OK something a little more technological for all you night people up late because it was too hot to do anything earlier.
Garden Days kicks off on Friday!
(Editor's note: After being inspired at the Garden Days events you'll want to get started on your own yard and OWC can help! We've got the 50 best plants for Southern Alberta, tips on xeriscaping, a photo library of inspiring local gardens and more practical resources on the Prairie Urban Garden Project Page).
What have you got planned for Garden Days? You won't want to miss these events!
A fantastic lineup of activities is set to kick off Garden Days in Alberta and across Canada, this Friday, June 19. In an annual coast-to-coast celebration that always takes place on the Father's Day weekend, Garden Days celebrates Canadian gardens, gardening and environmental stewardship. It's also about bringing awareness to what you do, within and for, your own community.
Across Alberta, public gardens and groups are celebrating Garden Days with three days of fun activities for all ages in beautiful outdoor spaces. Find out more about what's happening in your area, and check dates and times on the "Activities" schedule at <www.gardendays.ca>
Provincial Flagship Event:
Alberta's Devonian Botanic Garden (5 km north of Devon, on Hwy 60) launched our provincial flagship event in 2014. This year, their Garden Days program opens Friday with discounted daily admission and an evening opera, followed by a weekend that offers a photographer's drop-in morning, a family program of insects and butterflies, sunrise yoga, garden tours and Father's Day BBQ.
Lethbridge:
- Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden is hosting an appreciation day for gardeners with reduced admission, cake and guided garden tours.
- The Galt Museum will serve you complimentary coffee as you browse their native plant garden, south garden and nurses' garden.
- Learn all about trees from an arborist in the guided tour of Fairfield Gardens at the Lethbridge Research Centre.
- Bring your own picnic lunch and find out what's growing at the Interfaith Food Bank's learning garden.
- Join the Lethbridge & District Horticultural Society on their Waterton National Park excursion to admire Alberta wildflowers and to consider their cultivation potential for city gardens.
Waterton Lakes National Park:
- Choose from many botanical-themed activities during the Waterton Wildflower Festival that coincides with Garden Days.
Calgary:
- Take a guided native plant tour of trees, shrubs and flowers in the Canadian Wilds at the Calgary Zoo.
Red Deer:
- Parkland Garden Centre celebrates the home garden with family activities that include food vendors, "Ask the Experts", a course on BBQing with herbs and garden tours.
Olds:
- Olds College Botanic Gardens celebrates its 50th anniversary with garden tours, demos, a plant sale and the launch of a new garden database for staff and visitors.
St. Albert:
- Visit St. Albert Botanic Park for gardening demonstrations, tours and seed planting for children
Edmonton:
- The Edmonton Native Plant Group is hosting two guided tours - one at John Janzen Nature Centre, where you can learn how to grow native wildflowers and pot one up to take home, and another at their native plant demonstration bed at Muttart Conservatory with a gift of free wildflower seeds for visitors.
- Inhale the fragrance of heritage peonies at Fort Edmonton Park and listen to heritage gardeners tell the story of this historic reproduction of a significant Western Canadian peony collection.
- Visit Muttart Conservatory for guided tours of indoor botanical collections in their pyramid glasshouses, as well as orchid talks and a kid's plant discovery corner.
Enjoy the Garden Days celebrations!
June Flanagan
Alberta Spokesperson for Garden Days
June Flanagan is a Lethbridge botanist, environmental horticulturist and author. She has published five regional books, including the local plant guide Common Coulee Plants of Southern Alberta and gardening guides Edible Plants for Prairie Gardens and Native Plants for Prairie Gardens. See June's web site for details, and follow what's in bloom with her on Instagram or "like" her Facebook Author Page:
www.juneflanagan.ca
facebook.com/pages/June-Flanagan/616537095101785
www.instagram.com/juneflanagan
In case you haven't heard the latest on water ....
If I had only bet on the lottery instead ...
Register for the OWC AGM - Celebrating 10 Years
I double-dare ya - Test your knowledge
Drop what you're doing RIGHT NOW >please forward this message!
