The Winterburn Woodland
While Alberta is often understood as a prairie province, Edmonton is nestled within a geographical zone known as aspen parkland:…
Stories tagged: natural areas
The Camel Humps: A Special Little Corner of Edmonton
Around the time that Alberta became a province in 1905, the riverbank went through a process that produced its unique topography that gives it its odd “Camel Humps” name today.
City as Arboretum
Edmonton is a unique blend of indigenous and introduced species. As a sprawling city that contains eighteen-thousand acres of river-valley,…
The End of the World: From Found Space to Keillor Point
The summer of 2010 was a memorable time: I started dating my future husband, and I started exploring Edmonton’s river…
Kisiskāciwani-sīpiy – Swift Flowing River
Rising out of the Rocky Mountain glaciers, flowing ever eastward toward Hudson Bay, the North Saskatchewan River has meandered across…
A Kingdom in North Edmonton: Castle Downs, 1969-1979
When I moved to Castle Downs nearly ten years ago, I saw a typical 1970s development: parks, schools, stores, churches,…
The North Saskatchewan River
Before the highways and railways, there was the North Saskatchewan River. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Saskatchewan River…
June 29, 1915 — Edmonton’s River Valley Floods
On June 29, 1915, the North Saskatchewan River flooded Edmonton’s river valley. The river had flooded before, of course, but…
Long live the Pits!
You won’t find the Pits marked on any map, and many people who live nearby simply refer to the area…
The Pits of Mill Woods
I grew up in South East Mill Woods. My back gate opened into a sprawling wheat field, scattered with dense…