Herptology; What is a herptologist?

What a question in the middle of winter, however as spring approaches ~ “Where are the frogs?” is a most excellent query!!!

“Stewards of Saskatchewan” is a voluntary program of the provincial group Nature Saskatchewan. With this program, volunteer stewards collectively monitor population data on various at risk species. One of these is the Northern Leopard Frog, (Lithobates pipiens or Rana pipiens) designated as Special Concern in Canada.

Please report to the Stewards of Saskatchewan SOS survey, if you sight one of the species on their list. Did you know that April is Frog month? Celebrate Frog Month with your family! Find out how to become an amateur herpetologist this April!

Where might be one of the places in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area where a Northern Leopard Frog could be sighted?

The Chappell Marsh, the permanent wetlands of the West Swale contain water all the time. But where are the temporary wetlands located? This is exactly where the frogs are singing their merry songs. This area for the lands east of Chappell Marsh in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is marked as a yellow oval on the attached map. The Northern Leopard Frog, sings just to the west of the southwest off leash recreation area.

FrogMap — Northern Leopard Frog, Rana Pipiens Map

Just as farmers watch the weather; “In dry years, arable agriculture can fail over large parts of the province, whilst in wet years, flooding has caused widespread damage to rural and urban infrastructure.” “(Pomeroy, 2005)

So, too, do the frogs seem to watch the weather. During dry years such as those experienced 2015, 2016, and 2017 there were no frogs heard at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. However in 2013 and 2014 frogs were a delight to the years, especially as the Northern Leopard Frog is a species of Special Concern. As the weather cycles in the province, it can be expected that another year of flooding may follow the very dry years experienced 2015, 2016, and 2017. The newspapers report the flooding damaging crops, basements and highways however the glorious thing which is missed on the years of high water tables, is that the frogs come back!

Rana_pipiens Northern Leopard Frog

Northern Leopard Frog

Chappell Marsh. West Swale Wetlands. Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA

There are definitely other areas, such as where the old grid road is being swallowed up by Chappell Marsh near the road turn off to Chappell Marsh Conservation Area. The old grid road is partially submerged, making it the perfect habitat for frogs [and ducks] as well.

Now then, it would be a very intriguing for a herpetologist, volunteer ‘Steward of Saskatchewan’ or conservation officer to engage in a project to walk with a GPS app which records altitude. This project would scan the entirety of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and ‘George Genereux’ Urban Regional park for altitude levels similar to the altitude of the meadow west of the South West Off Leash Recreation Area. Other areas which provide a rich habitat for the Northern Leopard Frog could be identified in this method for the areas west of Chappell Marsh and in ‘George Genereux’ Urban Regional park. In this way during years of flooding the Northern Leopard Frog could be surveyed and counted in identified Frog zones. And accordingly in the years of drought, the environment could remain undisturbed awaiting their safe return. 🙂

Perhaps, just perhaps, this would be a way to ensure the Northern Leopard Frog’s survival. An altitude test may just help to find the temporary wetlands conducive to the frog’s habitat, and could then be protected from development. Either that, or developers would need wait until years of high water tables before developing land to determine the habitat for frogs.

Saskatchewan cycles through years of drought and high water tables. The years 2013, and 2014, saw very, very high rain levels, spring run off and flooding. Chappell Marsh itself washed out a grid road, and water pumps were allocated to try to divert the flooding away from Saskatchewan Highway 7 west of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and CN Chappell Yards. The cycle of very wet conditions was also seen historically over the years 2005, and 2006. (Garnet, 2012)

July 13, 2014, Emily Chan reported “In Saskatchewan, it’s estimated that a total of up to 3 million acres, including some farmland, have already flooded.” “Highways closed and communities declared states of emergency …, ” reports the Canadian Press on June 30, 2014 due to a deluge of rain.

