Share the gift of health and wellness this winter. Come celebrate winter in the forest! Appreciate this semi-wilderness habitat with species at risk, eBird hotspots for bird viewing, and an off leash recreation area. Have you come out to the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area or to the George Genereux Urban Regional Park yet? Join the growing community who appreciate these forest spaces. Directions
A 2023 calendar for you to download and print presenting both wildlife and wilderness habitats from Saskatoon’s hidden gems. In gratitude for everyone who became members, and gave donations, we were happy to be able to have calendars this year to showcase these natural heritage greenspaces. We have no more printed copies, so we would like to share the pdf with whomever would like a copy to download and experience the forests this way.
The 50 for 50 Legacy Activity Book is now online to view on ISSUU or download page by page! Thanks for all the amazing donations to make this book come online page by page. Enjoy the crossword puzzles, word searches, challenges, arts activities, and so much more.
Wildwoods of Saskatoon film now online, 50th Birthday for Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park in SaskatoonLegacy of Saskatoon’s Hidden Forest Now online; 50th anniversary celebartion Richard St. Barbe Baker Global Conservationist and Humanitarian receives Honourary Doctorate of Laws U of S
The Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. wish to thank our donors for their donations through Canada Helps and Paypal Giving. Thanks to you contributions, the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas can offer place based educational learning trips to the afforestation areas helping to sponsor portable toilet rentals or offset bus trip fees to nature immersion classes. Because of you, the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas can protect the wildlife habitats, the flora and fauna from illegal trespass and illegal dumping as your contribution goes towards trash bags for clean ups, wildlife friendly fencing and the tagging of the fencing.
Your generosity supports the greenspaces of the 326 acre Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the 148 acre George Genereux Urban Regional Park.
Your amazing contribution is a testament to the difference between a parking lot and a greenspace park, a semi-wilderness habitat, indeed. Because of you, it will be possible to support these greenspaces, and protect them for this generation and the next.
If you live in Saskatoon and area- thanks for calling for your recycling pick up. We will sort the bottles and stand in line. Your contribution goes a long way in environmental protections.
Order your copy of Living Legacy activity book and support the semi-wilderness environment and conservation of the flora and fauna. Take action on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15 Life on Land, UN SDG 14 Life Below Water and UN SDG 13 Climate Action as afforestation areas are nature based solutions for climate action. Supporting2022-2032 International Decade of Indigenous Languages and the 2021 to 2030 United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 2021–2030 the Decade of Healthy Ageing.
Thank you kindlyFlowers and Butterflies abstract artwork in appreciation of supporters at the 2016 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK, CARoses in appreciation of supporters and sponsors of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park Saskatoon, SK, CAThanks so muchHappy Girl
In addition to these two divisions, there is additionally the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan which have set up provincial projects as well. So this means that you can actually use iNaturalist anywhere in the province and still be counted in. Here is a handy link to the Saskatoon and Area BioDiverCity Challenge
You are a champion of species at risk and climate change.
Please make a special year-end gift today. The urban afforestation area spaces and the semi-wilderness habitat will benefit from the caring shown now and for tomorrow.
The Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas is a registered charity. We can issue a 2020 charitable receipt if you donate before the close of December 31, 2020. Paypal or E-transfer to friendsafforestation@gmail.com are means to facilitate your donation to the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc., or online via Canada Helps
To further support the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area or George Genereux Urban Regional Park please consider the donation of a gift of securities or even providing a legacy gift in your will.
For Christmas this year, buy the gift that keeps on growing, a membership in the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc.
Now is the time to care for the urban forest and wetlands in the afforestation areas which we love. In the words of Richard St. Barbe Baker let us “have the vision, the daring, 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, skinning it alive by removing virgin tree cover; I am destined to live and work for peaceful construction, for I am morally responsible for the world of to-day and to the generations of to-morow.”
Thank you kindly for being a hero of conservation and urban forest protection. Your special year-end gift for nature goes a long way today.
Everyone on your holiday shopping list will love this meaningful gift! Give a perfect and thoughtful gift that changes lives. The Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. is dedicated to conserving and protecting the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas in the City of Saskatoon. We protect and care for these parcels of land to conserve it for future generations of wildlife and people. Your donation to protect these Afforestation Areas, will help us to care for this vital habitat in perpetuity. Your gifts and donations strengthens our abilities to protect the trees, land, waterways, and species in the afforestation areas.
