Wetland Centre has been busy: Summer Update
/Showcasing wetlands
This summer the Wetland Centre project team has been working hard revitalizing the Evergreen Centre site (Evergreen Park, County of Grande Prairie, Alberta) to highlight wetlands, update past wetland demonstrations, and maintain infrastructure.
What do we mean by site revitalizations?
Mulching, mowing, brushing, removing danger trees, these are just some of the ways we are making the Evergreen Centre grounds more inviting and most importantly safe for viewing. In addition to revitalizing the Evergreen Centre site with a specific focus on wetlands, we will be developing wetland interpretive signs to share educative information about these important ecosystems. Interested in learning more about the wetland wildlife, soils, vegetation, or hydrology at Evergreen Park? This project will be underway over the fall and winter, so keep an eye on the blog for updates. The interpretive signs are generously supported by Hammerhead Resources Inc. and Pembina Pipelines.
What else is underway?
In early May the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute sent a field crew to Grande Prairie so that the Wetland Centre could be a part of a pilot amphibian monitoring project. Crews installed 12 autonomous recording units. These units will be left on site until August 2020, after which the crews will collect the devices, download and process the data, and share the results. We are excited to learn more about the amphibian communities at Evergreen Park.
An autonomous recording unit safely secured to a tree.
With funding from Pembina Pipelines, Ducks Unlimited Canada will be conducting a hydrology monitoring pilot project starting in the fall of 2020. We will be installing a small number of monitoring wells to start to collect baseline data on wetland water levels and to help communicate important wetland hydrology concepts and methods with both public and practitioner audiences.
The Wetland Centre project team has been working with the NAIT Centre for Boreal Research to revisit an existing Oil Sands Exploration (OSE) site demonstration at the Evergreen Centre with a wetland perspective! Prior to clearing for the OSE, the site was a mix of treed rich fen and conifer swamp. The NAIT crew visited the site in July to assess site recovery against wetland reclamation criteria. Stay tuned for the outcomes of their field day.
NAIT field crew assessing a site on the grounds of the Evergreen Centre.
On Hold
This year has not been without its challenges and some of our planned activities, including the spring 2020 workshop, were cancelled or adjusted due to COVID-19. We’ve moved forward with work that can be done remotely, individually, or in socially distanced small groups, and we’ll be keeping an eye on opportunities for in-person events, such as a spring 2021 workshop.
As well, several groups expressed interest in using the site for wetland training activities; however, these were put on hold due to COVID-19. If you are interested in collaborating or want to speak with the project team about potential opportunities for wetland-focused training or projects, please contact Angie Kuyster Wetland Centre project manager at angie@iftech.ca.
What comes next?
With all the Wetland Centre project activity over the past few months, Fall promises to be busy with continued updates to highlight wetlands at the Evergreen Centre site and ongoing project activities.
We are also working towards a long-term plan for the Wetland Centre project. Starting in December 2019 the project team assembled an advisory group of government, Indigenous, research/ education, industry, and non-profit representatives to help shape the long-term vision and plan for the Wetland Centre. This group has continued to meet remotely throughout 2020 and we are extremely thankful for their support.