“From too much rain to not enough — and everyone baking in the heat — communities smashed weather records in July across Saskatchewan.”(Climenhaga, 2017) Whereas, in direct contrast to the years of 2013 and 2014, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reported that 2016 was the hottest year on record, replacing the record set in 2015. In 2017, “Saskatchewan farmers say drought conditions in some parts of the province are the worst they have seen in decades “(Bridges, 2017) “Record-breaking temperatures and extremely low rainfalls across Western Canada are causing chaos for farmers and firefighters this summer as they grapple with the worst drought in more than a decade.” {Sikierska, 2015) Drought also ravaged Saskatchewan over the years 2001 to 2002. (Garnet, 2012)

“Nowhere else in Canada does the lack or excess of water cause such widespread concern, nor are there many Canadian environments subject to greater seasonal change in precipitation and surface-water storage.”(Pomeroy, 2005)

Drought years have been recorded as 1961, 1967, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1988, 2003, 2009. Whereas, the flood years are reported as 1965, 1977, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2010. (Garnet, 2012)

“The trees and vegetation which cover the land surface of the Earth and delight the eye, are therefore performing vital tasks incumbent upon the vegetable world in nature. The glorious rich, colourful, quilted covering of vegetation is not there merely to feed and please us. Its presence is essential to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition of all life; it is the ‘skin of the Earth, for without it there can be no water and, therefore, no life. ” Richard St. Barbe Baker.

Bibliography

2016 Annual Report of Agroclimate Conditions Across Canada Government of Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Bridges, Alicia. Sask. farmers say drought conditions worst in decades. Farmers, ranchers face tough season due to hot, dry weather. CBC News.

Chan, Emily. Prairie farmers frustrated as flooding drowns crops. Ctv News. July 13, 2014

Climenhaga, Christy. Regina experiences driest July in 130 years. July topped the charts for hot and dry weather in southern Saskatchewan. CBC News. Aug. 1, 2017

Cross, Brian. Rising waters wash away land, farmers’ futures . The Western Producer. May 7, 2015

Flooding, highway closures as heavy rain pounds Prairies Canadian Press. June 30, 2014.

Garnett, Ray and Madhav Khandekar. From Drought to Wet Cycles The Changing Climate of the Canadian Prairies. May 3, 2012.

Pomeroy, John, Dirk de Boer and Lawrence Martz. Hydrology and Water Resources of Saskatchewan. Centre for Hydrology Report #1. Department of Geography, University of Saskatchewan February 2005.

Reeve warns flood water could flow over Hwy 11 in Lumsden area CBC News. May 5, 2013

Saskatchewan flooding: 37 communities declare state of emergency CBC News. June 30 2014

Sask. Flooding >Flood-battered roads crumbling around eastern Sask. Culverts, bridges, train tracks washed out over a wide area CBC News. July 2, 2014

Siekierska, Alicja. Hot, dry and disastrous. Western Canada’s drought is taking a toll. Edmonton Journal. July 25, 2015

Top ten weather stories for 2010: Story three. From Dry to Drenched on the Prairies. Government of Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada.

For more information:

Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

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

Facebook: South West Off Leash Recreation Area SW OLRA

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Tagged Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Twitter: St Barbe Baker

Contact the Meewasin Valley Authority in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The MVA has begun a Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund. If you wish to support the afforestation area with your donation, write a cheque to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund (MVA RSBBAA trust fund)”. Post to MVA 402 Third Avenue South Saskatoon, SK S7K 3G5 Please and thank you!

Membership in the Saskatoon Nature Society “supports nature conservation projects and [the society] is an active advocate for the preservation of plant and animal habitats”.

Please contemplate joining the SOS Elms coalition ~ an active group interested in forest management~ or make a donation to “Save our Saskatchewan” [SOS] Elms ~ leave a message to support the afforestation area 😉

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

“We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees. As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today. The only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker

Where are the frogs?

What a question in the middle of winter ~ “Where are the frogs?” indeed.

Please report to the Stewards of Saskatchewan SOS survey, if you sight one of the species on their list.

Where might be one of the places in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area where a Northern Leopard Frog could be sighted?

Rana_pipiens Northern Leopard Frog

Northern Leopard Frog

Chappell Marsh. West Swale Wetlands. Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA

Drought years have been recorded as 1961, 1967, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1988, 2003, 2009. Whereas, the flood years are reported as 1965, 1977, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2010. (Garnet, 2012)

Taiwan is privileged with the humid and rainy habitats favorable for frogs, and the profuse rain providing the frogs a long reproduction stage makes Taiwan one of the best places for frog-watching.”{Government of Taiwan} And it follows, that in Saskatchewan, the frogs, also fare better during the years the province cycles into a year with a high water table, rain and humidity. Just as the Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) is native to marshes, fens, ditches and wet woodland in temperate regions, the marsh marigold does not raise its yellow head in the years of drought, nor do the Northern Leopard Frogs sing merrily in the wetlands. In the case of frogs, and marsh marigolds, both flora and fauna await seasons of moisture, and hunker down when drought and desert-like conditions appear.