Become a guardian of the forest by joining, or renewing your membership today. We are group of nurturing, caring people who have created a community in protecting our natural resources. Your membership provides us the means to benefit our critical work in protected this semi-wilderness habitat, and connect a growing and vibrant city and its residents with this green environment. There are numerous studies which show urban forests improve physical health and mental well-being. With the city growing and expanding, the need to protect urban greenspaces is more vital than ever before.
Donate $100 to conserve the afforestation area as trees are the largest and cheapest method of removing CO2 from the atmosphere mitigating climate change. Forests clean our air, our water, and regulate our climate. Forests help to manage and alleviate flooding.
Donate $90 to assist in the installation of interpretive signs and the creation of an afforestation area outdoor classroom for children across the City of Saskatoon.
Donate $75 to ensure 125m of wildlife friendly fence can be installed. This allows the deer fawns and moose calves to pass through without getting caught in the fence, or without being left behind.
Donate $60 to go towards the installation of a garbage receptacle to protect the semi- wilderness habitat without pollution in the environment. This installation will protect the natural areas at this amazing habitat.
Donate $50 in protection of habitat for bees and other pollinators which help keep our planet and our city green. They are facing habitat loss, and what a better place than the afforestation areas to protect their habitat where herbicides and pesticides are not in use.
Donate $40 which will go towards installation of a metal park identification sign and mitigate illegal motorized vehicle trespass and illegal trash dumping.
Sponsor a tree with $25 a month to enable the proper Afforestation Area protections are in place. Receive information about your tree. This is a gift that keeps on giving, and you can be a part of the effort to protect these trees in perpetuity.
Donate $20 to provide groups of volunteers with gloves and trash bags to conduct clean ups. Community volunteer clean ups go a long way to protect the woodlands, grasslands and wetlands.
A gift like these make a real difference. Make an impact with your gift, and help make the world a better place.
On behalf of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the George Genereux Urban Regional Park, thank you for taking the opportunity to behold this very first ever Special Report for our afforestation area tourist. Where to begin? That is the question. How much do you know about these afforestation areas? These wilderness empires, namely our two afforestation areas have been stealing hearts with their expansive beauty and this heartfelt outpouring of love from around the world, and close to home is what will snatch them from leveling forces of development. They are likely to prove the richest, noblest heritage of our city. Here the world is at play, here are scenes ever new and that will greatly help to keep the city young.
The tourist who moves about to see and hear and open himself to all the influences of the places which condense centuries of human greatness is only a man in search of excellence.Max Lerner
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional park, Saskatoon, SK A Statistical Word Cloud Report sampling
“It is as if Nature in these places had in self-defense devoted all her energies to scenery, proclaiming to the nation, ‘Here I will make playgrounds for the people. Here is nothing for commerce or industry. Here is natural beauty at its wildest and best. Elsewhere man must live by the sweat of his brow. Here let him rest and play. Here I will rule supreme for all time.'”John Dickinson Sherman
These interesting afforestation areas are becoming every day more and more the subject of inquiry and personal investigation.
Why? Well, scenery is, without doubt, one of our most valuable resources.
The climate is varied, the wetlands are extensive, the grasslands are covered in roses and wild flowers, while those studying botany the treasures abound with a varied ecology of wonder, and the woodlands tempt the eyes with sightings of deer, moose, and woodpecker. The man of science is appeased with the thrill of a rich vein of geological history. The inquisitive traveler doubtless will ascertain statistical observations as they progress throughout the green spaces.
The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist see what he has come to see.G. K. Chesterton
It is our great hope and belief that they will become a marked factor in public education. Surely, these wonderlands mean much for the general welfare, and will help to develop greater men and women—to arouse enthusiasm for our native land, and for nature everywhere.
“Travel is the great
source of true wisdom.”
—Beaconsfield.
It is told that the Piute Indians recount a legend which goes like this. Just at the close of creation, woman was consulted. She called into existence the birds, the flowers, and the trees. That is the kind of a woman with whom to start a world. Our cities still need green places full of hope and beauty, with birds, flowers, and trees! With their help we may live long and happily and harmoniously upon a beautiful world.
