wetland and watershed.
The Jersey Barriers seen out at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area serve to define the area of the afforestation area. Further these vehicle barricades protect the newly created groomed trails. It is also hoped that the barriers will serve to mitigate illegal trespass creating a safe and healthy environment in this peri-urban area for human users. Additionally the desire is out there that the barriers would protect the modified and native grasslands, wetlands and woodlands – for the semi wilderness wildlife habitat.
Installation of gates for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area goes one step further and provides the protection from illegal trespass by motorized vehicles as mentioned above, while allowing egress for service and emergency vehicles; ambulance, fire and police protective services.
Bollards were placed at the north end of the South West Off Leash Recreation Area to the east adjoining the afforestation area by the Trans Gas road. These short, sturdy, vertical posts were installed to control motorized vehicular traffic and egress into the woodlands and onto the groomed pathways from that venue.

These aforementioned activities were the first to be set into place as a tangible benefit to the public at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area.

If the forest, or shoreline shows evidence of litter, the result is a lack of respect for the area, and the existing refuse serves as what amounts to a trash magnet. It has been proven that persons act to preserve the environment and waterways, if they are seen to be clean. Thank you kindly to all our past clean up volunteers, and those who still monitor the afforestaton area and continue to pick up trash.

With the help of contributions the efforts of the Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation area continually upgrade the afforestation and West Swale wetland’s quality so they can support a thriving environment which can be truly appreciated and used for by current and future generations of the City of Saskatoon community as Saskatoon grows to 250,000 by 2025 and to 380,000 by 2035.

There is no denial that kind and generous gifts to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund. (MVA RSBBAA)” have truly made a profound impact on the betterment of the afforestation area as a whole. As the Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area strive to protect this rich and diverse environmental habitat, it is a reflection on the City of Saskatoon to have the generous financial support, caring citizen volunteers and in-kind donations from the community.

“From water and earth we came, and the future of mankind on this planet will be determined by respectful or disrespectful treatment of these basic elements.” ~Richard St. Barbe Baker

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

For more information:

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

P4G Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth The P4G consists of the Cities of Saskatoon, Warman, and Martensville, the Town of Osler and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park; planning for areas around the afforestation area and West Swale outside of Saskatoon city limits

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 SW 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
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Facebook: South West OLRA

Twitter: StBarbeBaker

Please help protect / enhance /commemorate your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

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. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!

QR Code FOR PAYPAL DONATIONS to the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. — Paypal

Payment Options

Membership : $20.00 CAD – yearly
Membership with donation : $50.00 CAD
Membership with donation : $100.00 CAD

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

You Tube Video Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

You Tube Video Richard St Barbe Baker presented by Paul Hanley

You Tube Video Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and West Swale wetlands

You Tube Video Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area – Saskatoon’s best kept secret.

You Tube Video George Genereux Urban Regional Park Hoar Frost

You Tube Video George Genereux Urban Regional Park Saskatoon

You Tube Video George Genereux Urban Regional Park

The trees and vegetation, which cover the land surface of the Earth and delight the eye, are performing vital tasks incumbent upon the vegetable world in nature. Its presence is essential to earth as an organism. It is the first condition of all life; it it the ‘skin’ of the earth, for without it there can be no water, and therefore, no life.~Richard St. Barbe Baker

It is not a farce.…”To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” ~Terry Tempest Williams

Cost of Barriers

recapture the rhythm of life and the love of the simple things of life, which will be an ever-unfolding joy to him. ~Richard St. Barbe Baker

Securing the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area from Illegitmate Access approved at the City Council meeting Aug 18, 2016

Afforestation Area east of SW OLRA Northern Boundary Road Showing Jersey Barriers

Afforestation Area east of SW OLRA Northern Boundary Road Showing Jersey Barriers and Gate installation

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Photo credit Paul Stein

Baby Deer ~ Fawn

“Man has lost his way in the jungle of chemistry and engineering and will have to retrace his steps, however painful this may be. He will have to discover where he went wrong and make his peace with nature. In so doing, perhaps he may be able to recapture the rhythm of life and the love of the simple things of life, which will be an ever-unfolding joy to him. ~Richard St. Barbe Baker”

The Standing policy committee on planning, development, and community services on July 18, 2016 met and advised that the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area – Measures to Mitigate Unlawful Dumping and Trespassing July 18, 2016 Community Services Department report should be received as information by the General Manager, Community Services Development. The report of the General Manager, Community Services Department, dated July 18, 2016, was recommended to go before City Council August 18, 2016, for information. At this meeting, Councillor Hill, Councillor Davies, Councillor Jeffries, Councillor Paulsen and His Worship the Mayor all voted in favour.