“The trees and vegetation which cover the land surface of the Earth and delight the eye, are therefore performing vital tasks incumbent upon the vegetable world in nature. The glorious rich, colourful, quilted covering of vegetation is not there merely to feed and please us. Its presence is essential to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition to Earth as an organism. It is the first condition of all life; it is the ‘skin of the Earth, for without it there can be no water and, therefore, no life. ” Richard St. Barbe Baker.

Bibliography

2016 Annual Report of Agroclimate Conditions Across Canada Government of Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Bridges, Alicia. Sask. farmers say drought conditions worst in decades. Farmers, ranchers face tough season due to hot, dry weather. CBC News.

Chan, Emily. Prairie farmers frustrated as flooding drowns crops. Ctv News. July 13, 2014

Climenhaga, Christy. Regina experiences driest July in 130 years. July topped the charts for hot and dry weather in southern Saskatchewan. CBC News. Aug. 1, 2017

Cross, Brian. Rising waters wash away land, farmers’ futures . The Western Producer. May 7, 2015

Flooding, highway closures as heavy rain pounds Prairies Canadian Press. June 30, 2014.

Garnett, Ray and Madhav Khandekar. From Drought to Wet Cycles The Changing Climate of the Canadian Prairies. May 3, 2012.

Pomeroy, John, Dirk de Boer and Lawrence Martz. Hydrology and Water Resources of Saskatchewan. Centre for Hydrology Report #1. Department of Geography, University of Saskatchewan February 2005.

Reeve warns flood water could flow over Hwy 11 in Lumsden area CBC News. May 5, 2013

Saskatchewan flooding: 37 communities declare state of emergency CBC News. June 30 2014

Sask. Flooding >Flood-battered roads crumbling around eastern Sask. Culverts, bridges, train tracks washed out over a wide area CBC News. July 2, 2014

Siekierska, Alicja. Hot, dry and disastrous. Western Canada’s drought is taking a toll. Edmonton Journal. July 25, 2015

Top ten weather stories for 2010: Story three. From Dry to Drenched on the Prairies. Government of Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada.

For more information:

Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

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

Facebook: South West Off Leash Recreation Area SW OLRA

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Tagged Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Twitter: St Barbe Baker

Membership in the Saskatoon Nature Society “supports nature conservation projects and [the society] is an active advocate for the preservation of plant and animal habitats”.

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

“We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees. As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today. The only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker

Professor Laurence Roche

“Never before in the history of man has forestry, both in the developed and developing worlds, attracted so much public attention. Environmental degradation and the decline of forests in industrial countries, the continued destruction of forests in developing countries, and evidence of global climate change have all combined to raise the awareness of politicians, planners, and the media to the vital importance of forests in the well-being of nations, and to the knowledge that in our time, the remnants of natural forest ecosystems, with their great diversity of habitats, are in danger of destruction. “~Laurence Roche[7]

plant-in-person-globe-hand

Professor Laurence Roche, B. Agr., M.A., M.F., Ph.D. [October 20, 1927-November 23, 1999] had never met the world renowned silviculturist Richard St. Barbe Baker, however Roche was an avid reader of the books published by Dr. Richard St. Barbe Baker, L.L.D, O.B.E. F.A.I.L., For. Dip. Cantab., It was these books, that convinced Laurence Roche to persue a lifetime career in forestry.

Professor Roche born in Wexford, Ireland, had eight siblings. His cousin was the novelist John Banville, and besides devouring works by Baker and novels by Thomas Merton theologian and mystic, Roche was widely read. Considering the same trajectory as Richard St. Barbe Baker, Roche contemplated entering a school of Divinity to become a priest, however Baker’s works inspired Roche to leap feet first, and pursue forestry at Trinity College, Dublin receiving his B.A., B. Agr. [Forestry] in 1960. Roche followed up with a traveling scholarship completing his Masters in Science [1962] and Doctorate from the University of British Columbia [1966].