Scenic parts of this poetic and primeval world—parts rich in loveliness and grandeur—are “preserved in perpetuity” for us. They contain splendid scenic and scientific features not elsewhere to be seen. The traveler might spend hours and hours in them without exhausting even their best attractions.
An afforestation area is an island of safety in this riotous world. Splendid forests, the wetlands that sparkle in glory, the wild flowers that charm and illuminate the earth, the wild deer of the woodland nooks and crannies, and the beauty of the birds, all have places of refuge which our afforestation areas provide.
Our afforestation areas are the fountain of life. They are without doubt a potential factor for good in our city life. They hold within their magic realm benefits that are health-giving, educational, economic; that further efficiency and ethical relations, and are inspirational. Every one needs to play, and to play out of doors. Without parks, afforestation areas and outdoor life all that is best in civilization would be smothered. To prevent our perishing, to save ourselves, to enable us to live at our best and happiest, afforestation areas are necessary. Within these areas is room—glorious room—room in which to find ourselves, in which to think and hope, to dream and plan, to rest and resolve.
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!
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
“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 from my having lived in it. “Richard St. Barbe Baker.
Coyote as predator. Stock image – not a photograph taken at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, nor photographed at George Genereux Urban Regional Park. How to co-exist with coyotes in Saskatoon, SK
Coyote as predator. Stock image – not a photograph taken at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, nor photographed at George Genereux Urban Regional Park. How to co-exist with coyotes in Saskatoon, SK
Coyote as predator. Stock image – not a photograph taken at Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, nor photographed at George Genereux Urban Regional Park. How to co-exist with coyotes in Saskatoon, SK
Entering the forest means you are entering a semi-wilderness habitat. You are entering the homes of many species of wild animals, this is what is absolutely wonderful about the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and the George Genereux Urban Regional Park. “Forests are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.~Arkive
“Successful green intervention is a negotiated settlement within a community,” says Dr. Eric Strauss, executive director for the Center for Urban Resilience, “Communities need to decide not what green spaces or animals they want, but what ecosystem services they want from their green space.”
It’s mating season right now for coyotes Canis latrans. Naturalist Kevin Cantelon provides some hints for living in harmony with coyotes. If you own a large dog, a coyote may respond very protectively of its territory, and defend it’s den. As with any wild animal, a parent coyote will defend its pups, and both male and female coyotes share in raising the litter. Breeding season will also spike the coyote’s hunger. A small dog may be seen as potential food for the pack, and a housecat is a treat. For these reasons, if you are walking in an unfenced area, it is wise to keep your dogs onleash to reduce conflict with coyotes.
“Coyotes usually breed in February; litters of 5-7 pups (maximum 19) are born 60-63 days later (April to early May) in a den,” says C. S. Churcher, “Breeding begins at one year, and coyotes mate for life.” So, the mating season, sees an increase risk to your dog during this time of year. Midwest Outdoors notes, that it is important to “spay or neuter your pet. Coyotes are attracted to and can mate with unspayed or unneutered domestic dogs. Unspayed female dogs in season can attract male coyotes. Un-neutered male dogs can be lured away by the scent of a female coyote in her ovulation cycle. Male dogs can be lured by the female coyote’s scent and killed by male coyotes.”
During breeding season, Jaymi Heimbuch reminds us also, “Coyotes that usually avoid any confrontation with humans or dogs will display more territorial behaviors, warning passers-by with vocalizations or even following them. And coyotes that would normally scamper off when chased by an off-leash dog will more likely stand its ground.”
Midwest Outdoors adds these precautions “Keep unattended cats and dogs indoors or in completely enclosed runs, especially at night, and do not assume that a fence will keep a coyote out of your back yard.
* Accompany your leashed pet outside.
* Keep dogs on short leashes while walking outside; the Division of Wildlife recommends a leash no longer than six feet.
* Leave noisemakers on hand to scare away coyotes that may enter your yard, such as whistles and horns.
* Yell, clap hands, blow a whistle and try to make yourself look larger if you have a close encounter with a coyote.”
Cantelon noted, that if you do encounter a coyote, “Make them uncomfortable, throw a stick at them and haze them to make them not welcome. And they will learn to stay away very, very quickly.”
