Sunset at Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon Seasons greetings from Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon American red squirrel from Richard St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon.
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 Blogger: FriendsAfforestation Tumblr friendsafforestation.tumblr.com Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park Facebook: StBarbeBaker Afforestation Area Facebook for the non profit Charity Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. FriendsAreas Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Facebook: South West OLRA Reddit: FriendsAfforestation Twitter: St Barbe BakerCharityTwitter:FriendsAreas Mix: friendsareas Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail / e-transfers )Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date! Canada Helps 1./ Learn. 2./ Experience 3./ Do Something:*** “The future of the planet concerns all of us, and all of us should do what we can to protect it. ” Wangari Maathai. “The science of forestry arose from the recognition of a universal need. It embodies the spirit of service to mankind in attempting to provide a means of supplying forever a necessity of life and, in addition, ministering to man’s aesthetic tastes and recreational interests. Besides, the spiritual side of human nature needs the refreshing inspiration which comes from trees and woodlands. If a nations saves its trees, the trees will save the nation. And nations as well as tribes may be brought together in this great movement, based on the ideal of beautifying the world by the cultivation of one of God’s loveliest creatures – the tree.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.
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
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!
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
“Clearly, human pressure is exerting a sudden and cataclysmic impact on much of this province, if viewed in the time-frame of evolution and geology to which the rhythms of ecosystems are tuned. The groundswell of environmental concern taking shape among us, its citizens, results in public pressure for new and stronger strictures on human exploitation and desecration…Such action is needed as the embodiment of an ethical responsibility to the land and living things, for our own well-being as well as for that of all other species.” Theberge, 1989. P.376
“But what neither Yeats nor Einstein could envisage as they stared into their personal crystal balls for intimations of the future is that a biological breakdown of the entire planet was possible; that was beyond even their imaginations. When contemplating the future, they thought in social and economic terms and of the possibilities of nuclear war, but fundamental changes to the planet’s biomass or the biochemistry of the atmosphere just wasn’t on their radar.~Clive Doucet.
“In the 21st century, you don’t need to be a great physicist, poet or novelist to anticipate a different and more profound danger to humanity in your personal crystal ball; being a city councillor will suffice.”~Clive Doucet.
What do afforestation areas provide in an era of climate change?
Snowfall Saturday September 22 2018 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, SK, CA
Branta canadensis Canada Goose
Richard St. Barbe Baker OBE, Hon. LL.D. F.I.A.L., For.Dip.Cantab., ACF (9 October 1889 – 9 June 1982)
How does one explain extinction? “Like a child descending a playground slide, a point is passed in the descent when the acceleration becomes so swift that the final transformative moments occur with unstoppable finality. In the case of the biosphere, the final transformation is more likely to be exactly this kind of sudden transition, not a predictable, gentle last step down a biological staircase. ..there would be no final warning at all; that it would happen from one season to the next and by definition in a way that no one expected.”~Clive Doucet.
People are generally aware of the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and climate change. Similarly, folks are aware of the ozone layer thinning, allowing heat to escape. “During the day, the temperature on the earth’s surface rockets up and then at night diminishes very quickly; these sharp temperature differentials cause hurricanes and form new deserts because fewer plants can survive to conserve water and create the transpiration cycle that the atmosphere needs to continue a balanced, regenerative behavior.”~Clive Doucet.
“In Europe right now, it takes years for the vegetation to recover from a severe summer heat wave and drought. The year following a heat wave has less plants, less transpiration, less cooling oxygen, less reduction of carbon dioxide.”~Clive Doucet.
“Planting and growing increasing quantities of trees is the scientific solution to Earth’s environmental dilemma.” –Richard St. Barbe-Baker
What do George Genereux Urban Regional park, and the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area provide to you?
These two afforestation areas are not park spaces with money allocated for their upkeep, maintenance or forest management. George Genereux Urban Regional park, and the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area are not municipal reserves or naturalized area reserves. These two afforestation areas belong to land bank, the city department in charge of buying and selling land.
The responsibility is not shouldered by our governments alone, nor solely by our city councillors. Democracy is a word which comes from two Greek words; dēmos “common people,” and kratos “rule, strength.”
So, our government, our city councillors depend on the voice of the common people. As a matter of fact, Saskatoon started an initiative called Saskatoon Speaks. Email your city and your mayor and your councillor. Ask questions, learn, and get answers. Your mayor and your city councillor are hired with your tax dollars, they work for you. You are the employer, speak up.