Business, Technology, 21st Century Culture, Planet Earth

Planet Earth, the World, is in our Hands

Roche received postings in both Canada for the Canadian Forest Service and Professor of Forestry and Head, Department of Forestry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria Roche embraced a global view following in the footsteps of Richard St. Barbe Baker. Roche advocated that forests were not isolated economic resources for immediate gain. Tropical forests needed to be viewed and assessed in an ecological and social context, and educated African forestry corps to take a lead in safeguarding their forests.

Working alongside John Bene in 1975, they recommended and established programmes on agrisilviculture in developing countries leading to more efficient land use, programmes to improve the lot of rural forest dwellers, by addressing hunger, shelter and degradation of the environment. John Bene, an indefatiguable Canadian forester and inspiring visionary, initiated priorities on tropical forestry research and lead the way to establish the International Centre for Research on Agroforestry (ICRAF) [now known as the Nairobi-based World Agroforestry Centre] in 1977.

“The relationship of populations to their ecosystems is the forest geneticist’s central area of inquiry, and, if he is to gain a fairly complete understanding of these relationships, he must regard the intricate patterns of evolution and coevolution. Therefore, forest genetics engages in ecosystems biology, or, more narrowly, in population biology. ..The environmental conditions that permit a population to survive permanently, and with which this population interacts, today are usually designated as its “ecological niche.” ~Laurence Roche [10]

world-kids- Roche recognized that “almost all tree species studied to date exhibit habitat-correlated, genetically based variation. When the species is distributed over a wide range of environments, variation within a species is often very great. It is this variation, referred to as the genetic resources of the species, which is the basis of evolutionary development, and the starting point for selection and breeding programmes. Such programmes are virtually non-existant for tropical trees. ~ Laurence Roche.[3]”

Following his work with IDRC advisor Bene, to integrate forestry, and agriculture with animal husbandry to optimize tropical forest land use, Roche accepted a position as Professor Department of Forestry and Wood Science, School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd.

Roche was the founding father of the “Journal of Forest Ecology and Management,” a peer reviewed periodical focusing on the forest ecology interaction with forest management, alongside innovation and research in the fields of biological, ecological and social issues in regards to the management and conservation of natural forests and their biosphere. Forest Ecology and Management is committed to open access bringing forward new ideas and approaches to forest management, and forest ecology.

The spirit and zeal of Professor Roche continued following his retirement. Though settling down in Madaboy, Murroe, Co. Limerick, Ireland, Roche continued to advocate for the tropical forest, making frequent journeys. Roche also provided counsel to the Food and Agricultural Organisation headquartered in Rome. According to Trevor West, Roche was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole [The Order of Agricultural Merit] in 1991, and was elected an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin [TCD] in 1993.

“I had news that an ecological survey was being undertaken in the Sahara, to the North of the Gold Coast, and I learnt that the local tribesmen had been forced by increased desertification to retreat to a small patch of land, the last remaining patch of forest in the area. There was desert behind them for a thousand miles, and desert to either side of them for a thousand miles, the chiefs had forbidden marriage and the women refused to bear children because the end of the forest was in sight….I was determined that the Kenyans should never have to suffer such an appalling social and ecological disaster.” Richard St. Barbe Baker.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Forest Ecology and Management Science to Sustain the World’s Forests Editors-in-Chief: Mark Adams, Dan Binkley, Todd S. Fredericksen, Jean-Paul Laclau, Harri Mäkinen, Cindy E. Prescott, Yowhan Son

2. Major figure in Third World Forestry Sat. Dec. 4, 1999. The Irish Times.

3. Roche, Laurence. Conserving Endangered Tree Species. The Road to Extinction: Problems of Categorizing the Status of Taxa Threatened with Extinction : Proceedings of a Symposium Held by the Species Survival Commission, Madrid, 7 and 9 November 1984
IUCN conservation library International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Editors Richard Fitter, Maisie Fitter Contributors International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Species Survival Commission, United Nations Environment Programme Edition illustrated. Publisher IUCN, 1987. ISBN 2880329299, 9782880329297

4. Roche, Laurence. Neglected value of green city lungs New Scientist. 8 Sep 1977. Vol. 75, No. 1068. ISSN 0262-4079

5. Roche, Laurence. Report on trhree weeks consultancy in Forest Genetics Resources Conservation, Brazil. Consultant Final Report IICA/Embrapa-Procensul II Publisher Bib. Orton IICA / CATIE. JUne 254-July 14, 1987.