“How can we have happy coyotes? …We have to learn how to make space for each other. We need cross-species diplomacy.” says Stella Tarnay, an urban planner and co-founder of Biophilic DC, a group that works to make cities better habitats for animals and people.
Shara-Lynn Morrison noted that “The coyote gets your dog to chase him and then somewhere in the distance the pack waits for your dog.” Your dog will act to defend you, and the coyote pack will be defending their pack, and their territory. The government of Manitoba states coyotes”can be seen anytime of the day but are most active at nightas they search for food and defend their territory from other coyotes. Often considered a predator of larger animals such as deer or livestock, coyotes will also scavenge on dead animals and eat insects, rodents, rabbits and songbirds. They are also known to kill or injure pets, especially small dogs or cats. Coyotes have an annual home range of about 20 square kilometres
Churcher mentions that the Coyote diet consists “chiefly on rabbits and rodents, but they also consume insects, fruits and human waste.” That being said, it is important to scoop your poop, if walking in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, the South West Off Leash Recreation Area, or George Genereux Urban Regional Park. Animals are also attracted to feces.
“Cities are nature. “We have this idea that there’s the urban world and there’s nature. We’re the only species that looks at landscape that way,” said Dr. Eric Strauss, executive director for the Center for Urban Resilience… “We changed this landscape. It’s all still nature, it’s just not nature as we remember it.”
“Here’s what the city [of Saskatoon] recommends you do during a close encounter with a coyote:
Never approach the animal
Look for a way out
Be observant of the coyote’s movement
Act assertive, yell and wave your arms
Ensure the animal has an escape route and enough space to flee the situation
Keep pets on a leash and under control
Tips to avoid a coyote encounter in your yard:
Never feed coyotes or leave food waste in accessible areas
Do not put meat, eggs, or dairy in compost bins
Seal off access to decks and other sheltered spaces in your yard
If you feed your pets outdoors, bring the food in at night
Close the gate to your yard and make sure fencing is in good condition
People can call pest management at 306-975-3300 with questions and concerns.”
If you find an injured coyote, Mass Audubon states, remember, “sick or injured animals can be unpredictable and dangerous, especially those susceptible to the rabies virus (including coyotes). If you find a coyote in either condition stay away from it and do not attempt to handle it or move it.” “Coyotes suffer from diseases such as canine distemper, rabies, canine hepatitis, and parvo virus”. Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation has some excellent tips in case a wild animal is found. For more questions call (306) 242-7177.
“Supervise your pets and keep them under strict control. Adhering to leash by-laws, accompanying pets on walks, and not allowing them to roam is in the best interests of your pets. Our pets are at risk of many environmental dangers when they are not under our control: owls, eagles, hawks, foxes and coyotes can all prey on smaller pets. Cats are safest indoors or in secure outdoor play enclosures. Domestic dogs can be considered competition for food items at locations where humans are feeding coyotes, and coyotes may prey on small domestic animals for food or to eliminate a threat to their territory or pups.
Neuter your pets. Although a rare occurrence, coyotes may mate with domesticated dogs.
Do not approach coyotes, their dens or their pups, even if it appears the parents have abandoned them. Coyotes will do their best to avoid human contact, but may attack humans when provoked, sick or injured.
Teach children about wildlife and how to safely respond to a coyote (or dog) nearby.
Respect, compassion and education are common sense tools that nurture safe and healthy human and wildlife families.
Yelling in a firm voice while outdoors “Go away coyote!”, banging pots, spraying a water hose (in warmer months), throwing objects towards not at the coyote, using a shake can, popping open an umbrella can be effective deterrents to safely move a coyote away.
**Use hazing techniques such as shaking car keys, popping an umbrella, throwing an object in the direction of the coyote such as clumps of dirt, sticks or blow a whistle. Review and download our Keeping Coyotes Away Pamphlet Be prepared and aware of your surroundings when enjoying the outdoors. Be a good visitor “leave no trace”.Carry out leftover food, garbage and dog feces.“
How to identify if a coyote is in the area? Government of Manitoba, notes coyote sign such as coyote tracks, coyote scats, and pets that are fearful or barking uncontrollably. “Coyotes commonly howl or “yip” to communicate to each other and urinate frequently to mark their territory.” The Commonwealth of Massachusetts says, “Coyotes howl because:
They’re telling non-family members to stay out of their territory.
