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

End of Day 2 Results.

So, the City Nature Challenge has come halfway, day 2 of 4 days.

What a ride it has been! Let’s recap again about some highlights.

So when you want to check out how Saskatoon and area is faring there are two counters. One is on iNaturalist here. The other scoreboard is here, as the Saskatoon City Nature Challenge signed up to BioSmart.

What is the difference? Well BioSmart shows the addition of both iNaturalist and eBird observations! In two days this is how Saskatoon and area has fared on BioSmart;

598
Observations

419
Identifications

217
Species

38
People

So that is pretty sweet! Hats off to everyone.

The ever beautiful Crocus Pulsatilla nuttalliana has been recorded today as an observation!

There has been an observation of a “Puccinia monoica (Rust Fungus) that infects prairie plants in early spring, usually species of Rock Cress (Boechera/Arabis)” (the description given by Glen Lee)

There are no more white rabbit sightings, only brown White-tailed Jackrabbits *whew*.

Some very beautiful Wintergreens are making a carpet of green which is ever wonderful to see.

If you have never seen a wondrous Spring Avens, well they are in bud now, so that is pretty cool!

But besides saying what is recorded, we should mention what is NOT recorded. There are NO pelican sightings recorded yet! And yet we know they arrived April 21! NO beaver nor muskrat sightings. So now the race is on, to see who can get the first pelican, beaver and muskrat sighting! Can you do it? Check on eBird Saskatoon for end of April usual bird sightings, and then it will be discovered what there may be to look for still 😉

Out of all the potential birds of prey around and about Saskatoon which may be sighted such as hawks, owls, vultures, only two have been registered to date = a Turkey Vulture, and a Merlin.

You know what is a rather unique and interesting happenstance of the City Nature Challenge? iNat user svetlana-bogdanovich out of Ukraine has made the most observations! So in the middle of war-torn Ukraine, svetlana has made 505 observations in 2 days! That is pretty incredible.

User eduardoramirez-anapri from Madrid Spain has made 444 observations in the first 2 days.

American Pelican Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK, CA — Pelican Preening

Celebrate 50 years! Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park were planted to trees in 1972, 50 years ago. Come out and say Happy Birthday!

YouTube

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 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!

Donations can be made through Paypal, Canada Helps, Contact Donate A Car Canada, SARCAN Drop & Go 106100594 for the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc.

United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Use the UN Decade’s Visual Identity
Make it your own
Spread the word about the UN Decade
Let’s Bring Back Forests
Let’s Green Our Cities

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

Volunteer Safely for Earth Month!

The Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park need you! If you would like to truly become a knowledegable biophiliac, use your time during COVID-19 to order Trees in Canada written by John Laird Farrar. This most excellent book introduces one to the 12 groupings of trees. And you may have thought there were only two – evergreens (conifers) and deciduous (broad-leaf) trees. If you would like to be able to identify the various characteristics of trees, then Farrar has provided this excellent resource. On pages 62-63, for instance the leaves, buds, twigs, seed cones, seeds, seedlings, bark, size and form are noted for the Scots Pine (Scotch pine Pinus sylvestris L.)

Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish.”

― Munia Khan

You can take care of yourself, and do your part for social isolation during this COVID-19 pandemic, and help the forests at the same time! If you are on self-isolation, go on iNaturalist at home, and help identify the species that have already been found!

The long needles of the Scots Pine

Richard St. Barbe Baker AFforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK

Trembling Aspen Leaf with dew drops, Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA

Baby Deer ~ Fawn

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Saturday, April 4, and coming to the close of the first week of Earth Month. This year’s Ear th Day 2020 theme is Climate Action.

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

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!

Canada Helps

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

“From the forest and wilderness come the tonics and bark which brace mankind…A town is saved, not more by the righteous men in it than by the woods and swamps that surround it…”
-Henry David Thoreau

“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

Biodiversity Efforts

JackRabbit West Swale Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Saskatoon, SK, CA

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

At the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK Construction Discards and Hazardous Waste. Before the 2016 Community Clean Up

Clean Up Volunteers at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestaton Area, Saskatoon, SK 2016 Community Clean Up

Species at risk: Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo) butterfly depends on buckwheat host plant.

It’s biodiversity decade 2011-2020. What is biodiversity? Biodiversity is species biodiversity, ecological biodiversity, and genetic biodiversity.

At the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation area, there is a great diversity of ecosystems and habitats. There are native and modified grasslands, native and afforested woodlands, as well as the West Swale wetlands, including the north segment of Chappell Marsh.

Flora and fauna species biodiversity abounds within each of the biomes of the afforestation area mentioned above.

Genetic biodiversity, which encompasses those differentiation within a species. ” All dogs are part of the same species, but their genes can dictate whether they are Chihuahua or a Great Dane. There can be a lot of variation in genes – just think about all the colors, sizes, and shapes that make up the genetic diversity of dogs. ^NWF” Consider hybridization of tree species in the afforestation area.