6. Roche, L. Gene Resource Conservation International Union of Forestry Research Organisations (IUFRO) Working Party S2.02.2 L. Roche. Head Department of Forestry University of Ibada, Nigeria.

7. Roche, Laurence “The Profession of Forestry Now and in the Year 2000.” The Commonwealth Forestry Review, vol. 71, no. 1, 1992, pp. 13–19. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42608498.

8. Roche, Laurence The Professional Forester and the Farmer: One Man’s Experience.” The International Forestry Review, vol. 1, no. 2, 1999, pp. 112–114. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42609155.

9. Roche, Laurence The Silvicultural Significance of Geographic Variation in the White Engelmann Spruce Complex in British Columbia
The Forestry Chronicle, 1970, 46(2): 116-125, https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc46116-2

10. Stern, Dr. Klaus and Laurence Roche. Genetics of Forest Ecosystems
Volume 6 of Ecological Studies Edition illustrated. Publisher Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. ISBN 3642655173, 9783642655173. Page 1 and 3.

11. West, Trevor. Roche, Laurence . Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press.

For more information:
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
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Facebook: StBarbeBaker
Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Facebook: South West OLRA
Contact the Meewasin Valley Authority in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The MVA has begun a Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund. If you wish to support the afforestation area with your donation, write a cheque to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund (MVA RSBBAA trust fund)”. Please and thank you!
Twitter: StBarbeBaker
Please contemplate joining the SOS Elms coalition or make a donation to SOS Elms ~ leave a message to support the afforestation area 😉

Forests are our lungs

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, south west sector, in the City of Saskatoon, SK, CA

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Native species, Trembling Aspen or Populus tremuloides, quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, Quakies, mountain or golden aspen, trembling poplar, white poplar,, Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA

This generation may either be the last to exist in any semblance of a civilised world or that it will be the first to have the vision, the bearing and the greatness to say, ‘I will have nothing to do with this destruction of life, I will play no part in this devastation of the land, I am determined to live and work for peaceful construction for I am morally responsible for the world of today and the generations of tomorrow. “Richard St. Barbe Baker

How are forests and trees fundamental to the City of Saskatoon? What is Saskatoon doing? Learn more about the City of Saskatoon’s urban forestry program and Canada’s National Forest Week.

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

What can you do on Canada’s National Forest Week September 24-30, 2017? Will you plant a free tree in the City of Saskatoon? Will you be as Richard St. Barbe Baker’s Watu wa Miti of Kenya Africa ~the founding members of the International Tree Foundation~the Men of the Trees who promised before N’gai, the High God, that they would protect the native forest, plant ten native trees each year, and take care of trees everywhere.

- Learn about and the City of Saskatoon’s Urban Forestry Civic Service Review
- Follow the City of Saskatoon’s Urban Forestry department for facts, opportunities and updates
- Saskatoon’s Urban Forest
- Protect Saskatoon’s Trees
- Tree Request for New Neighbourhoods in Saskatoon
- Tree Request for Established Residential & Industrial Neighbourhoods of Saskatoon
- Bylaw No. 7767 The Recreation Facilities and Parks Usage Bylaw, 1998
- Bylaw No. 8310 The Waste Bylaw, 2004
- BYLAW NO. 5713 A bylaw of The City of Saskatoon to regulate and control the dumping of refuse and waste material on property under the ownership or control of The City of Saskatoon.
- During this National Forest Week, take a walk in the South West Off Leash Dog Park, or in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and tell your story on facebook; Facebook: StBarbeBaker
  Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
  Facebook: South West OLRA
- When you are out in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area snap a photo and tweet it using the hashtag #StBarbeBaker
- Submit your story ~ your event~ to the Canadian Forestry calendar
- During this 150th anniversary of Canada, wouldn’t it be fantastic to have Saskatoon’s population of 300,000 put in tree requests and fulfill and enhance the vision of a green city begun by Bert Wellman and Bill Graham in the 1960s!!!