Bravo! A most welcome development from AERSD
Beauty and The Beasts - May long a year ago ...
May long weekend is here: begin the bush parties, litter, trucks in the river. . . I wish I could find last year's Sustainable Resource Development blog post about the perennial rotting couches. There will be liquor bans, fire bans, trail closures and check stops.
This is one of the ways we engage youth
Alberta WPACs ...Seeking Library Wizard!
Alberta's Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils seeking Library Wizard!
Alberta has shaken the blues and .... orange you glad we're in the rose of health?
In time for the weekend, something to think about ...
Well, we've done it this time - picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and made it to the polls in greater numbers than in the last 22 years. Premier-designate Rachel Notley could make the difference for some of the challenges our watershed is currently facing.
WPACs of Alberta (Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils) have an important role to play: to advise government. And we've been doing it a long time. Key pieces of research like the State of the Watershed Report and the Integrated Watershed Management Plans, as well as key input into the South Saskatchewan Rgional Plan have had much work - and much hope - put into them.
It was interesting to note that both rural and urban Albertans want change and are willing to work together. Combining the orange and the rose will make a brighter future for everyone who lives, works and plays in our beautiful and unique Oldman watershed. (Suddenly Jayme Cabrera Lopez' photo of the sunrise at the top of ths blog seems serendipitously appropriate.)
We look forward to the support of both NDP and Wildrose MLAs to make things different - and to make them better.
Here's what our Executive Director, Shannon Frank, had to say about the recent election and its implications for watershed management and health .... you may need to adjust your speakers a little ... have a peek at this recent video:
Well, we've done it this time - picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and made it to the polls in greater numbers than in the last 22 years. Premier-designate Rachel Notley could make the difference for some of the challenges our watershed is currently facing.
WPACs of Alberta (Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils) have an important role to play: to advise government. And we've been doing it a long time. Key pieces of research like the State of the Watershed Report and the Integrated Watershed Management Plans, as well as key input into the South Saskatchewan Rgional Plan have had much work - and much hope - put into them.
It was interesting to note that both rural and urban Albertans want change and are willing to work together. Combining the orange and the rose will make a brighter future for everyone who lives, works and plays in our beautiful and unique Oldman watershed. (Suddenly Jayme Cabrera Lopez' photo of the sunrise at the top of ths blog seems serendipitously appropriate.)
We look forward to the support of both NDP and Wildrose MLAs to make things different - and to make them better.
Here's what our Executive Director, Shannon Frank, had to say about the recent election and its implications for watershed management and health .... you may need to adjust your speakers a little ... have a peek at this recent video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AAsJJ8-5QE <<< CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW!!!
We'd love to hear your thoughts about this topic!
You're Invited: Waterton Grizzly Film Premier May 8th
(Editor's Note: We love teddy bears and shoot grizzlies. Yet the world reveres Canada for its majestic, natural landscapes and wildlife. Our farmers and ranchers who steward this landscape are telling another side to the story. Waterton Biosphere is releasing a new film this Friday - what happens when increasing population, expanding agriculture, loss of habitat, and teddy bear/killer bear legends collide?)
Sharing the Range: a film about ranch families living with grizzly bears in the Waterton Biosphere Reserve to be released May 8th, 2015.
Pincher Creek, AB – April 29, 2015 – The Waterton Biosphere Reserve is proud to announce the upcoming release of a short film, Sharing the Range, on May 8, 2015. The film tells the story about the challenges of living with large carnivores and how people in the Waterton Biosphere Reserve (WBR) are meeting those challenges.
The southwestern corner of Alberta, Canada, where the Waterton Biosphere Reserve is located, is home to a large number of people involved with agriculture; it is also home to a high population density of bears. With so many people and carnivores sharing the same habitat, there are bound to be conflicts.
