Bloom where you are planted

Bloom where you are planted.  Afforested in 1972, the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas have become home to native plants of Saskatchewan.  The forest provides a unique biome, and soil for even the rarest of species.

Rose in the Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Bee

Small Yellow Lady’s Slipper – Cypripedium parviflorum Courtesy James St. John cc2-0

Right now, write down 20 things you are grateful for in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park.

What are five ways the afforestation areas can help you find health and happiness?

How old are the old-growth areas of the afforestation areas?  How many trembling aspen bluffs are there?  Are there other trees which were not afforested?

“There is no mystery about the succession of forest-growths, nothing in Nature is more plain and simple.  We cannot but admire her wisdom, economy and justness, compensating in another direction for any disadvantage a species may have to labor under.  Every kind of tree has an interesting history in itself. Seeds with a hard shell, or with a pulpy and resinous covering, which retards their germination, are often saved from becoming extinct by these means.” Mr. Robert Douglas, horticulturalist and forestry consultant.

To celebrate Arbor Day this Friday May 22, 2020 virtually, Coloring Page 2, a pdf file for free download. (preview first)  In this free coloring page, there is also a puzzle.  Can you find the two birds in the tree?  When you are out walking can you find the birds in the trees, and spot the woodpeckers?

Starting Sunday May 17 and continuing on until Sunday May 24, is arbor week.  Richard St. Barbe Baker..said to a lady once who wanted to plant a tree in his honour, “Madam, don’t plant a tree, plant a wood.”  And here, in Saskatoon, we have planted an afforestation area named in honour of Richard St. Barbe Baker, biologist and botanist, environmental activist and author.

Art is for everybody. 

Arbor Day Safe Forests Go Fund Me Page to support our trees in the afforestation areas!

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

  Canada Helps

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 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
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 your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

  Canada Helps

The children and nature movement is fueled by this fundamental idea: the child in nature is an endangered species, and the health of children and the health of the Earth are inseparable.Richard Louv

 

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall

Happiness Happens

Happiness Happens Day
August 8, 2017

 

Happy Girl

Happy dog frolicking in the grass off leash at SW off leash recreation area

Happy woman in winter

So here is a question. Do you have a point of view which sees the glass as half full or half empty? Do you commonly say “S&*% Happens” or do you embrace whole heartedly “Happiness Happens”?

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
― Anne Frank

What is possible on Happiness Happens Day? Perhaps it will be testing Ann Frank’s hypothesis about being happy while immersed in nature while out and about at the afforestation areas of Saskatoon.

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.'”

—Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath felt it, the happiness in nature. At the afforestation areas, there is scenery, fresh woodlands air, trees, wetlands, and if your timing is right deer, squirrels, birds, and a plethora of waterfowl.

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. Anthony J. D’Angelo

Where will you find joy and happiness? Are you content to wander down a winding woodland trail? Or do you prefer taking your puppy out between the trembling aspen at the South West off leash recreation area?

Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift. Albert Einstein

 

Wildlife Montage. Red Winged Blackbird, White Tailed Deer Fawn, Garter Snake, JackRabbit, Mallard Ducklings, Black Crowned Night Heron

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 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
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!

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: ^***

 

“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger

“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

“Act. Don’t react. See a need, fix it first. Worry about the details later. If you wait until you are asked you have just missed a golden opportunity. They are fleeting and rare.” Philip Wollen founder of Winsome Kindness Trust

“I believe with Ruskin, that I must be just to the Earth beneath my feet, to the neighbour by my side and to the Light that comes from above and within that this wonderful world of ours may be a little more beautiful and happy form my having lived in it. “Richard St. Barbe Baker.

International Happiness Day

International Happiness Day March 2, 2017

 

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) photo credit William Warby

Pelican Preenning

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

“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

Each day is a little life. Celebrate this International Day of Happiness at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and wrap yourself in the ever-unfolding happiness which Richard St. Barbe Baker himself speaks of. Jiggle with laughter as the joy permeates your whole being.