“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife, are in fact plans to protect man.”
― Stewart L. Udall

The “Saskatoon’s Forests. Our Stories, Our Future, Celebrating Saskatoon’s Forests!” project is now launched!!! Email your story

“Be like a tree in pursuit of your cause. Stand firm, grip hard, thrust upward. Bend to the winds of heaven. And learn tranquility.
” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker

For more information:

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′
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
Facebook: StBarbeBaker
Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Facebook: South West OLRA
Contact the Meewasin Valley Authority in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The MVA has begun a Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund. If you wish to support the afforestation area with your donation, write a cheque to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund (MVA RSBBAA trust fund)”. Please and thank you!
Twitter: StBarbeBaker

Forest Ecology

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area in the fog

A forest ecology is a delicate one. If the forest perishes, its fauna may go with it. The athshean word for world is also the word for forest.

Ursula K. Le Guin

National Forest Week September 24-30, 2017

The Canadian Institure of Forestery suggests several activities for Canada’s Forest Week such as;

Take a walk in woods nearby and get to know your forest

Arrange a tree planting: Tree Canada

Care for a newly planted or neglected tree, and study its species

Identify all the things at home or school that are made of wood

Learn about organizations that demonstrate sustainable forest management

Tour a forest sector industry or processing site

Learn about the prevention of forest fires

Contact a provincial forestry association for teaching materials.

Visit the NFW-BC Coalition website for information about NFW in the west!

Lead a National Forest Week event!

Submit your forestry event to the calendar, and download the free poster! Celebrate the passion you have to save your forests.

What happens Wednesday September 27, 2017?

“The weight of our civilization has become so great, it now ranks as a global force and a significant wild card in the human future along with the Ice Ages and other vicissitudes of a volatile and changeable planetary system”- Dianne Dumanoski

For more information:

Decide now

Animal explosion or People explosion?

July 11: World Population Day

Planet Earth, the World, is in our Hands

Business, Technology, 21st Century Culture, Planet Earth

In 1957, Richard St. Barbe Baker was “convinced that the vegan way of life is the only sane way of life, and realising that the basic cause of tension is growing populations and diminishing food sources, for the past ten years I have devoted much of my time to studying the question of food production and the problems of large scale land reclamation by tree planting.”

Thomas Malthus notes that with an increase in world population, a pre-requisite is needed, food for that mass of humanity. “Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will shew the immensity of the first power in comparison of the second.

By that law of our nature which makes food necessary to the life of man, the effects of these two unequal powers must be kept equal.

This implies a strong and constantly operating check on population from the difficulty of subsistence.”

“The world’s problem, is not a population explosion, but animal explosion. We’ve got to decide whether we are going to feed animals or humans. To feed animals is a roundabout way of getting food. It takes 18 times more land to feed people on beef than on vegetables, nuts fruits and grains.” Richard St. Barbe Baker.

In June of 2017, the world population is calculated at 7.5 billion. The “latest projections indicate that the world will have around 8.6 billion people in 2030 and 9.8 billion in 2050. Keeping in mind that projections farther into the future are increasingly uncertain, the medium variant projection foresees a world population of 11.2 billion people in 2100.^Wilmoth” With every increase of about 5 billion souls there is “another billion hectares of human-claimed landscape, a billion hectares less forest ~ even without allowing for any further deforestation by the current human population.~ ^Quammen”

Scientists have summarized the increase of population and the ensuing environmental degradation as IPAT, where “Environmental impacts (I) equals population (P) times affluence (A) (usually income per capita) times the impacts per unit of income as determined by technology (T) and the institutions that use it. ^Kates

“Not even very large losses from disease or war can affect the world’s population in the long run nearly as much as changes in human values do. What we have learned from the dramatic changes of the past few centuries is that regardless of the size of the world population at any time, people’s personal decisions about how many children they want can make the world population go anywhere – to zero or to 100 billion or more.~^Singer”

This July 11, World Population Day, do you agree with Richard St. Barbe Baker?
“They’re teaching about The Pyramid of Life in the schools today. There is the ground producing all the soil bacteria, which is in the top few inches. That grows the grass, and a a lamb comes along and eats ten pounds of grass, and that makes one lamb, and then a tiger comes along and eats ten pounds of lamb, and that makes one pound of tiger. We have too many tigers. The Pyramid of Life is upset, and one of the things we must do is to turn from an animal economy to a silvan economy. We’ve got to have tree crops, instead of wasting all this land for raising beef and bringing money to the beef barons, who are proud to call themselves beef barons. It takes eighteen times more land to feed people on beef than it does on nuts and fruit. Eighteen times more land. When half the human family today are dying from starvation. I don’t feel justified in making these demands on the earth. I, myself have been a lifelong vegetarian. ”

BIBLIOGRAPHY
11 by Paul Hanley Quote: “Eleven billion people will crowd this marvelous planet by century’s end. If the global economy were to grow five-fold during this period as predicted, humanity’s ecological footprint would exceed Earth’s biocapacity by 400%. We need to chart a new course to the future.”