"We have bears in all this country; lots of sows with little cubs. They've denned near here – so it's not just in the mountains and not just on public lands that we are seeing a lot of grizzly bears. It's on private lands all over the place." Jeff Bectell, rancher, Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association Chair and Coordinator of the WBR Carnivore Working Group
As the Waterton Biosphere Reserve has worked with the local community and wildlife managers to address the issues of living with large carnivores, the need has arisen to share the story of the farmers and ranchers who directly face the many challenges of living with large carnivores; challenges that impact both their livelihood and the safety of their families. Despite these challenges, southwestern Alberta families are working hard to solve the problems that arise when animals like bears and wolves share the landscape with people and agriculture. It is important for people who care about large carnivores, and people who care about the landscapes of southwestern Alberta, to recognize the effort spent and costs incurred by farmers and ranchers stewarding these lands.
And so it is that Sharing the Range was produced, offering a glimpse into the lives of farm and ranch families and their struggle to share the land with large carnivores. The farmers and ranchers of the Waterton Biosphere Reserve appreciate the unique landscape in which they live, knowing that their land is prime habitat for wildlife. However, making a living in this environment is not without challenges and wildlife can pose significant concerns for rural families in terms of safety and economics; along with the stress that comes from both worries.
Sharing the Range tells their story: real people, with real families who work hard to produce healthy food in a sustainable way that allows room for large carnivores to roam.
"I wish we had a better way of communicating with the general public about who we are. Often I think people misunderstand farmers' and ranchers' feelings about wildlife. What I would like people to know is that we enjoy seeing a grizzly bear or big bull elk as much as anyone, but when our livelihood and our families are threatened by wildlife over which we have little control, it can be very upsetting to us. My hope is that Sharing the Range will allow people a glimpse into our lives, and a better understanding of the situation which we are living in here in southwestern Alberta." – Tony Bruder, rancher and Area Coordinator for the WBRA Carnivore Working Group
Filmed by award winning filmmaker Leanne Allison, with footage contributed by Jeff Turner, famous cinematographer and wildlife filmmaker; Sharing the Range not only tells an important story of the people in the Waterton Biosphere Reserve, but offers stunning imagery of southwestern Alberta and the grizzlies who call this area home.
The full documentary will premiere May 8th, 2015 at 7pm in the Remington Carriage House Museum Theatre, Cardston, AB. Everyone is welcome, and we hope you will join us.
View the Sharing the Range trailer and learn more about the film: www.sharingtherange.com
Contact the WBRA:
Jennifer Jenkins
Communications Coordinator
Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association
403 627 9598
Website: www.watertonbiosphere.com
Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WatertonBiosphereReserve
OWC April 2015 E-Newsletter
Nature's burstin' out all over!
(Editor's Note: Are you one of the many people who are itching for green in your garden and thinking about what to plant? There are many ideas out there for great gardens, beautiful flower beds - and watching for nature's spring plants. The Oldman recently disovered a nice selection of prairie plant seeds at the Galt museum - and here, thanks to botanist June Flanagan, some tips on what to look for on your spring walks. Remember to plant something for the butterflies - and enjoy!)
You're in for a treat if you head out wildflower hunting in the Oldman River Watershed this week, as warm weather is coaxing buds to break earlier and faster than usual.
Prairie crocus enthusiasts will still find fuzzy flower buds (Anemone patens) emerging from cool, damp areas on north-facing hillsides. And for gardeners, the arrival of golden beans (Thermopsis rhombifolia) is a reminder that temperatures are now perfect for sowing lettuce seeds. 
Keep your eyes close to the soil for cushion plants like plains milk-vetch (Astragalus gilviflorus) bearing white pea-shaped flowers tucked between soft silver leaves, or the very tiny tufted milk-vetch (Astragalus spatulatus) with lavender blossoms.
It's likely you'll see moss phlox (Phlox hoodii) plants pressed against dry ridges and south-facing slopes, smothered with white star-shaped flowers that resemble patches of receding snow, and you may spot the small white daisies of prairie townsendia (Townsendia hookeri) scattered among grassy flats.
Some sunny beauties you might discover are yellow prairie violets (Viola nuttallii), and the flat floral umbrellas of leafy wild parsley (Musineon divaricatum). A few yellow bells (Fritillaria pudica) continue to echo the buzz pollination of bees, but many are already setting seed.
