Why results could get you on the Tonight Show

The results are in!

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So this is the note from Regan Olson, environmental protection officer with the City of Saskatoon;

“The George Genereux Urban Regional Park is an afforestation area located on the north side of the overpass on Highway 7 at the west end of Saskatoon. At this location, 30 cubic yard roll-off bins were filled with various waste by volunteers from the  Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas, SOS Trees Inc., City staff and residents from nearby. This included heavy equipment such as a skidsteer and a tractor which were essential to get some of the heavy items that have been illegally dumped here over the years. These large piles included shingles and concrete. The concrete was relocated to help re-enforce present berms on site that are utilized to help block access. 

A huge thank you goes out to those that donated time & equipment to make this possible!!

The bin was emptied 5 times in total with waste with an accumulated weight of  9,860 Kg’s

9 tires that were taken to A1 tire for recycling.

A small amount of syringes were clean up and properly disposed of from this site.

Also please see the link below for more information on this area:“

“George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

Can you imagine it, 5 each 30 cubic yard roll-off bins were taken away full to the top with trash placed into the forest – an urban regional park – by folks too lazy or too cheap to go to the landfill! These bins are much bigger than the 4.5 𝑚 cubed 𝑜𝑟 6 cubic 𝑦𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 bins behind apartment buildings to give you an idea of the size. The bins at the forest were 5 times bigger than the apartment building bins, and still five each of the 30 cubic yard size were filled up! So that is like hauling away 25 apartment sized bins from a forest, can you imagine!!??? Who would be crazy enough to dump in an urban regional park, and says to themselves well here is a gorgeous forest, so I think I’m going to dump some trash so the classrooms doing nature place based education field trips can wade through the garbage. Arrrgghghhh! How silly is that. So here we have some wonderful results from stewards of Saskatoon urban regional parks.

For those of you who like Imperial measurements, 9,860 kg is 21,737.58 pounds! That is like hauling 20 Grand Pianos out of the park or the volunteers picking up and lifting 20 American Bison out of the park. Or to put it another way, the volunteers would have had to lift 50 adult bears to get to that weight. So, a lot was accomplished, and there is just no way to say thank you often enough! So this means that on average each and every volunteer did 1/2 ton each!!! WOW WOW WOW isn’t that amazing.

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Thank you so very much to volunteers from SOS Trees Inc. for helping out during the Arbor Week Celebrations with the afforestation area clean up at George Genereux Urban Regional Park.

Thank you kindly to members from the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. for coming out to the clean up.

We had so many folks from the community who heard of the clean up as well, and wanted to help out and learn more about the afforestation area. So, to all these people, thank you for taking time on a Saturday to help with the clean up, the afforestation area is amazing now, absolutely amazing, and so much safer, and pleasant to enjoy as an urban regional park, indeed.

The City of Saskatoon environmental protection officer Chelsey Studer was out helping with the clean up loading buckets, her truck, other trucks, and helping with hazardous waste collection and tire collection. The City of Saskatoon arranged the Loraas bins to be on-site and waived the tipping fees.

Appreciation is extended to Evan & Ila’s No Frills Westgate Plaza 2410 22 St W at Avenue W North for helping with refreshments on the hot day. As people sweltered, the bananas, juice, water and granola bar kept everyone hydrated, full of sustenance – so that was Yay!

We had some unique people out at the clean up. Two helpers from Len’s Hauling came with a truck, kept track of the volunteer bags to take them to the Loraas dumpster on-site, and they hauled so very much out of the forest. They took care of the old stove, lumber, the heavy water-sogged fibreglas insulation that was at least 8 feet wide, and rolled into 4 foot diameter rolls, and weighed a ton. The final one, was so heavy, it needed three people to get it into the bucket of the front end loader, and up into the truck. Another fiberglas roll needed to be cut in half to also get it dragged out of the forest and into the front end loader bucket.

