It's Your Turn to be SUPERMAN...WOMAN...CHILD ...

(Editor's Note: We are being invaded by a noxious species. It looks sweet and innocent, but Oh-HO!!! what a nasty beast! Major environmental deterioration, loss of beef production, damage to crops. Individual plants can produce over 150,000 seeds PER SQURE METRE. It has an immensely long taproot and sucks the area dry. Literally. You can help. Please bring along your family July 16th from 7-9pm and FIGHT THE INVASIVES!!!)  

View fullsize

Here's what Knapweed looks like. It's disguised as pretty. It's effects are devastating.

Its that time again..... the third knapweed pull of the 2015 season is coming up fast!! 

I am very excited about this weed pull because it is the site of our most successful weed pull so far.  In 2013, we had our first City of Lethbridge weed pull at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands and it was a HUGE SUCCESS. 

We pulled out over 50 bags of knapweed and had a super fun time doing it!

View fullsize

Here's where to meet :-)

July 16 2015 Knapweed Pull

Help keep our river valley healthy and diverse by pulling prohibited noxious weeds in the hopes of eradication.  Save the Date: Thursday July 16th 7-9pm

Elizabeth Hall Wetlands

Next:   Thursday August 20th 7-9pm Location TBA
Next: Thursday September 17th7-9pm Location TBA 

Why is Elizabeth Hall Wetland is such a special place - hidden away in the center of the city?

• Elizabeth wetlands was part of the Urban Parks project and was originally called the Oxbow Lake Nature area. 1987 the area was renamed the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands
•  Elizabeth Hall was born in England and came to Canada with her family in 1958. She was a Lethbridge City Council member from 1977 to 1986 and during that time she worked tirelessly to ensure the river valley maintained its natural environment during park development. She is also credited with developing the Helen Schuler Coulee Centre, now the Helen Schuler Nature Centre
• Red-winged Black Birds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Orioles, several varieties of ducks, geese, muskrats, sandpiper, beavers and their dams, spotted turtles, and deer are some of the wildlife you can watch as you weed pull!  

Here are some reason I am so passionate about these weed pulls:

Our goal is to work on invasive plant education and awareness.  Through this process we can prevent the further introduction and spread of invasive species, and in this case specifically knapweed. 

We have chosen to focus specifically on Knapweed control in the Oldman River valley because it is a highly competitive introduced plant that invades native vegetation and threatens the health of our watershed. If left unchecked, the loss to farmers, ranchers and recreational users could be disastrous.  It is a prohibited noxious weed in Alberta.

We have chosen a multifaceted approach incorporating the physical efforts of hand pulling, through events like this, and direct herbicide application.  The combination of mechanical and chemical methods has been shown to be a great success in the past.

View fullsize

We love our volunteers!

See you all July 16th at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands!!!

OWC Outreach Assistant - 2 Month Internship

View fullsize

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

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:

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 8^th, 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 8^th, 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

jjenkins@watertonbiosphere.com

403 627 9598

Website: www.watertonbiosphere.com

Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WatertonBiosphereReserve

OWC April 2015 E-Newsletter

To view April's E-newsletter, click here