July 2024 | Volume 16 Issue 7 | |
 | |
Happy July, Grasslands Enthusiasts!
The 26th Native Prairie Appreciation Week was June 16th-22nd, we had a lot of fun raising awareness and appreciation of native prairie ecosystems and their importance to Saskatchewan’s provincial, environmental and agricultural sectors. You can read about the different activities below.
During NPAW, we had two Native Prairie Speaker Series presentations, Dr. Troy McMullin returned to talk about Adventures in Lichenology and the Royal SK Museum shared about prairie research and collections. You can find all past NPSS recordings on our YouTube Channel.
The July Native Prairie Speaker Series presentation will be Mike Blom speaking about the new happenings in the Redberry lake Biosphere Region. You can register here.
And finally, we would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support: Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association, K+S Youth+Us, North American Helium, Nutrien, Wildlife Habitat Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, as well as the continuous support of all the PCAP Partners and additional sponsors that can't be names due to the Election Act.
Carolyn Gaudet, SK PCAP Manager
pcap@sasktel.net
| |
PCAP Recap: Native Prairie Appreciation Week, June 16-22, 2024
SK PCAP would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all partners, followers and native prairie enthusiasts for spreading the word about native prairie and the importance of its conservation.
Here are the highlights:
- In addition to an official proclamation from the SK Ministry of Agriculture and the SK Ministry of Environment, the urban municipalities of Regina, Saskatoon and Swift Current all proclaimed Native Prairie Appreciation Week.
-
Our Native Prairie Photo contest received over 80 entries in three categories: Native Prairie Landscape, Native Prairie Wildflower, and Wildlife in Action. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos and voted for their favourites! It's a great way to share the beauty and diversity of native prairie landscapes. You can see all entries on our Facebook page HERE.
- 110 posters were submitted to the Native Prairie Youth Poster Contest this year! The winners are below!
-
We had two webinars during Native Prairie Appreciation Week: "Adventures in Lichenology" with Dr. Troy McMullin and "The Royal Saskatchewan Museum-a hub of prairie research and collections" with Dr. Ryan Fisher and Ryan Oram. You can find the recordings here.
-
We had a great time at the NPAW tour in the Avonlea Badlands. We had 26 individuals come out and enjoy a gorgeous day on the prairie, learning to ID plants, range health assessments and an intro to grassland bird ID. Special thanks for the Avonlea Heritage Museum for the Badlands tour. If you'd like to experience the Badlands, you can find more tour information here.
- We were handing out packets of native wildflower seeds at various farmers' markets during NPAW. We had lots of great conversations about native prairie and the importance of grasslands, wildflowers and pollinators.
|  |  |  |  | The SK and MB Native Seed Collaborative is a new initiative formed by a diverse group of native seed producers and users. The group meets 3 to 4 times per year and shares information related to all aspects of prairie restoration including such things as existing seed supply and demand, effective seed collection, cleaning, and storage. The goal of the collaborative is to increase the availability of locally adapted native plant seeds, through contracts, shared resources, and potentially seed exchanges. The hope is that members will eventually be able to share seed collection and cleaning equipment, storage facilities, experiences, and knowledge to ensure quality seed is not a limiting factor for restoration activities in the two provinces. If you or someone from your organization would like to participate in the discussions, please reach out to: prairieseedcollaborative@gmail.com | |
SURVEY - Producers or Users of Native Seeds or Plants
Have you bought or produced native seeds and plants? We invite you to participate in the Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan’s market assessment of the native plant materials industry in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba!
This survey is only done once every ten years and is incredibly important. The information collected will help guide the industry into the future, helping both users and producers of native plant materials by making a more efficient and effective marketplace. Please share widely!
Everyone who completes the survey will be entered to win a cash prize of $200. Survey closes July 30th and is open to Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba residents.
View the surveys (separate ones for producers and users) and more information here: https://www.npss.sk.ca/news-and-events/317
| |
Stay tuned for news about our upcoming Native Prairie Speaker Series webinars! | July Native Prairie Speaker Series | |
Redberry Lake Biosphere Region Update
Speaker: Mike Blom, Redberry Lake Biosphere Region
Tuesday July 30th, 2024 at 12 PM
Register Free
More Information
| |
Southern Alberta Youth Range Days
July 16-18, 2024
Ag in Motion
July 16-18, 2024
Langham, SK
Grassland National Park's Burrowing Owls - Day with a Specialist
August 1, 2024
Val Marie, SK
Canadian Beef Industry Conference
August 19-22, 2024
Saskatoon, SK
SaskOutdoors's Educator Tour
August 21-22, 2024
Little Red River Park near Prince Albert, SK
| |
We would like to thank the following organizations for generously donating prizes for the Youth Poster Contest and the Social Media Photo Contest :
Nature Conservancy of Canada,
Salthaven West,
Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre,
Saskatchewan Science Centre, Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation and Western Development Museum
| |
For Educators
SK PCAP has two free education programs available.
See more info here!
SaskOutdoors has a number of PD and facilitator training courses available this month. You can check them out here.
| |
2024/25 Education Programs:
Presenting Sponsors:
| |
Carolyn Gaudet, Editor, Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan Newsletter | |
|
SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges financial support in 2024-2025 from:
Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, North American Helium, Nutrien, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park of Canada, K+S youth+us, Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment - Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskWater, TC Energy, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan - College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Water Security Agency and Wildlife Habitat Canada.
SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges in-kind support for 2024-25 from:
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Science and Technology Branch, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association, Environment Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service, Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Meewasin Valley Authority, Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan, Nature Conservancy Canada, Nature Saskatchewan, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park, Prairie Wind & Silver Sage, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Inc., Redberry Lake Biosphere Region, Saskatchewan Aboriginal Land Technicians, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds, Saskatchewan Bison Association, Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre, Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Saskatchewan Forage Council, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources, Saskatchewan Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation, Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, SaskEnergy, SaskOutdoors, SaskPower, Society for Range Management - Prairie Parkland Chapter, South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc., University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan - College of Agriculture and Bioresources.
| | | | |