The committee also heard from Julia Adamson, Robert White, and Jeff Hehn in July of 2016. Robert White, who personally knew Richard St. Barbe Baker, and is a member of SOS Elms Coalition spoke about the great humanitarian, and forester, Richard St. Barbe Baker the namesake of the Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Robert White spoke “to the importance of the preservation of the area and expressed support
for some type of barriers to protect the area.”

The July 18, 2016 Community Services Department report examined measures to mitigate trespassing of motorized vehicles, and to prevent illegal dumping of refuse in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (RSBBAA). The committee examined the conditions of trash built up in the afforestation area, and realized that there are no funded City service levels for the RSBBAA as this area is not within the parks and open space inventory, and parks does not have maintenance over the area, as it belongs to Land Branch.

It was in the writing of this report, that the Community Services Department discovered that the afforestation area east of the Southwest Off Leash Recreation Area ~ that region on part of the south east quarter of section 23, township 23 range 36 west of the third meridian~ was not legally within the legal land description during the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area naming process undertaken in 1978-1979.

There were three options proposed:

1. Option 1 Frontage Fencing which includes installing page wire fencing on only areas adjacent to roadways or “frontage” areas with an approximate cost of $45,206. This sum includes the clean up tipping fee estimate of $13,500, so the actual fence comes to $44,806. If chain link fencing were employed for the frontage areas, then the cost would be $197,000.
2. Option 2 Perimeter Fencing utilizing page wire fencing around the complete afforestation area would run around $147,000, which includes the tipping fees as well. If the perimeter were surrounded with chain link, the cost rises to $949,000.
3. The third and final option examined was bollard and gate installation. This proposal showed an estimated cost of $30,500 (inclusive of the $13,500 tipping fee)

The recommendation favoured the third option realizing that the bollards and gates would perhaps result in vehicles going around these barriers if they were determined to enter the afforestation area without respect to these clearly defined property limits.

Other stewards to consult during the process and development are TransGAS, SaskPower and in later light another stakeholder is CN.

The report stated that “there are no policy, environmental, privacy, or CPTED implications or considerations at this time.”

As the south west sector planning continues over the next few years this will be re-examined and a more permanent solution may perhaps be conceptualized.

The full council meeting report of August 18, 2016 is available at City of Saskatoon website or at the City of Saskatoon Archives.

The above is a para-phrasing of the report written by Monica Hunt, Landscape Architect, Open Space Design.
Reviewed by Darren Crilly, Director of Parks.
Approved by Randy Grauer, General Manager, Community Services Department.

As the North East Swale watchers formed as an informal grouping to protect the north east swale, so do the users of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area come together to protect the riparian woodland, marsh wetlands, and the semi-wilderness habitat.

At community meet ups and clean up events, the Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation area sees representatives who care for the afforestation area from Ducks Unlimited, SOS Elms Coalition, Saskatoon Nature Society, Member of Parliament Sheri Benson, Standing councilor for Ward 2, The Saskatoon Baha’i Community, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Cedar Villa Estates, Rural Municipality of Corman Park, North East Swale Watchers, West Swale watchers, Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, the SW off leash recreation area city liason, Meewasin Valley Authority, Fatbike Fatlanders Brigade, Casual Off leash dog walkers, Jane’s Walk, Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Nature Saskatchewan, several and many community associations in the south west of Saskatoon such as…Mount Royal Community Association, Montgomery Park Community Association, Parkridge Community Association, Dundonald Community Association, King George Community Association, Holiday Park Community Association, Fairhaven Community Association.