jessica36732

By Liz Deleeuw Editor’s Note (by Patsy Cotterill): Fall is the time when ENPS members start cleaning and packaging the seeds that have been collected throughout the season. I was once asked “What is the best time to collect seeds?”, the questioner obviously looking for me to name a date, but I said “When they are ripe.” This isn’t entirely true. The seeds of some species can be taken off the parent plant before they are ripe and they will subsequently ripen. (Beaked hazelnut, for instance;...

By Patsy Cotterill The genus Ribes The currants and gooseberries belong in the genus Ribes,  the single genus that constitutes the family Grossulariaceae. It is primarily a Northern Hemisphere group, with some 150-200 species, of which we have 13 in Alberta. Of these, seven are common locally in the Parkland, and all prefer habitats with an adequate supply of water, from moist woodlands and meadows to the shores of wetlands and creeks. Ribes  species are ecologically important, given their...

The following short article appeared in the October 3, 2025 newsletter of the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition (ERVCC) ( http://eepurl.com/joInYE) : Blackfoot knowledge-keeper Ryan First Diver has posted many videos on YouTube as part of his phenology course in Lethbridge. This past summer one of the videos he posted deals with " combative stewardship ."  This is the term he has given to land conservation that labels plant or animal species “invasive” or “noxious.” He reminds...