Speaking of the front end loader, Don who lived nearby took care of a whole house that was discarded in the forest, lumber, plastic siding, eavestroughs, were in a pile, and volunteers helped load the bucket and off the front end loader went to the Loraas bin on-site. Wow! The front-end loader, and Don’s expertise driving it helped so very much and we are all grateful. The front-end loader, took care of much more than just the fibreglas insulation, he was able to scoop lumber and shingles that had decayed into the sod turf, scoop bags of garbage the volunteers had piled together, and a huge motor that was in the forest, which was much to heavy to shift by volunteers on foot. He was up at the lake enjoying our summer weather, and made a special trip back while the Loraas bins were out just to help, so that is also going above and beyond. Thanks!

Another amazing help for the clean up was Paul and his puppy dog with his skid steer. Well Paul shifted shingle piles also into the Loraas bin, piles of wood, and cement blocks. There was, for some reason more than one pile of concrete at the afforestation area. Paul also found another motor in the afforestation area which is now removed, and in the Loraas bin and taken away. While Paul did many loads of trash to the Loraas bin, he also moved the concrete and cement onto the existing built berms to help reinforce barriers to prevent more trash dumping! Yay! This was so much appreciated also!

CJWW radio broadcast the cleanup on the airwaves, and online additionally which was so very helpful. It was a tricky wicket, because to comply with COVID protocols, it was originally thought that 10 people would be the maximum outside, but then the protocols changed to 150 shortly before the clean up date, and how to change 10 people to 150 in a short time, well CJWW came to the rescue! Thank you ever so much!

Sept 19, 2020 – 9,270Kg or 9.27 tons or 10.2 US tons or 204,367 pounds removed

So on October 3, 2020 – 2,660 kg’s was removed

There were additionally six cleanups in 2020 using the MVA bins, and one day with the MVA support to fill truck and trailer.

June 5, 2021 – 9,860 Kg’s removed

Between 2020 and 2021 the TOTAL is OVER 21,790 kg of trash removed from George Genereux Urban Regional Park in Saskatoon and note cement placed onto berms not included in weight

So to everyone who celebrated some very special days….

June 5 ….. Arbor Week request for city proclamation by SOS Trees Inc.!

June 5 ….. the first day of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

June 5 ….. International Trails Day.

June 5 ….. World Environment Day.

June 5 is….. Clean Green Community Scene.

Hats off to you! You are truly part of #generationrestoration

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

NEW P4G District Official Community Plan

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

Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Blogger: FriendsAfforestation

Tumblr friendsafforestation.tumblr.comFacebook 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 Baker Charity Twitter:FriendsAreas

Mix: friendsareas

YouTube

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

Support using Canada Helps

Support via a recycling bottle donation

Donate your old vehicle, here’s how!  

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

What happens August 18, 2016 at 1:00 p.m.?

What happens August 18, 2016 at 1:00 p.m., indeed?

Wouldn’t you love to walk in this urban regional forest, the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, with your grandchildren amid truly magnificent trees, and breathtaking forest scenes? The Stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area recently gathered together to promote the environmental health of the St. Barbe Forest with the clean up on July 9, 2016.  This year 8,300 kilograms (18,300 pounds) of trash were removed, including at both clean ups appliances, chesterfields, construction materials with nails, fencing, doors, windows, shingles, and tires were removed. Last year, May 2015, 3,300 kilograms (7275 Pounds) of trash came out of the east side alone!