Globally, efforts are underway to protect biodiversity! You, now, can support the national interest in preserving biodiversity by becoming involved locally. For instance, Meewasin Valley Authority is currently conducting a city wide river bank clean up the Meewasin Spring Clean-up Campaign April 22 – May 19, 2017. The South West off leash recreation area is hosting their clean up April 29, 2017 10:00 a.m. to noon.

“About a third of assessed species worldwide are threatened with extinction in the wild. Ecosystem diversity is also vulnerable”^NCC.“ The Nature Conservancy of Canada, states that the Canadian Prairies are the “world’s most endangered ecosystem…. temperate grasslands are endangered…[they] are faced with continuing habitat loss, fragmentation and desertification, impacting both biodiversity and local people that rely on healthy grasslands for their livelihood.”NCC.” NCC realizes the plight of temperate grasslands, as do the International Union for the Conservation of Nature the Journal of Ecological Letters and the journal Science magazine all have reported on the dire straits of the prairie grasslands. What will be the domino effect on flora and fauna, on the natural wildlife habitat which relies on native grasslands? Ranging across the prairies, the plains bison, swift fox, greater sage grouse, Baird’s sparrow, Sprague’s pipit and chestnut-collared longspur, for example, are few and far between.

- Do you value your naturalized areas?
- Are you part of the management of your local heritage?
- Do you treasure your woodland, wetland, river, and grassland areas?
- How can do you help?

Did you know that “Legacy pollution refers to any pollution that remains from past activities where there is no immediately responsible party who can be held liable for the pollution and compelled to carry out remediation…1) Accept the problem and establish responsibility and leadership. ^Targeting”

“It is important to remember that when combined each local effort has the power to change the world. Without such changes, our children may never know the rich biodiversity we experience today.^{Clean UP.} “

Remember to support your local bio-diversity;

International Day of Forests March 21
World Water Day March 22
Earth Day April 22
International Day for Biological Diversity May 22
World Environment Day June 5
National Forest Week is the last full week of September
National Tree Day (Maple Leaf Day) falls on the Wednesday of that week.

Do you have an avid interest in the first arrival of spring’s robin? The pelican? The pasqueflower, or spring crocus? The Meadowlark? These true harbringers of spring rely on your active engagement to protect biodiversity locally in your area!

When opening the Loraas bins lids at the South Saskatchewan River weir it was indeed found empty?!?!?! Does this imply that a huge amount of volunteers have been out which is fantastic and the Loraas bin has been emptied, Wow! Or does it mean that no one has been cleaning around the weir and area, arrggghhh.

Kudos and congratulations to all those volunteers who have filled the Loraas bins at Meewasin Park north to overflowing, what a testament to cleaning up the river, and the shoreline.

“Threats to biodiversity include habitat loss, …and breaking the connectivity among ecosystems.Threats “

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Amel, Elise, Christie Manning, Britain Scott, and Susan Koger. Beyond the roots of human inaction: Fostering collective effort toward ecosystem conservation. Science 21 April 2017: Vol 356 Issue 6335, pp. 275-279, DOEL10:1126/Science .Aal1931

Cooke, Sonia Van Gilder. Q&A. Biodiversity. How is biodiversity threatened and what is done to protect it? Environment. The Guardian. April 6, 2010.

Environmental Health News. Sunday April 23, 2017

Fact Sheet Biodiversity. About, Loss and Conserving. Clean up the World Pty Ltd. Royal Exchange NSW, Australia.

Ding, Yifan. Impact of Affluence and Overexploitation of natural resources. Environment and Development Vol 1. Institute of World Development, Development Research Centre of State Council People’s Republic of China.

International Decade of Biodiversity 2011-2020 Evibe. Education for Sustainability. Auckland Council. Issue 4 2012

Cardinale, Bradley J., J. Emmett Duffy, Andrew Gonzalez, David U. Hooper, Charles Perrings, Patrick Venail, Anita Narwani, Georgina M. Mace, David Tilman,, David A. Wardle, Ann P. Kinzig, Gretchen C. Daily, Michel Loreau, James B. Grace,
Anne Larigauderie, Diane S. Srivastava, & Shahid Naeem. Review. Biodiversity loss and its impact on mankind. Cardinale et al Nature 2012. doi:10.1038/nature1148

Targeting Legacy Pollution Tools Available to Governments to handle Pollution from Legacy Problems. Guidance Note on Legacy Pollution.

Threats to Biodiversity MH education. ON Science 9 Unit 1 Section 3.3

United Nations on Biodiversity 2011-2020 Convention on Biological Diversity. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. World Trade Centre. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

What is Bio-diversity? National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Why Canada’s prairies are the world’s most endangered eco-system. Nature Conservancy of Canada. NCC

Facebook United Nations Decade on Biodiversity

Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world’s nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth’s ecosystems, eliminating genes, species and biological traits at an alarming rate. This observation led to the question of how such loss of biological diversity will alter the functioning of ecosystems and their ability to provide society with the goods and services needed to prosper”.^Cardinale

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 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)

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

“It would seem that the West is heading for a precipice. When a blind man is walking towards a precipice, a friend will seize him and turn him around and set him walking in the opposite direction…Already half the human family is on the verge of starvation, for man breeds and lives beyond the limits of the land. “~ Richard ST. Barbe Baker

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