WBRA May 2023 Update

What’s New with the WBRA?

Building Resilience for Bats

 

Have you ever looked up on a starry night and wondered who you might be sharing the sky with? Well, here is your chance to discover some of your insect-eating night time neighbours.

Learn about bats on your property with our Bat Exploration Kit! The kit is provided as a take-home family learning experience through our Building Resilience for Bats project in Waterton Biosphere Reserve. Inside each kit is an easy-to-use bat detector and tablet that lets you “hear” and “see” ultrasonic calls made by the bats around you.

The Jim & Mary Kearl Library of Cardston and the Pincher Creek Municipal Library each host one available kit for loan. Kits are available for loan up to 7 days.

Please contact the library closest to you to learn more and to borrow the kit:

Jim and Mary Kearl Library of Cardston: 403-653-4775

Pincher Creek Public Library: 403-627-3813

 

The Bat Exploration Kit includes:

🦇 Bat detector and tablet with instructions

🦇 Tally sheet for you to record your findings

🦇 Instructions and some supplies for a fun bat craft for kids

🦇 Bat storybooks for kids and families to enjoy

🦇 Information on bat biology and how to maintain bat-friendly habitat

We wish you well on your bat exploration!

Carnivores and Communities

 

We have reached the time of year where we are back to sharing the landscape with bears. In addition to conflicts with agriculture such as livestock depredation and damage to grain and feed storage, bears can represent a safety concern for rural communities and families.

In general, bears will do their best to avoid human encounters. However, it is important to remember that bears are individuals, and each encounter will be different. Understanding bear behaviour and determining what type of encounter you are experiencing are an important part of keeping yourself and your family safe.

Rural families in WBR have unique experiences sharing the landscape with large carnivores. Here are some discussion ideas centered around safety considerations for kids as they walk to the school bus, or do their chores around the yard.

In the event of a close human-bear interaction, bear spray has been shown to be one of the most effective ways you can protect yourself. For more information about how to use bear spray in a safe and effective way, please see this video made by the Government of Alberta.

Important takeaways from the video:

• Bear attacks on humans are very rare. Most bear attacks occur when a bear is surprised at close range. You can reduce this risk by calling out loudly and frequently while out on the land and walking to the bus stop, or by looking for signs of recent bear activity around your home.
• Do not run.
• Keep your bear spray on your belt, or a readily accessible location.
• Make sure you are carrying bear spray, not pepper spray which is intended for dogs and humans.
• Bear spray is effective at a short range, think a car length away (4m or 12ft).
• A regular sized can of bear spray (225g) has about 6-8 seconds of spray time.
• Bear spray is also effective against cougar, coyotes, and elk.
• Bears are most active during dawn and dusk. Have children play close to the house during these times and make sure they are well supervised.
• Be mindful of wind direction when deploying bear spray.
• Bear bells do not work and may even make bears more curious.

Day on the Creek

 

A most sincere thank you to the 900 students, teachers, parents, community adults and youth who came out to spend a Day on the Creek with us.

We had a fun day of outdoor discovery along Pincher Creek which centered around the importance of water stewardship. Students and community members were able to learn more about the local plants, animals, cultures, and histories of the area.

We would like to thank the Day on the Creek project supporters who shared their unique knowledge and passions with the community, and to our funders Pieridae Energy Ltd., and Parks Canada for making the event possible.

And of course, an unending thank you to Town of Pincher Creek, Livingstone Range School Division, and Holy Spirit Catholic School Division.

Please visit our Facebook page or Day on the Creek webpage to see some memorable moments captured from the day!

Learning about Limber Pine on the Land

We were grateful to contribute to shared learning opportunities for some caring and intrepid high school students from the region by participating alongside the Livingstone Range School Division, the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada (WBPEF-C), and Destination Exploration in two recent Land Camps.

Our days centered around experiential learning, where students were surrounded by their subject material. We discussed the interconnected role of five-needle pine within their ecosystems, the threats these species are facing, as well as the conservation and restoration efforts of organizations like the WBPEF-C to ensure these important trees remain on the landscape. Students were able to explore real-life monitoring and recovery activities such as seedling surveying, tree-coring, and conducting white pine blister rust health assessments.

This programming was supported by funding to the various partners including grants to WBRA from Alberta Conservation Association and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

If you are interested in supporting the conservation and restoration of five-needle pine please reach out to info@watertonbiosphere.com to learn more about our Sticky Fingers volunteer event. The event will support our conservation partners in preparing limber pine and whitebark pine seeds for planting in a nursery to grow seedlings destined for future recovery plantings in high priority areas.

Supporting Landowners in Conservation and Stewardship

 

 

We now have funding available to support landowners wishing to complete projects that maintain or improve habitats for local biodiversity. Perhaps you want to install an off-site watering system to get your cattle out of a wetland. Maybe you want to use electric fencing to concentrate cattle for rotational grazing. Or maybe you want to stop the local beaver from flooding beyond its current pond size by installing a pond leveller. Each of these projects can have benefits for the plants and animals that also live on your lands.  If you have ideas on how to improve your operation in tandem with conserving local biodiversity, reach out to Elizabeth at 403-563-0058 or eanderson@watertonbiosphere.com.

Eligible costs include site preparation, materials and supplies (e.g., pond leveller, fencing supplies, native plants), capital purchases (e.g., solar waterer, portable electric fence, charger, fencing tools; subject to limits or grant restrictions), equipment rental, contractor costs, and professional services.

Projects are typically on a cost-share basis; the landowner portion can include cash or in-kind contributions (in-kind materials, planning time, equipment, and/or labour) or can include partner funding.

Give us a call to see if we can help financially support your project!

Annual General Meeting

Save the Date

Please join the WBRA at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, June 22 at 7:00 pm. All are welcome to attend.

We are happy to be able to meet in person this year at the Mountain View Senior Centre, in Mountain View. More details to follow.

Please contact info@watertonbiosphere.com for any questions about our upcoming AGM.