They’re locating their family members within their territory.
They’re advertising for a mate during breeding season.
Pups practice howling and can be especially vocal in late summer as they attempt to mimic their parents.
When there is a potential threat towards the pups, adult coyotes will scatter and howl in order to distract the threat away from the den site.”
“If there is an introduction of wild systems into the city, there needs to be an education that nature is harsh and one needs to be careful with it,” Susannah Drake says.“In the same way kids in the city are taught to look both ways before crossing the street, there are dangerous situations you learn about and become aware of.”
Heimbuch sums it up coyote mating season succinctly, “Coyote attacks on humans are rare, and there have been only two fatal attacks in modern history, in 1981 and 2009. Urban Coyote Research reports, “In almost a third of the reported attack cases, it was known that coyotes were being fed (either intentionally or accidentally) near the attack site. One victim was bitten while feeding a coyote and another was bitten by a coyote that was being fed by her parents.” So it appears there is often a human cause to the bites in the first place.
…So, if it helps assuage fears of neighborhood coyotes, a child is far more likely to be bitten by a domestic dog than by a coyote when out playing in the neighborhood.
That said, it is only smart to know about coyotes and their behavior so that you can continue to coexist peacefully with these wild urban residents.”
Mass Audubon says, “Coyotes are wary animals who will avoid people at all costs,” and remember to never, never leave food out for coyotes, and this includes dropped dog treats, and dog feces. Scoop your poop!
Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not die, so do other creatures. ~His Holiness The Dalai Lama
If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. ~St. Francis of Assisi
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!
“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
“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
It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly. —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
“The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.” —Lady Bird Johnson
Cast adrift of the hustle and bustle of the city lights. Relax and meander in the wilderness of the forest.
The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved. Richard Rogers
It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly. —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Both Deepak Chopra and Richard St. Barbe Baker agree, in this. Immerse yourself in the forest, set yourself adrift, even if just for twenty minutes each day, refresh yourself, sing with the Meadowlards. “With spirit we are all children of the cosmos; Without it we are orphaned and adrift.” Deepak Chopra “Man must resuscitate his planet with trees, his heart with faith.”~Richard St. Barbe Baker
“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!
How can we encourage more people to get outside, get active and get together over the winter months in Saskatoon?~Eric Westberg COS
Horseback Riding
Fat Bike bicyling at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Cross Country Skiing at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, Sasktachewan
In 2015, members of the Fatlanders FatTire Brigade (FFTB) discover the Richard St. Barbe Baker afforestation area and start to use existing trails for winter recreational snow biking. Through January to March 2016 the (FFTB) groom trails using showshoes to gauge the effectiveness of this method of making trails. The FFTB is quite enthusiastic, and wish to pursue a formal trail network in this flat land area. Several bicycle enthusiasts prefer these trails over and above the technical trails in existence along the riverbank.
FFTB submits proposal to the City of Saskatoon (COS) Open Spaces Consultants for discussion of a “Man of Trees“ winter trail network. It is noticed by the FFTB that the City of Saskatoon initiates a Winter City Strategies Initiative for the City of Saskatoon. The City of Saskatoon is currently in growing Winter City YXE and they are in the planning and development stage “to make winter in our city great!” Jeff Hehn, ambassador for the FFTB, brings to the city the FFTB proposal to embrace a winter strategy that could increase outdoor winter recreation.
The FFTB proposal suggests that the groomed winter trail network would encourage fat biking, cross-country skiing, skijourning, snow shoeing, horse back riding, winter hiking, and sliding snowshoeing recreational activities.
The “Man of the Trees” trail network, is stated to have the potential to improve winter tourism amenities for the City of Saskatoon in this proposal. An emerging recreational activity known as fat biking is on the rise. Fat bikes are specialized for winter biking and riding upon snow. Snowshoeing, cross country skiing, slide snowshoeing, skijoring, hiking, and horseback riding all benefit from the grooming of a winter trail network.
As part of this winter tail network, it is imperative that motorized vehicles do not have egress to the park, as vehicles undo the work done by those actively engaged in grooming the paths. The FFTB have been in this way: actively engaged as stewards of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area while at the same time advocating for the winter trail network.