The Saskatchewan provincial motto is Multis e gentibus vires: from many peoples, strength.
“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
Bibliography
Doucet, Clive. Urban Meltdown Cities, Climate Change and Politics as Usual. ISBN 1-800-567-6772. New Society Publishing. Gabriola Island, B.C. 2007.
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
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!
“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
“The science of forestry arose from the recognition of a universal need. It embodies the spirit of service to mankind in attempting to provide a means of supplying forever a necessity of life and, in addition, ministering to man’s aesthetic tastes and recreational interests. Besides, the spiritual side of human nature needs the refreshing inspiration which comes from trees and woodlands. If a nation saves its trees, the trees will save the nation. And nations as well as tribes may be brought together in this great movement, based on the ideal of beautifying the world by the cultivation of one of God’s loveliest creatures – the tree.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.
Protect your dog in the severe cold winter weather warnings.
Cold weather provides its own set of challenges and opportunities.
Remember both ice and frozen water pose a hazard for you and your pets. If you put “Booties” on your dog, remember they have no nails to gain purchase if the ice breaks, and they fall into the water. The South Saskatchewan River is swiftly flowing under the ice, and can take your pet away quickly. The river is not the only hazard, any slough or wetlands area, also pose risks to your pet. If your pet is lucky and gains traction on the ice, and can pull themselves out of the water, they risk hypothermia, or a pulled muscle. It is best to monitor where your dog is outdoors, and keep them away from frozen ice and shorelines.
Carbon monoxide from vehicles stays low in the air. Take care to place your pet on leash in parking lots and roadways, to ensure their safety outdoors so they are kept away from poisonous fumes.
Protect your dog in the severe cold winter weather warnings.
Before you take your pet out for an off leash walk when the windchill is -30 or below, make sure you have acclimatized them to the weather with regular daily walks, so their fur growth will protect them. Those indoor puppies, dogs with less cold tolerance may appreciate a sweater and / or a dog jacket for those outdoor trips to “do business”.
It is at this time of the year when your dog’s paws are very sensitive to the snow build up between the pads and toes of their paws. If the snow is fresh “snowman” making snow and clumps easily, your dog will love you if you get them used to wearing booties. For very cold weather, booties will also prevent ice, frozen snow or salt from cutting their paws and pads. If your dog stops moving on the walk, check their paws for ice and snow build up; remove your own mittens, and hold their paw in your hand to melt the ice pack build up.
Protect your dog in the severe cold winter weather warnings.
If your dog shows signs of being too cold on a walk, sit or lie down with them so they can warm from your body heat. Or when you get home place warm water [not scalding hot water] in a large plastic water bottle similar to a 2 litre pop bottle. Wrap two bottles in a towel, and cuddle your dog beside them in their indoor kennel. Cover your pooch with a warm blanket.
For pets which are considered to have enough fur to be left outdoors, provide the right sized insulated kennel. Heaters and light bulbs could be used for warmth, installed into the kennel wisely so they don’t cause burns to your dog. Under the cushion bedding and rug placed on the kennel floor, buy a roll of “Reflective Foil Double Bubble Foil Insulation.” This insulation shield can even be stapled into place, and your outdoor dog will love you. This will provide an amazing “R” value, and reflects your dogs heat back to their body. Outdoor pets will also require water, which will also need to be heated as an outdoor dog, will not get enough fluids from snow or licking ice. Additionally, an outdoor dog will require extra good quality food during the winter months to keep them healthy. When the weather news reports bring in severe cold weather warnings, it may indeed, be time for your outside dog, to receive extra loving attention, and be brought indoors for protection.
Protect your dog in the severe cold winter weather warnings.
Just as humans can get frost bite, so can your pet. Know the signs and symptoms of hypothermia. Especially susceptible to frost bite are dog breeds with upright ears. Tails and paws are the next smallest areas of the body in which ice crystals may form causing frostbite. Take care that these delicate small areas of your pet do not get frostbite which can be very painful to your pet. If your pet does get frostbite, take them into the vet immediately for proper care, the right method of thawing out, and first aid. By the same token, smaller breeds of dogs, elderly, sickly dogs or young puppies are much more sensitive to the cold than a large heavily muscled dog.