To help you identify what's blooming, University of Lethbridge Library continues to host a free download of our local guide to native prairie plants called "Common Coulee Plants of Southern Alberta". The updated edition with photographs and searchable links by flower colour travels easily on your smartphone or tablet. Get your free copy in EPUB or PDF format at <https://www.uleth.ca/dspace/handle/10133/3376> or find more information on my web site.
Enjoy spring!
June
June Flanagan is a Lethbridge botanist, environmental horticulturist and author. She has published five regional books, including the local plant guide Common Coulee Plants of Southern Alberta and gardening guides Edible Plants for Prairie Gardens and Native Plants for Prairie Gardens. See June's web site for details, and follow what's in bloom with her on Instagram or "like" her Facebook Author Page:
Seeking New Board Members - Love Your Watershed
Join the Oldman Watershed Council's Board of Directors!
OWC is now holding 2 elections - one for sector organizations and one for members at large.
You must be a member by
April 30
to join the Board or vote in the election.
You don't need to be a scientist to join the Board, we also need expertise in fund development, volunteer management, communications and of course passion to get involved and help out!
We would like to invite you and/or your organization to get involved in the OWC so that your voice can be heard at the Board table. We encourage you to
(it's free), nominate someone to OWC's Board of Directors and vote on who makes up the OWC's Board of Directors.
The OWC board is comprised of 19 individuals serving two-year terms and is structured as follows:
- 4 members are appointed by their organization (1 from the Federal Government,
2 from the Provincial Government, 1 from the City of Lethbridge),
- 4 members-at-large are elected at the OWC Annual General Meeting
(bringing perspectives from the general public),
- 2 members bring First Nations perspectives, and
- 9 members are elected by their organizational sector.
The categories for the organizational sectors are:
Academia
Agricultural Producers
Commercial/Industrial Companies
Environmental Non-Government Organizations
Health
Irrigators (election held at AIPA)
Rural Municipalities (election held at Mayors & Reeves of Southwest Alberta)
Towns/Villages (election held at Mayors & Reeves of Southwest Alberta)
Wildlife Conservation Organizations
As an
individual
you can nominate yourself or someone else as a
Member at Large.
This year we have 2 vacant positions.
As an
organization
you can nominate someone from your organization to bring perspectives from your sector to the OWC Board of Directors. See the
Board of Directors job description
for more details.
Process to Participate in the
Sector
Election
(for organizations only)
Step 1:
Complete the
for your organization by
April 30, 2015
. Membership is free and is valid for one calendar year. Only members of OWC are eligible to vote for and/or serve on the Board of Directors.
Step 2 (optional):
Complete the
or
or
to nominate someone to run in the OWC sector election by May 20, 2015. This person must be willing to bring perspectives from your sector.
Step 3:
Vote in the sector election by June 5, 2015 for your sector's position on the OWC Board of Directors through an online vote. We will send you instructions by email once we have your membership form. You can still vote regardless of whether or not you submitted a nominee for this position, so long as you are an organizational member.
Process to Participate in the
Member at Large
Election
(for individuals)
Step 1:
Complete the
for yourself by
April 30, 2015
. Membership is free and is valid for one calendar year. Only members of OWC are eligible to vote for and/or serve on the Board of Directors.
Step 2 (optional):
Complete the
online or
or
to nominate someone to run in the OWC Member at Large election by May 20, 2015. This person must be willing to bring perspectives from the general public. Nominations from the floor are not accepted at OWC's AGM.
Step 3:
Voting takes place in person at the OWC's Annual General Meeting on June 23, 2015 at the Readymade Hall. Registration for this event opens soon and all members will be emailed an invitation. You can still vote regardless of whether or not you submitted a nominee for this position, so long as you are a member. Nominee biographies are included in the AGM package and nominees will be given 5 minutes to speak prior to voting.
For more information, please contact Shannon Frank, Executive Director at
or 403-382-4239.