If you are ever out in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, and wonder about the newly created trails they have been the passion of Jeff Hehn and the Fatbike Fatlanders Brigade. Consider this, is the man of the trails network an an outlier in regards to the environment issues being an observation point that is distant from other environmental observations Or is the man of the trails network a means to observe and appreciate the flora and fauna with a healthy respect for their habitat and provides a means of proceeding with respect through the afforestation area with the least amount of impact on the semi-wilderness wildlife habitat.
Meetings have resulted in a sharing of information and an increase of awareness between the viewpoints of these diverse stakeholders, who share the mutual goals and desires in regards to the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area to mitigate illegal trespass and the appreciation and respect of the afforestation area.
It is fantastic that the City of Saskatoon recognizes and supports two initiatives for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area; the “strategic goal of quality of life” and the “strategic goal of environmental leadership.”
The City of Saskatoon is growing, expected to reach 250,000 by 2025 and 380,000 by 2035. It is truly an honour to know that the City of Saskatoon takes the biodiversity of this ecological area seriously. The various stakeholders have been in contact with the City along the way regarding both the environment as well as the FatLanders Fattire Brigade pitched the Winter Trail Network – a Winter City YXE proposal. As the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is across Cedar Villa road from Chappell Marsh Conservation Area, it is fitting and fantastic that the herds of deer, waterfowl, small mammals and amphibians are considered alongside the wetlands, native and modified woodlands and grasslands when creating human plans and recreation activities in the home and habitat of the native wildlife.
Respect of the afforestation area coupled with a due consideration of the semi-wilderness wildlife habitat, means this generation and many future generations can also enjoy and take part in various recreational capacities the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Without trails, humans just cannot interact with nature, however with too many trails and other forms of human intervention, nature just simply cannot interact with humans. The wise deliberation on the ecological footprint is a wonderful recommendation at the outset of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area human development process at a time when the human footprint in the afforestation area increases exponentially. With forethought now as to wise and considerate placement of trails and human activities in a semi-wilderness wildlife habitat, it just may be that humans and nature can peacefully co-exist now and in the future. Wouldn’t it be a fantastic experience as it is today, that in 2035 as well, when the city reaches a population of 380,000 grandchildren and great grandchildren can see waterfowl, deer, amphibians and other wildlife within the city limits at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area without the only urban recourse of going to a zoo? Don’t jump to the wrong conclusion here, zoos are fantastic, however, don’t you agree it is a treasure to have a preserved afforestation area affording a natural environment for human activities alongside the urban zoo. Respect of the afforestation area coupled with a due consideration of the semi-wilderness wildlife habitat, means this generation and many future generations can also enjoy and take part in various recreational opportunities within a semi-wilderness wildlife habitat at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
…today it is the duty of every thinking being to live, and to serve not only his own day and generation, but also generations unborn by helping to restore and maintain the green glory of the forests of the earth.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker
Sidenote:
As Richard St. Barbe Baker had once the nick name “Man of the Trees” this trail network, is thus named by the FFTB. The multi-use trail network is of course open and available to those who are not men.
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!
“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.
A greater challenge has never faced the people of Canada.
Earlier, a sampling of the wild animals making a home in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area were spotlighted at Saskatoon’s Semi Wilderness Urban Forest.
Here is another round of amazing forest and wetlands creatures that can be spotted within the City of Saskatoon city limits at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the West Swale Wetlands.
In this collage, the top north west image is a Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius Phoeniceus) about 7-9 inches high (18-24 cm), so smaller than a Robin. Robins mesure 9-11 inches (23-28 cm). This image of a Red-Winged Blackbird portrays a striking figure with bright red epaulets with a yellow margin. The female red-winged blackbird is quite the opposite in colouring, with brown mottling and a white stripe above the eye, her colouring enabling her to blend in with the wetlands flora.
Going around the montage clockwise, a White-tail deer fawn(Odocoileus virginianus), snuggles down in in the riparian forest, hiding in the deep grass or within cover of the underbrush. The fawns are born in late April, and sometimes as late as the beginning of July. The spotted coat, enables the fawn to conceal itself within the environment, and these spots disappear about the end of October.