Monitor their behaviour outdoors. Even though they may have booties to protect their paws from injury and frostbite, and be decked out in sweater and jacket, it is very hard to wrap a scarf around a dog to protect their respiratory tract. Your dog will love you if you take precautions, and you should never have to confess that you did not know the hazards of severe and extreme cold weather and how it affects your pet.
Take care, and have fun out there!
“I pray this winter be gentle and kind–a season of rest from the wheel of the mind.”–John Geddes
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
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!
“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 believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
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?
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
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!
“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
Stand firm. Grip hard. Thrust upward to the skies. Bend to the winds of heaven. And learn tranquility. ~Richard St. Barbe Baker
“We feel that our greatest victory remains to be won when man will realize his oneness with the trees, the creatures and with all living things, not ours to destroy, but to be handed on for the enjoyment of future generations.” – Richard St. Barbe Baker
“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
Stand firm. Grip hard. Thrust upward to the skies. Bend to the winds of heaven. And learn tranquility. ~Richard St. Barbe Baker
“We feel that our greatest victory remains to be won when man will realize his oneness with the trees, the creatures and with all living things, not ours to destroy, but to be handed on for the enjoyment of future generations.” – Richard St. Barbe Baker
I learned early to regard the forest as a society of living things, the greatest of which is the tree. ~St. Barbe
Spring Sunset Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Spring Sunset Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Spring Sunset Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Fresh New Spring Afforestation Images
“We depend on nature not only for our physical survival. We also need nature to show us the way home, the way out of the prison of our own minds. We got lost in doing, thinking, remembering, anticipating – lost in a maze of complexity and a world of problems.” ~Eckhart Tolle
How can one possibly describe the evenings? The mild yet beautiful evenings, when the whole wide-spread scene of crystal waters, forest, and prairie illumined with almost celestial radiance. Bird songs filled the air. The prairies crowded with all the varieties of animal life in peaceful enjoyment. No sights of violence or suffering met the eye. No discordant sound fell upon the ear. All was beauty, harmony, and joy. The landscape resembled our imaginings of the world before the fall, when it came fresh from its Maker’s hands, and all the morning stars hailed its birth. The region was beautiful. There was no continuous forest, but extended, well-watered plains, interspersed with groves of a great variety of majestic trees. John Stevens Cabot Abbott would reflect on prairies thus.
“Ts’ui Pe must have said once: I am withdrawing to write a book. And another time: I am withdrawing to construct a labyrinth. Every one imagined two works; to no one did it occur that the book and the maze were one and the same thing.” ~Jorge Luis Borges
And of the forest, St Barbe would write, “Has any one of us ever really seen a Tree? When we become aware of trees we may each glimpse of them to moments of spiritual vision and, identifying ourselves with the trees, become conscious of the rising of the sap; the upward thrust of life, leaf burgeoning, their consciousness of the changing seasons; we may share their passionately boisterous exuberance of life in the height of the storm, and their tranquility when at rest; with them we will enjoy the glad murmur of the ripening seed clusters when after weeks of drought the steady warm rain brings relief to thirst; and we will know that these creatures, our elder brethern, are intimately related to us in their love and hunger for life. We may even catch their enthusiasm and aspire heavenwards while still rooted in our Mother Earth and in communion with our fellow man and, tree-wise, strive to make the Earth more fruitful again.
The glorious rich, colourful, quilted covering of trees and vegetation is not there merely to feed and please us, its presence is essential to earth as an organism. It is the first condition of all life. It is the skin of the earth.
I learned early to regard the forest as a society of living things, the greatest of which is the tree.~Richard St. Barbe Baker ”
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
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!
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
onation, write a cheque please to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund” (MVA RSBBAA trust fund) and mail it to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area c/o Meewasin Valley Authority, 402 Third Ave S, Saskatoon SK S7K 3G5. Thank you kindly!
There is another aspect of life on the land; while working in forest or gar4den a man has time for meditation and indeed his very act is devotion. He becomes in tune with the Infinite. The miracle of growth and the seasons’ changes induce a sense of wonderment and call forth worship from his inner being and in this sense WORK becomes WORSHIP.~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.
Snowberry Clearwing Moth Hemaris diffinis courtesy of Judy Gallagher CC 2.0
Black swallowtail on wild bergamot
Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Photo credit Paul Stein
The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist.
For man, it is to know that and wonder at it.