Oldman Watershed Council
|
100, 5401 - 1st Avenue South
|
Lethbridge
|
Alberta
|
T1K 4V6
|
Canada
Kids These Days ...
Yesterday, in a fit of cynicism, I wondered whether designating one day as Earth Day made any difference. Here's what happened today:
I picked up the Lethbridge Herald on the way to work and began to peruse it as I sipped coffee at my desk. Would there be any local coverage of Earth Day, I wondered? Look no further than page A3, Hometown News. Tijana Martin's got a photo in there to accompany an article by Melissa Villeneuve. The photo shows Ty Marshall, 17, from Victoria Park High School. To compliment his very cool Black Sabbath T-Shirt and shades, his plastic gloves indicate serious business as he scours the coulees for garbage. So whoever said garbage-picking isn't cool?
It wasn't just him. 100 students were out there, cleaning up the mess we have left behind.
But there's more: in addition to participating in the Earth Day cleanup, they applied for, and were successful in procuring, $1,000 through the Telus "We Give Where We Live" program. These kids donated that money to the Lethbridge Food Bank. Environmental AND Social awareness?! Makes the Oldman just tear up at the thought of it. Seriously.
So who are the great teachers inspiring these kids? You don't have to look far - there is Mr. Sadlowski in the photo, bent over with garbage bag, right behind his student, camera slung over his shoulder, hoofing it up the coulee. Reading further, there is an additional teacher involved as co-facilitator - Karla Wright. Both teachers meet every Thursday at noon with the group, called "Free The Children".
It doesn't take the Oldman long to pick up the phone to thank the teachers and the students for their great work. A Thank You goes a long way - there is an endless supply of them, yet so few in circulation. Yes, you can quote me on that. I ask whether Mr. Sadlowski thinks the group would be interested in the OWC's Film Project. Part of the project involves reaching out to students. Donations from anyone under 18 to the Film Project are honoured with a professional photo opportunity with the OWC and a special blog posting (did you know our blog has had nearly 15,000 hits?!) Best of all, students will be invited to a free "How To Film The Watershed" seminar (to be offered in Taber, Lethbridge and Pincher Creek).
So next Thursday, the OWC is going to Victoria Park High School in Lethbridge to meet these outstanding watershed warriors and invite them to get involved with our Film Project. I am hoping to inspire them to create their own watershed videos and upload them to our new OWC You Tube channel.
Communication, after all, isn't only about "getting our message out there". It's also about supporting each other's efforts to make our watershed a better place to live, work and play - hearing each other's messages and acting on them.
I picked up the Lethbridge Herald on the way to work and began to peruse it as I sipped coffee at my desk. Would there be any local coverage of Earth Day, I wondered? Look no further than page A3, Hometown News. Tijana Martin's got a photo in there to accompany an article by Melissa Villeneuve. The photo shows Ty Marshall, 17, from Victoria Park High School. To compliment his very cool Black Sabbath T-Shirt and shades, his plastic gloves indicate serious business as he scours the coulees for garbage. So whoever said garbage-picking isn't cool?
 |
| Lethbridge Herald featuring the "Free the Children" Earth Day clean-up action. |
But there's more: in addition to participating in the Earth Day cleanup, they applied for, and were successful in procuring, $1,000 through the Telus "We Give Where We Live" program. These kids donated that money to the Lethbridge Food Bank. Environmental AND Social awareness?! Makes the Oldman just tear up at the thought of it. Seriously.
So who are the great teachers inspiring these kids? You don't have to look far - there is Mr. Sadlowski in the photo, bent over with garbage bag, right behind his student, camera slung over his shoulder, hoofing it up the coulee. Reading further, there is an additional teacher involved as co-facilitator - Karla Wright. Both teachers meet every Thursday at noon with the group, called "Free The Children".
