Tuesday 14 July 2015

EcoSask News, July 14, 2015

gulls

Shorebird Identification Workshop, July 15 
The Saskatoon Nature Society is offering a shorebird identification workshop from 7-9:30 pm, July 15, in Room 130, Physics Building, University of Saskatchewan. Photographs will help you to identify field marks of most species of shorebirds seen at this time of year. You can test your skills on the July 18 shorebird expedition.

Field Trips 
Golden Eagles 
July 9, 7:30 am – Native Prairie, Trails & Forge
July 16, 7:30 am – Boreal Aquatics
July 23, 7:30 am – Sarilia Estates and Langham Area
July 30, 7:30 am – Blackstrap and Area

Other Nature Society Field Trips 
July 18, 9 am – 4 pm – Shorebird Expedition
July 19, 1:30-4:30 pm – Dragonfly and Damselfly Viewing
July 22, 7-9 pm – Hudson Bay Slough Birding
July 25, 7-9 pm – Sanatorium Site Bird Walk
July 26, 1:30-4:30 pm – Butterflies IV

Check the Saskatoon Nature Society’s website for full details (e.g. some trips require rubber boots, others will be cancelled if the weather is bad).

Managing Our Water 
Restrictions: River levels in Saskatchewan are at a record low, and John Pomeroy, Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change, says California-style water restrictions may be needed in the near future. “For the immediate future, precision water management would be the best way to handle a drought crisis next year, Pomeroy said. We have to look at water use over the Saskatchewan River Basin as a whole instead of three separate provinces and with federal interest in the headwaters, and say, 'With limited water, what's the best use of that water?'"

Pollution: The World Wildlife Federation reports that pollution levels are very high in the South Saskatchewan watershed. There are also signs of habitat fragmentation and overuse of water.

Green Cleaning 
Family Cleaners Ltd., 132 Avenue B North, is Saskatoon’s only green cleaner. They use a wet cleaning process that eliminates the employee health risks associated with exposure to traditional dry cleaning fluids. Wet cleaning also eliminates the risk of perc contaminating the groundwater supply and clothes don’t come home with residual amounts of harmful chemicals and odours.

Protecting Native Prairie In and Around Urban Areas 
The Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference will be held in Saskatoon, February 16-18, 2016. Organizers are encouraging presentations and posters from people interested in the integration of prairie conservation and urban development.

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