You may recall the wildfire in the “Ghost” last fall that almost got out of control and had the population of the Ghost Valley along Highway 40 on evacuation alert for almost a week. The wildfire is now under control and, after driving up the somewhat rough Transalta Road, we will hike through the gravel flats of the upper North Ghost Valley near Black Rock Mountain. Accompanied by wildfire expert Edward A. Johnson Ph.D., we will check out the burned and charred areas, looking for signs of new plant growth. We will learn how such fires start, how they spread and also how to best fight them. And we will better understand the benefits and also the damages that wildfires can cause.

This field trip is an all-day road trip beginning with visiting Frank Lake, near High River, which is a shallow water slough where hundreds of bird species have been identified. We will then drive past and view the nearby large abandoned Mazeppa gas plant. Driving southwards and then westwards of Stavely we will visit the Pine Coulee Reservoir and the beautiful Willow Creek Municipal Park nestled in the valley of Willow Creek. In the Porcupine Hills, we will stop by the site of an orphan gas well assigned to the Orphan Well Association for abandonment and site remediation. The trip will continue westwards over the crest of the Porcupine Hills, reviewing the underlying geology and enjoying stunning views in all directions. The trip ends in the village of Longview viewing oil-producing sites and discussing issues related to future wells abandonment and wellsites environmental remediation.

Please join us on Tuesday evenings* this summer for a season of social stewardship through Biodiversity Conservation in the Centennial Natureground and Whispering Woods – tucked away in a corner of Brentwood, in northwest Calgary.

* the bees will run in the evenings through July; starting in August they will switch to Tuesday mornings

Help us to clean the province by choosing locations throughout the summer and picking up all the garbage that is potentially harming wildlife and the ecosystems in our area.

We are hoping to gather a crew of at least 10 people to help us out, but if you are unable to join our crew there are some other ways you can participate below!

How you can participate:

1. Join our crew- minimum donation $20, fundraising goal (minimum $200 including your donation), join us on at least one crew pick up day or coordinate your own
2. Donate to our cause –any amount welcome! our fundraising goal is $2000 by the end of August so help us spread the word!
3. Request of a location you’d like to see cleaned up (minimum donation $50) – if you know of a spot with a lot of garbage that has been bothering you every time you see it you can sponsor us to come clean it up!
4. Do your own garbage pickup – minimum donation $20, post picture of your garbage bags

Crew pick up days: Throughout the summer we will select locations that are large enough to allow for safe social distancing for picking up garbage. We will provide garbage bags, gloves, sanitizer & coordinate with the city to pick up collected garbage. Come and join us at a designated location for approximately 1 hour of clean up.

Share your adventures in Alberta’s winter wilderness through the art of photography!

The 2^nd Annual Adventure for Wilderness for Bob Patterson and Jim Campbell will be to circumnavigate the iconic Mount Rundle on Saturday June 27, 2021 by cycling from Banff up the Goat Creek Trail, down the Spray Lakes Road, though the Canmore Nordic Centre, to return on the south side of the Bow River to their starting point at Bow Falls. A mountain bike marathon of 40+ KM. A few scrapes and flats are fully anticipated though all to the good of conserving Alberta’s wildlife and wild places.

We’re at it again and 58 bee boxes suitable for Alberta’s Native Bees have been produced for this year’s adventure! This year we expanded the adventure to make Bee Box kits for 3 grade one classes at FFCA – NWE and Girl Guides of the 163rd Calgary Unit to work on a citizen science project for their Lady Baden Powell Award. Last year, our boxes got out all around the province: Calgary, Canmore, Lake Louise, Red Deer, Edmonton and Rocky Mountain House! Have one in your backyard too!

Ever wanted to hike through a cool stream in a slot canyon on a warm summer day – an hour’s drive from Calgary? Further up the valley you can visit a geology teaching site where three rock formations meet up, all several hundred million years old. Sign up to walk with Heinz up Jura Creek, and maybe even scout out the “trail” to Loder Peak. It’s a pleasant walk along the creek above the canyon, and for the way down you may choose the alternative forest trail. It’s about a 5 hours’ outing, and water shoes are essential for the canyon hike, plus some basic scrambling skills.

Alexa and Joel will be climbing 21 mountains in 2021, raising funds to help defend Wild Alberta!

If you’d like to follow along with them, or even join them on a few of these ascents, check out their adventure! They’ll be posting updates from their enterprise, and giving heads up about upcoming peaks, so if you see one you’d like to come along on, there will be space for a few fellow alpinists!