So now, when you arrive at the afforestation area, you do not have to put your “trash blinders” on.  There are truly delightful 44 year old trees, with an understorey coming in of native plant growth.  There are American and Siberian Elm, Manitoba Maple, Green Ash, Black Balsamic Poplar, Willow, Colorado Blue Spruce, Scotch Pine and Caragana, chosen for their drought resistant capabilities, and for the soil type at the afforestation area.  There is not too much evidence of the Manitoba Maple, and the Green Ash is a very small stand today.  The Scotch Pine and Colorado Blue Spruce have delightfully made groves of small saplings.  The far west side predominates with Poplar, as it was believed that this area would be more prone to flooding.  The east side is mainly  Elm mixed with Spruce.  Caragana, implemented as a wind break and to act as a moisture collector in the winter is seen throughout the east and west sides.  The rows in the afforestation area are fourteen feet apart and weave in and out to give the afforested area a more natural look rather than rows in lines at right angles to each other.  The trees were selected randomly, and set into the soil four to five feet apart.  In every 2-1/2 mile long section, there were fire guards left of 50-60 feet which were not afforested.  Presently, native Trembling Aspen Bluffs are starting to make their home here creating a wonderful complement with the afforested trees.

Two organisers came together in 2016 with different backgrounds, but the outcome or goals for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area overlap.  Jeff Hehn is seeking to introduce the city to “green exercise”, a way to get the population more actively involved with the environment.  There is a wish to also engage residents in a more active winter lifestyle, and Jeff proposed a winter active lifestyles plan.  Julia Adamson is seeking to restore the environment, protect the woodlands and West Swale wetlands, and the wildlife habitat corridor.  Both Julia and Jeff, in consultation with neighbourhood community associations of the city, neighbouring residents of the Rural Municipality of Corman Park 344, environmental organisations, recreational groups, city and MVA staff, came up with some goals and ideas which have amalgamated together from a wealth of ideas and concerned people.

First and foremost came the unanimous decision that a forest was not a place to have trash and garbage.  About 70 volunteers arrived one Saturday in July combining several organisations and individuals. Volunteers poured in from across Saskatoon, and from across the continent, from as far away as Utah and Pennsylvania, from coast to coast in Canada, volunteers came from Victoria, British Columbia; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Quebec; Toronto Ontario; and Winnipeg, Manitoba. This response was fantastic to shift the 8,300 kilograms (18,300 pounds) of freezers, full pails of tar, 85 tires, two car engines, roofs and roofs of shingles, children’s games, clothing, shoes, doors and windows.

Though the volunteers were absolutely fantastic, and would gladly help out again, there is no need for garbage to be filling up an urban regional park.  The enormous amounts of money that could be saved by closing off the afforestation to motorized vehicles would be massive by just recovering the clean up costs alone.  So what measures need to be undertaken to keep the trash out of the forest?

The majority of the trash was piled up alongside the wider pathways, those wide enough that a vehicle could drive upon.  So a very quick and easy solution would be to place vehicle access barriers with large rocks, bollards, gates or fencing to restrict access into the afforestation area.  So three representatives for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area spoke before the Standing Policy committee on Planning and Development on Monday, July 18th.  It was with glad and happy hearts, that recommendations for three different options for vehicle restrictions  were discussed at this very meeting to block access to the Richard St. Barbe Baker afforestation area.  The committee voted that Plan C should be approved, and now this option will go before City Council on August 18, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. for a vote from council.

Will this day see a step towards preserving and conserving the West Swale wetlands?  Will August 18, 2016 see a vote towards protecting the afforestation area, which had been preserved in perpetuity in 1972?  Will City Council vote to keep trash out of the afforestation area and in the landfill where it belongs?  Will the trash finally be out of the forest following the vote taken on Thursday August 18, 2016?  Without vehicles allowed to trespass, the afforestation area will not be littered with trash, and there will be no need for massive clean ups to be arranged for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation area, as it will come into its own as an urban regional park to be enjoyed by responsible citizens of Saskatoon.  Mark your calendars for the outcome of this vote, and the impact it will have on the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area!

“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

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

You Tube Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

You Tube George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Should you wish to help protect / enhance the afforestation areas, please contact the City of Saskatoon, Corporate Revenue Division, 222 3rd Ave N, Saskatoon, SK S7K 0J5…to support the afforestation area with your donation please state that your donation should go towards  the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, or the George Genereux Urban Regional Park, or both afforestation areas located in the Blairmore Sector. Please and thank you!  Your donation is greatly appreciated.

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

“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.