Kates, Robert W. Population and Consumption. What we know, What we need to know. Annual Edition. Environment 02/03. Editor John L. Allen McGraw-Hill Dushkin. page 36-41

Quammen, David. Planet of Weeds. Annual Edition. Environment 02/03. Editor John L. Allen McGraw-Hill Dushkin.

Singer, Max. The Population Surprise. From the Atlantic Monthly. August 1999, pp.22-25. Annual Edition. Environment 02/03. Editor John L. Allen McGraw-Hill Dushkin. Page 30-31.

World Population Prospects 2017 United Nations Press briefing for the launch of the World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision. Statement by Mr. John Wilmoth, Director, Population Division Department of Economic and Social Affairs United Nations 21 June 2017

If the armies of the world could be redeployed in planting in the Sahara desert, in eight years a hundred million people could be rehabilitated and supplied with protein-rich food grown from virgin sand. If we could only accept the challenge and make that a One World Purpose, this would unite East and West and be the scientific and physical answer to the world’s dilemna.~Richard St. Barbe Baker

For more information:

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, SK, CA north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city.
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
Facebook: StBarbeBaker
Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Facebook: South West OLRA
Contact the Meewasin Valley Authority as the MVA has begun a Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund. If you wish to support the afforestation area with your donation, write a cheque to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund (MVA RSBBAA trust fund)” .
Twitter: St Barbe Baker

Our task must be to free ourselves … by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.~Albert Einstein

. We have a motto in the Men of the Trees. TWAHAMWE. It is an African word meaning ‘pull together’ and I pass this on to all those concerned with conservation in this country. I would like to call you to silence for a moment with the words of Mathew Arnold:
“Calm soul of all things, make it mine,
To feel amidst the City ‘s jar
That there abides a peace of thine
Men did not make and cannot mar
~Richard St. Barbe Baker

How? Recreation in harmony with wildlife.

Is it possible and How?

Caragana arborescens, the Siberian peashrub, Siberian pea-tree, or caragana

Planet Earth, the World, is in our Hands

Cross Country Skiing at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Sasktachewan

Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis

South West Off Leash Recreation Area. Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Meewasin Valley Authority, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

American Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus),

Pelican Preenning

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and West Swale Wetlands in the fog

White-Tailed Deer Fawn

Canada Goose Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and West Swale Wetlands, Saskatoon, Sk, CA

“Every trail can’t be all things to all people but all trails can play beneficial roles. Trails play roles in the economy, play roles in the environment and perhaps most importantly, play roles in our health.^*” Trails have the capacity to provide connectivity, economic benefits, education potential, environmental interpretation, health, heritage, and recreation. Trails can also focus on just interpretive trails. Trails may be made solely for recreation without awareness of the environment. Those people focusing on the lack of Vitamin “N” in the urban population, may construct trails for education and health, and not focus on a wide variety of recreation. Then there are those trails which with planning and foresight have the capacity to combine many features for an audience of skiiers, classrooms of snowshoers, groups of fat bicycle riders, and nature enthusiasts who come to the forest to band birds. Trails invite people and increase the human footprint. Is it at all possible for trails to provide health benefits of recreation and to conserve the footprint of birds and wildlife at the same time?

Trails can be constructed to encircle biospheres, and trails can loop around and create length for an exercise workout. Ecosystems in the afforestation area vary widely. Prairie gives way to permanent class IV wetlands, in turn cycles to Aspen Parkland bluffs, which at the next turn reveals implanted and afforested trees. Native grasslands mix with modified grasslands. Native trees combine with afforested mature tree plantings. Shallow temporary floodplains flow with intermittent streams between marsh areas.

Abandoned roadways in the afforestation area formerly allowed motorized vehicle travel east and west. Newly created trails create greenways through the forest biome itself.