It doesn't take the Oldman long to pick up the phone to thank the teachers and the students for their great work. A Thank You goes a long way - there is an endless supply of them, yet so few in circulation. Yes, you can quote me on that. I ask whether Mr. Sadlowski thinks the group would be interested in the OWC's Film Project. Part of the project involves reaching out to students. Donations from anyone under 18 to the Film Project are honoured with a professional photo opportunity with the OWC and a special blog posting (did you know our blog has had nearly 15,000 hits?!) Best of all, students will be invited to a free "How To Film The Watershed" seminar (to be offered in Taber, Lethbridge and Pincher Creek).
 |
| Follow #oldmangoestohollywood on Twitter for updates on the Film Project and great photos! |
Communication, after all, isn't only about "getting our message out there". It's also about supporting each other's efforts to make our watershed a better place to live, work and play - hearing each other's messages and acting on them.
Congratulations, "Free The Children" and Victoria Park School ... and THANK YOU :-)
Earth Day - Does It Really Matter?
(Editor's Note: You may call me cynical, but I did ask myself today whether naming this one day "Earth Day" actually made a difference. Here is a blog piece by OWC's Planning Manager, Connie Simmons, attempting to answer that question.)
The Oldman Watershed Council marks Earth Day with a spotlight on the Headwaters Action Team!
In preparation for this Blog post, I visited Earth Day’s website, http://earthday2015.ca/ and thought a lot about how the OWC and our key partnerships with stakeholders and volunteers supports Earth Day Canada’s mission to foster and celebrate environmental respect, action and behaviour change that lessens our impact on the earth. I looked at the questions they asked:
“What can I do to help the environment?”
“How can my individual actions make a bigger difference?”
“Can the impact of one person really help the planet?”
It didn’t take me long to figure out what to say – without the power of key partnerships and committed people and groups working together for common goals and outcomes for watershed health – the OWC would be just another planning organization with piles of plans on a shelf gathering dust.
Committed action by individuals, stakeholders and government is what makes the difference – and this action makes Earth Day (and everyday) a reason for acknowledgement and thanks to the people who are doing this important work.
The OWC’s Headwaters Action Team (HAT) is focused on getting things done for headwaters health. The HAT was formed in 2014 to begin the process of implementing 5 priority actions of the Headwaters Action Plan, and to see how far we can go in the first two years of collaborative work (for more on this: http://oldmanbasin.org/teams-and-projects/integrated-watershed-management-plan-team/).
The HAT is a great group of people, with different perspectives, interests and values. Some of our conversations are bluntly honest, and some of the interests around the table are at times cross-threaded. Nonetheless, as a foundation for collaborative work, we agree that the health of the headwaters needs improvement, that there are important initiatives that can address the priority concerns - and through this work, we raise support for improved watershed management, and achieve better outcomes for headwaters health.
OWC Headwaters Action Team - April 9, 2015
left to right: Jason Blackburn (Alberta Conservation Association); Lorne Fitch (Cows and Fish); Mike Wagner (Environment and Sustainable Resource Development – Forest Hydrology); Connie Simmons (OWC); Wade Aebli (Spray Lakes Sawmills); Rosemary Jones (Environment and Sustainable Development-Parks); David Green (Southern Alberta Sustainable Communities Initiative); Terry Yagos (MD Pincher Creek); Tony Bruder (Drywood-Yarrow Conservation Partnership); Bill Kovach (MD Crowsnest Pass); Jim Lynch Staunton (North Fork Grazing Association); Richard Burke (Trout Unlimited – Lethbridge). Missing: Darryl Ferguson (Crowsnest Pass Quad Squad); Carolyn Aspeslet (Castle Crown Wilderness Coalition).
The Headwaters Action Team works in both an advisory and implementation capacity, within the mandates and resources available from their respective organizations. So when I look at the questions posed for Earth Day, ‘…what can I do, and how can my individual actions make a difference?’ - I see in the HAT the commitment and willingness to act stemming from connection and appreciation for the beauty, the critical ecological function as key water tower, and resources that support people and communities – all of these values, and more, are inherent to the Oldman headwaters.