Next; clockwise, in the top north east corner is a garter snake. The three species of Garter Snakes most likely to be seen in the province are; Western Terrestrial Garter Snake or Wandering Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans), the very colourful Plains Garter Snake, (Thamnophis radix) and the Common (red-sided) Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). They can be between 17.7 to 38 inches (45 – 97 cm) in length. The colouring is a dark brown or black with distinctive yellow, orange or red stripes. The best times to see them may be in the early morning sun tanning in the summer months.
Now, continuing clockwise, in the south east corner is a Black Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax ). All About Birds has recordings of the barking squack, and the woc-a-woc calls made by these Herons. To see three Black Crowned Night Herons at dusk coming in to feed in the West Swale wetlands is truly a treat, as this area is at the northern extent of their range in Saskatchewan. This heron is quite common, however, as it roosts hidden in trees, and forages in the wetlands at dusk it is a true wonder to behold them. This short, stocky heron is about 23-28 inches (58-70 cm) is quite different from the much taller and leggier Great Blue Heron 42-52 inches (105-130 cm). Keep your eyes open at dusk to spot the Black Crowned Night Heron.
Flying overhead, the Mallard (Anas Platrhynchos), marsh duck is quite striking with dark chest, a lighter coloured underbelly, and a white neck ring. Swimming in the wetlands, the male Mallard, known as a dabbling duck, has a distinctive green head with white neck ring, a reddish chest, white and black tail feathers emerge under mottled brown wings and there is a blue speculum. However, in the photo above are the young of the Mallard, distinctive yellowish feathers with the dark eye stripe. The female Mallard is brown mottled and retains the dark eye stripe. The duck quack heard from Mallard’s will be from the female, as the males do not quack at all. It is important not to feed the waterfowl at the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area.
The last image is the rabbit. The White-Tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii) is much larger than the Snowshoe Hare (Lepus Americanus). The Snowshoe Hare has longer legs and longer ears than their cousins, the rabbits. Both change the colour of their coats from white in the winter months to brown in the summer. Whereas, the White-Tailed Jackrabbits love the open grasslands because of their speed, these are the most widely distributed around the city. The very tip of the ear on a Jackrabbit will stay black year-round. The Jackrabbit will measure 22 to 26 inches (56-65 cm) when fully grown. The Snoeshow Hares much prefer Aspen parkland and forested areas.
“The uncultivated elements of the landscape…have an important ecological function as a habitat for species that cannot survive in cultivated land and as a corridor.(Burel:Page 187) Greenways, green belts, and corridors are all very similar. The city of New Brunswick and the Lower Raritan Watershed Partership actively seek out volunteers for digging, planting and maintenance of their Green Infrastructure Landscape Corridor Concept. The Province of Ontario protects two million acres (800,000) hectares of land for a greenbelt including the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation plan, the Niagara Escarpment plan, and the Protected Countryside in the Golden Horseshoe Area.
Such green belts protect a rural character within a growing urban city, ensuring urban dwellers have access to natural areas. These Greenspaces serve as contiguous wildlife habitat corridors nurturing plants, and animals of both woodland and wetland.
IT would be fantastic to find a way that our environment could be shared by stakeholders seeking recreation so as to protect the habitat, and ecosystem, the geological and historical features within the boundaries of the Greenway.
“The water crisis is at our door here in Canada. All the issues we thought so far away are up on us now. A greater challenge has never faced the people of Canada. Each and every one of us has a personal responsibility to take action, to collectively confront the very power structures that have prevented the change needed to protect and honour the great water heritage of this land.” ~Barlow, Maude.
“Water is speaking to us but are we listening?
We are all treaty people ~ a piece of us is dying.
Complacency and ignorance are no longer acceptable.
We have to be the voice for generations to come.
Our grandchildren will look back and ask, Why did
they not act to save our precious water? I want to
be able to look in the mirror and know that I
did my best.”
~Randall Kahgee, former chief, Saugeen First Nation.Barlow
“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:
Barlow, Maude. Boiling Point. Government Neglect, Corporate Abuse and Canada’s Water Crisis. ECW Press. 2016. Toronto, ON. ISBN 978-1-77041355-9 paperback ISBN 78-1-77090-918-9 (PDF) osbn 978-1-77090-947-2 (epub)
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!
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
“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.
s loveliest creatures – the tree.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 