Smith Blackburn Homestead is located in the Beaver Hills UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional gathering place, travelling route and home for many Indigenous Peoples. This beautiful land is located just east of Elk Island National Park, and is home to moose, deer, and many other species of wildlife.
At this event, we are going to remove creeping thistle and white cockle from the land so that native plant species can thrive. In particular, we will work around our new native pollinator garden and in between planted trees and shrubs. We will be weeding for the first part of the day, and in the afternoon, we’ll conduct a bioblitz - a style of survey where participants record all the species they see in a short period of time, including plants, animals, fungi, and insects. If you’re not confident in your identification skills, don’t worry! This will be as much about learning as it is about getting data.
We will meet at the Smith Blackburn Homestead promptly at 10:00 AM, and leave the site by 2:30 PM. Wear appropriate footwear and long pants, and bring a lunch, water, and a camera or binoculars if you'd like. If you have your own gloves to bring we recommend that you do so, but otherwise tools and gloves will be provided. Additional information will be sent to you several days in advance of the event.
Other notes:
If you need to cancel, please do so through SignUp.com or inform us as soon as possible. Please arrive on time.
Stewardship events are weather-dependent and subject to cancellation.
Please contact us in advance if you wish to bring a minor to this event.
If you wish to carpool with another volunteer, please review our Carpooling Policy here.
Click the button below to register. Email Meghan at meghan.jacklin@ealt.ca with any questions about this event.