To really hear what is important to the team members, it is best to hear from them on why they are putting their time and energy into action for headwaters health:
I have lived near to the Oldman River most of my life and have spent many hours fishing, and playing in it, but most of all walking along it enjoying the hugely diverse wildlife and plant life enabled and nourished by it. The headwaters is the source and the Oldman River is the lifeblood of Southern Alberta. Ted Smith – Rancher, Livingston Landowners Group, HAT member
The Oldman River headwaters encompasses the largest remaining core areas of pure strain Westslope Cutthroat Trout within the historic range of Alberta, and is critical to the long term sustainability of the species in the province. Watersheds within the headwaters not only contribute to the overall persistence of this species, but also represent some of the best quality, and most popular native (and introduced) trout fisheries in the province, a service highly valued by a major stakeholder group of ACA, Alberta’s anglers.
Jason Blackburn – Alberta Conservation Association – HAT member
Headwaters are the epicenter for source water, native fish and wildlife (several of which are ‘threatened’) and a sense of space for recreation, watershed integrity and biodiversity maintenance. The headwaters are where the Oldman watershed begins and how well we manage this critical area dictates whether we meet the goals of downstream residents.
Lorne Fitch, Cows and Fish – HAT member
I live in the Oldman headwaters. Every day I see the snowpack on the mountains, hear the melt-water music of Gladstone Creek as it joins Mill Creek, which flows into the Castle River, and then joins the Oldman River system at the Oldman Reservoir. I think of all who live upstream and downstream and depend on this water – the towns and cities, the forests, the fish, birds and wildlife, and the farmers, ranchers and businesses that help support the economy of Alberta. Over 90% of the water of the Oldman River comes from the headwaters. For this reason, and because this place is my home, I am committed to working for headwaters beauty, function, spiritual values and source of life and sustenance.
Connie Simmons, Oldman Watershed Council – HAT coordinator
On Earth Day 2015 – we celebrate and thank the commitment of people and organizations who are working together for watershed health.
Thank you, Headwaters Action Team!!!
Blog post by: Connie Simmons,
OWC - Headwaters Stewardship Coordinator
connie@oldmanbasin.org
We're Asking For Your Help In One Small Act
(Editor's Note: Please renew your OWC membership and take the opportunity to see where your hard-earned dollars go. Any donation - large or small - makes a difference. Whether it is $20 or $200, your donation helps ensure a healthy watershed for generations to come. Our OWC Family is growing, thanks to people like you. Because of your support, we accomplish great things.)
|
| |||||||||
Safe Drinking Water In Lethbridge - And Downstream!
The other day, we met with OWC's Chairman, Doug Kaupp, who is also the General Manager of Water and Wastewater for the City of Lethbridge. The City has generously sponsored the OWC Film Project as a Collaborative Partner. The OWC gets $5,000 to put toward the film-making, and the City gets three videos: one for kids, one for the public at large, and one for scientists. The Collaborative Partner gets the videos at a fraction of the commercial cost, and the Oldman gets to create invaluable educational material.
For the City's videos, we toured three main sites: the waste water treatment plant, the water treatment plant and some river locations for storm outfalls and other technology.
It's a good thing this is a story told in pictures and not in smells! ...but, here we go:
 |
| So this first picture ^^ is where all the toilet flushings and drainage from the city of Lethbridge is collected to ONE POINT. I know, it's not fluffy birdies and flowers, but it's high time you knew. Yes, it stinks to high heaven. |
That's why I was praying that the guys didn't drop or knock their fancy-dancy camera equipment into the sludge: clearly, nobody would jump in after it to save it!
There are several stages to the process, and I'm not going to walk you through them all, but it was really interesting to find out just how much effort, science (and yes, money) goes into treating wastewaster to a condition where it can be released back into the river. It is the same stuff that fish will swim in, kids will play in ... and everybody downstream will drink (after they treat it further). (Obviously this picture shows one of the initial stages, and not the end result far down the line in wastewater treatment!)
First of all, anything that will harm the other machines is caught and removed (rocks, what have you). Then, 'tons and tons' of sand is taken out. I couldn't believe it. A lot of the sand is simply from cleaning - washing your floors, etc. Apparently, a lot of people are also forgetting their rags when they flush their dirty floor water down the drain!
