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Vol. 14, No. 35, Wednesday, July 24, 2019 www.LamontLeader.com
Visitors had the chance to try out the Voyager Canoes on Astotin Lake at the EINP park day.
Park Day at EINP packed with ecology information Visitors have fun while learning about history and species at Elk Island National Park MAUREEN SULLIVAN Parks Day at Elk Island National Park (EINP) on July 20, was jammed packed with activities. The day started at 8:00 a.m. with a guided birding walk along the Amisk Wuche Trail. With over 250 bird species recorded in the park, it's a great trip for novice and expert bird watchers. Early morning visits provide a better chance of sighting birds. At the Astotin Lake Recreation Area visitors could participate in Mini Tipi making, learn to camp games, Voyageur Canoe rides, enjoy a musical called The Well Worn Trail, fiddlers and a talk on the Photography of Flora.
Those interested in history could travel back in time and see the history of the buffalo and take the Bison Backstage tour at the Heritage Barn near the visitor centre. The first ever BioBlitz at EINP where visitors became citizen scientists and joined forces with scientists, taxon experts and nature enthusiasts to take a "nature selfie", to track and inventory all the species that can be identified. "A BioBlitz is a very useful tool used to track the biodiversity that exists in a particular ecologically important area", said James Page of the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CFW). "By uploading photos of wildlife using the
iNaturalist app, during the BioBlitz is a very simple way for people to get involved in real conservation activity by helping us take a snapshot of the ecology of the park." The CFW encourages everyone to take a nature selfie everywhere they go, at anytime, as a very real way to help with conservation. To become a citizen scientist download the free iNaturalist.ca app, create an account, using a smartphone snap photos of widlife and plants, add in details - the app instantly suggests species identification, save and upload (the app will store the observations to upload online later). Check back later
to see if anyone has identified the picture or commented. Other organizations providing information and activities included the Edmonton Native Plant Society, Friends of Elk Island Society, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Alberta Community Bat Society, Alberta Lepidopterists' Guild, Fort Saskatchewan Prairie, Insects of Alberta and Alberta Aquarium. The day ended with Bison Tales around the campfire and a guided Bat walk to explore the many benefits of conserving bats, not least their ability to eat so many insects like mosquitos.