“‘Planning Trails with Wildlife in Mind’ helps trail planners and builders balance the benefits of creating trails with being stewards of nature and wildlife habitat.” How does one make a bicycle path appropriate for a semi-wilderness wildlife habitat? What are some guidelines for being aware of wildlife, aquatic areas, and environmental impacts and consequences? Can trails be designed in the winter months without an awareness of the spring, summer and fall biosphere? How can trails enrich greenways, and the wildlife, while still providing a recreational experience? Are there impacts of trails on the nesting site of deer families, and fawns? What is the view from the bird’s nest with an increase of trail users in a forest?

Is it possible that a greenway concept or trail design, that the flora and fauna of wetlands and woodlands can thrive alongside people in nature? What types of design considerations and awareness of the biodiversity are required? Trail and corridor planning has the capacity to provide ecologically sustainable trails for a city urban footprint. Trails can protect environmental resources, if the natural eco-system is e

Fat Bike bicyling at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Horseback Riding

Canada 150 km walk

valuated, and considered.

However, that being said, trails can focus only on recreational aspects, and those benefits. Trails can be indeed fantastic ways to enjoy winter recreation. Once built, the same trails over the spring, summer and fall months, have opened up the wildlife habitat to people. There is no doubt about it, the winter recreation trails don’t disappear along with the snow melt.

Do these trails bring people into the environment with minimal environmental impact? What happens on a winter trail in the summer? Do the trails provide the tourist with the capacity for educational, scenic or interpretive opportunity year round? Can all vegetation be linked with a greenway corridor, or are there species which do not thrive around a trail? Similarly what species of animals will make homes, reproduce, and live in the same habitat as trails? Can this be accomplished, or does it become an either or? Is it a choice to choose between trails and a variety of fauna, or can they exist together? Do trails include the biosphere of flora and fauna species and therefore enhance the environment?

How do challenging bicycling and hiking trails compare to a shorter interpretive or nature trail? Is the area only large enough for recreational trails, and the park should only be open in the winter, and close up for the other seasons? Can recreational winter trails, afford environmentally friendly trails during other seasons?

Trails dig deep into a woodland, when a trail transects through a forest what are the impacts on the woodland animals, and birds? Do botanists work alongside trail planners to know which areas are sensitive and which would thrive with trails?

Trails are amazing things, a well-designed trail has minimal devastation to the vegetation, are easy to hike, bicycle, ski and snowshoe. However it may possibly be that protecting the vegetation, is not the sole responsibility when trail planning when providing a minimum impact onto an eco-system. Again, trails are truly amazing things, providing people with an opportunity to bicycle in nature, hike, showshoe, ski, or band birds. Alongside the vegetation, good trail planning will consider the seasons and the urban footprint all year round. If a winter ski trail is created in one area of a biome, will this impact where a deer gives birth to a fawn in the spring? When a winter trail loops through a forest, will that have a ripple effect on species of birds nesting over the summer?

Eco-tourism is wonderful. A healthy and active outdoor lifestyle is absolutely marvelous. Having the capacity to celebrate a semi-wilderness habitat in the city is remarkable. What is the way to make these concepts mutally inclusive? How can winter trail networks live in harmony with semi-wilderness wildlife habitats? This question begs the need to know what wildlife habitats exist, which species live where. Where do the nature enthusiasts band their birds? Where do the deers nest their fawns? If these questions are answered, the biosphere, is truly enhanced with trails, and the next generation of skiiers, snowshoers, hikers, and bicyclers will also be handed a glimpse of a deer, and the grandchildren of the bird-banders, will also be able to band birds alongside the same trails. Wouldn’t that be fantastic if many generations of recreational enthusiasts, could have a grand time celebrating winter, and that their great grandchildren may also see a deer in a city forest? Is it possible and how can it be accomplished? The question now is how?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
* Benefits of Trails Hike Ontario.

Trails, Bike and Hike: Inpsiring a Healthy Environment Upper Thams River Conservation Authority. Parks Recreation and Natural Areas.

National Trails Training Partnership Wildlife and environment impacts and benefits of Trails and Greenways.

Benefits of Trails | Rails to Trails

Enhancing the Environment with Trails and Greenways. Rails to Trails Conservancy.

Trails in Saskatchewan Provincial Parks

For more information:

Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

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

Facebook: South West Off Leash Recreation Area SW OLRA

Pinterest richardstbarbeb