A much better idea is to use biodegradable soap and dump the sand and dirty water onto your lawn - and pick out your rag.
The picture above ^^ shows part of the process where, now that the sand has been removed, the culprits grease and hair get worked over.
Are you one of the people flushing the hair from your brush down the toilet?
It is far better to put it in the garbage.
The same goes for your bacon fat, cooking fat, any type of grease is a real effort to remove.
There's a little trick, actually: use an old milk carton and pour the grease into it. Close the spout so it doesn't smell and put it in the fridge and it is easily disposable in the garbage after it has set.
 |
This is a very complicated process.There are ten of these"sludge pools", bubbling and working away. |
 |
And here's a photo of "Mr. Water", Doug Kaupp, who is taking the Oldman Film Crew on a tour of the facilities and explaining the wastewater treatment process to us. Doug has a lot of responsibility for taking care of us all! |
 |
There is not an alien living in this tank. It is actually ultraviolet light, used to treat the water once it's past the sludge stage. It has a green tinge due to the algae. |
 |
On to the next stage! There are several buildings, each with it's own function, and all connected with massive pipes. |
 |
Jim MacDonald, left, is the Wastewater Plant Manager in Lethbridge. A lot of people are involved in making sure our water is clean and healthy for everyone downstream. |
 |
Great chemistry brains aren't just found on TV! Brian Thomson is the brains at the water treatment plant.
Wastewater gets treated differently than water does than stormwater does. The difference? Wastewater is downstream. It's what we put down the drain. It must go through a careful cleaning process before it is put back into the river. It all goes to users downstream. The sludge removed is what powers the plant itself, but you can help by being more careful about what you put down the drain: use biodegradable soap and pour your cleaning water in the yard; don't put hair in the sink or toilet and keep cooking fats out of the drains.
Water treatment is upstream. It's what we take in from the river flowing into the City. It has come from the headwaters in the mountains and passed through the communities and landscapes to the west and we take a portion of it into the water treatment plant where we remove contaminants and treat for purity. That then, flows into your taps.
Stormwater is what falls as precipitation from above. It falls on your roof, your car, your yard. You could be capturing it from the roof in a rain barrel, making sure you don't wash your car in the driveway, avoiding the use of pesticides and herbicides in your yard (hey! dandelions are the first bee food!) - and keeping your storm drain clean. All this water collects in the gutters and is transported straight into the river. Whatever you do to your yard, fish drink. That's the concept of "We are all downstream". Luckily, more and more people are getting into gardening, permaculture and xeriscaping as beautiful - and useful - 'English lawn' alternatives. We do, really, live in a semi-arid climate.
Adding to this list, we also have groundwater, which is what you would use if you have a well.
|
 |
Away from all the plants and pipes and down to the Oldman River for some fresh air! We're going to see the weir (Get it?!!) |
 |
Nice shot, if I do say so myself. The lovely cottonwoods across the river are budding and waiting to leaf. We saw Spring's first butterflies and a few tiny flowers.
Doug took us to a few different stormdrains that exit into the river. Yes - whatever is on your street- leaves, garbage, paint, soapsuds ... whatever your pour into the gutteror the street drain ... DOES NOT GET TREATED. It flows straight into the river and straight onto wildlife like beaver and trout. It is important for us, as neighbours, to keep storm drains clear. The City can't possibly come around several times a year to do this. We must have an interest in keeping our water wildlife healthy and care about human populations downstream.
The "Yellow Fish Road" program is a way for school kids to learn about storm drains and water. They paint on the little yellow fish on the storm drains as a way of reminding people that whatever goes down there directly impacts fish.
|
 | |
It was a beautiful day for filming and we had the best tour guide ever: Thanks, Mr. Water - Doug Kaupp - and thank you to the City of Lethbridge!For more information about your drinking water, please visit http://www.lethbridge.ca/living-here/water-wastewater/Pages/default.aspxThe OWC is seeking further Collaborative Partners who would like to showcase in video how they are making the watershed a better place to live, work and play. Please get in touch! |