Our climate is so happy, that even in the worst months of the year, “calm mornings of sunshine visit us at times, appearing like glimpses of departed spring amid the wilderness of wet and windy days that lead to winter. It is pleasant, when these interludes of silver light occur, to stride into the woods and see how wonderful are all the colors of decay. Overhead, the elms and poplars hang their wealth of golden leaves.In the hedges pale snow berries and scarlet hips are wreathed with golden rod and here, like knots of rosy buds, on delicate frail twigs. No face welcomed us but the fine fantastic sprays of free and happy evergreen trees, waving one above another in their ancient home. Underneath lie fallen leaves, and the tall grass prairie rises to our knees as we thread the forest paths. Nature, though it be end autumn, is ever in her spring, where the moss-grown and decaying trees are not old, but seem to enjoy a perpetual youth; and blissful, innocent Nature, like a serene infant, is too happy to make a noise, except by a few tinkling, lisping birds and trickling rills?”

“Happy are they that findeth wisdom,
And the man that getteth understanding:
For the merchandise of it is better than silver,
And the gain thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies:
And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand,
And in her left hand riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.”~Proverbs of Solomon

“I am a part of all that I have seen.”—Alfred Lord Tennyson

Laughter, is truly, the best medicine.  Go out into nature, celebrate returning to your roots, and be happy, and healthy.

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 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
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!

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

 

“I believe that if children fall in love with wildlife they will grow up wanting to protect it.”
― Imogen Taylor

. 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

 

“Be gentle – gentle – gentle with the tree,….Put your hands like this to bless it…I want you to feel your love going out from your fingertips to the …[tree], and, you know, this will help it grow, make it happy…We love to be blessed don’t we? And the trees love to be blessed. ..” ~Richard St. Barbe Baker /strong>

“He that planteth a tree is a Servant of God
He provideth a Kindness, for many generations
and faces he hath not seen shall bless him.
Who so walketh in solitude, And inhabiteth the wood,
Choosing light, wave, rock and bird,
Before the money-loving herd,
Unto that forester· shall pass,
From these companions, power and grace.
Woodnotes,” Emerson

Songs to Enchant the Forest and Soul

A song of enchantment I sang me there
In a green green wood by waters fair
Just as the words came up to me
I sang it under a wild wood tree
~ A song of enchantment

It was fitting and magical that the afforestation area with the namesake Richard St. Barbe Baker, was truly blessed with the repertoire of the Sacred Web Singers SWS singing tree songs in the forest. The Sacred Web Singers sing in the style of Carolyn McDade. The lyrics pay tribute to Gaia, and the verses adapted to the afforestation allowing the pure and encompassing spirit of the moment to resonate

The song Drift like a breath and learn your way down through the trees captured the essential elements of the forest. Imagine sitting within the canopy of the forest, hearing the breeze tickle the Trembling Aspen leaves, smelling the fresh woodland Rose bloom, listening to We of Earth^{You Tube} or You Tube caressing the branches by the singing circle^{You Tube} as the Black Capped Chickadees kept time. The melody, O Beautiful Gaia ~ Love Songs to Earth truly captured the essence of St. Barbe Baker’s mystical experience.

“I became intoxicated with the beauty all around me, immersed in the joyousness and exultation of feeling part of it all….I had entered the temple of the woods. “Richard St. Barbe Baker.

The forest and the trees capture the enchantment of the moment, and the songs celebrate and rejoice. To immerse oneself and listen to the Sacred Singers’s songs, brings one home again to the forest no matter where the journey takes you.

“We wait, starving for moments of high magic to inspire us, but life is full of common enchantment waiting for our alchemists eyes to notice.”
― Jacob Nordby

 

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area in the fog

White-tailed Deer Fawn. Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life….
So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts: Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness.”
― Hermann Hesse

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 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
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 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!

Paypal

Payment Options

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

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

What was Richard St. Barbe Baker’s mission, that he imparted to the Watu Wa Miti, the very first forest scouts or forest guides?  To protect the native forest, plant ten native trees each year, and take care of trees everywhere.

“We stand in awe and wonder at the beauty of a single tree. Tall and graceful it stands, yet robust and sinewy with spreading arms decked with foliage that changes through the seasons, hour by hour, moment by moment as shadows pass or sunshine dapples the leaves. How much more deeply are we moved as we begin to appreciate the combined operations of the assembly of trees we call a forest.”~Richard St. Barbe Baker

 

 

Songs enchant the breeze.
Songs enchant the breeze rhythm
Songs bring souls together
Witnessing the world was never easier.
Its the songs that make it easy.
~Satish Chandra