-Jacques Cousteau
Its the middle of March, plant a flower indoors, begin a pollinator garden! When contemplating your next pollinator garden, factor in various flower colours, and sizes, along with a variety of plants which bloom in different seasons of the year. Your pollinator garden will support bees, hummingbirds, bats, ladybugs, butterflies and moths. A pollinator garden provides an ecosystem to plants as well as insects. Provided are links to listings for a variety of native plants to attract pollinators to your garden.
***From the various pollinator flowers for Saskatchewan, perhaps Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is the easiest to establish and maintain.
***Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) requires acidic soil such as found in the higher elevations of spruce and bog forests where the parkland meets with the tundra ecosystem of Saskatchewan.
***Prairie Crocus (Pulsatilla patens), the provincial flower of Manitoba, is a remarkable native flower and is being encouraged in its native habitat by efforts of the Saskatoon Nature Society. The requirements of the prarie crocus is soil which has been undisturbed (uncultivated) for about 30 years to allow the proper micronutrients to flourish to feed the crocus corms (bulbs). The crocus, also thrives under adverse conditions, and adapted to the migratory patterns of buffalo herds, and historic raging prairie grass fires extending miles across the plains.
***The Western Red Lily, Prairie Lily or Wood Lily (Lilium philadelphicum), is the official flower of Saskatchewan, and a protected species, so do not run out and pick the next one growing in its native habitat. Go to a reputable garden supply centre. Lily plants also grow from bulbs, so planting in the fall is the best season of the year to establish a bulb.
***Purple Coneflower (Echinacea augusifolia D.C.) produces purple ray florets with a protuding yellowish-brown disc floret in the centre. Blooming in July through September, the yellow prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera is more common, and the purple coneflower is very rare in Saskatchewan.
***Blanket Flower (Gaillardia sp.) is a bright yellow – orange flower growing to a height of 1 to 3 feet. Perennial Blanket are a burst of sunshine in your wildlife garden, and love well-drained soil
***Purple coneflower, upright prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera), and blanketflower or common gaillardia (Gaillardia aristata) are both a documented nectar source for the Dakota skipper (Hesperia dacotae).
***Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) with delicate white blooms loves to grow in moist soil – though will survive drought conditions` which has been disturbed (turned over). Blooming in late June, the yarrow will bloom into September.
***Smooth aster (Symphyotrichum leave) or any member of the aster family are beloved by pollinators. Smooth aster is vivid blue violet in colour with prominent yellow disc florets in the centre. Growing between 1 and 4 feet high (30-120 cm) however mainly observed growing closer to the 1 foot height. In August and September is when this aster blooms.
March 10, Plant a Flower Day start a pollinator garden. Though it may be -19 Celsius, with snow on the ground, aim for a target. There are many other native flower species than those suggested here, don’t just trust me, click a link on this page.
Start your flower seedlings for an awesome and magnificent pollinator garden, and be amazed at the wildlife and biodiversity which arrive this summer.
Pollinators are what ecologists call keystone species. You know how an arch has a keystone. It’s the one stone that keeps the two halves of the arch together. […] If you remove the keystone, the whole arch collapses.
-May Berenbaum, PhD, Entomologist. From Silence of the Bees, PBS Nature.
Plants in bloom month by month. Landscape Ontario.com Green for life [Though an Ontario resource and this province has different hardiness zones than Saskatchewan, there are overlaps in plant species, so the listing may give a quick guide to the time of year for flower blooming times.]
Pollinators are what ecologists call keystone species. You know how an arch has a keystone. It’s the one stone that keeps the two halves of the arch together. […] If you remove the keystone, the whole arch collapses.
-May Berenbaum, PhD, Entomologist. From Silence of the Bees, PBS Nature.
“When the trees go, the rain goes, the climate deteriorates, the water table sinks, the land erodes and desert conditions soon appear”.~Richard St. Barbe Baker
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
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail / e-transfers )
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
I believe in oneness of mankind and of all living things and in the interdependence of each and all. I believe that unless we play fair to the Earth, we cannot exist physically on this planet. Unless we play fair to our neighbour, we cannot exist socially or internationally. Unless we play fair to better self, there is no individuality and no leadership. ~Richard St. Barbe Baker.
“Kind people have been expressing superlatives on my work. But I can assure you that anything which I have been able to achieve has been team work. 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
Soon the bracken became shorter
“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker
There is only one real reason to keep bees, and that is because they are fascinating. If you just want honey, make friends with a beekeeper.
-Australia beekeeper, Adrian the Bee Man
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 
