Wetland Center Event Update

Happy June everyone!

The Wetland Center has had some great early season activities including:

-The Indigenous Wetland Pilot Project (April 10-14, 2023): DUC visited various Indigenous groups to learn how DUC can braid Indigenous knowledge into the Wetland Centre.

-Danger Tree Assessment (April 21, 2023): Alberta Wildfire in coordination with Weyerhaeuser generously removed all trees in danger of falling within the bounds of the Wetland Centre ensuring the safety of all trail participants.

-DUC at Earth Day Event (April 22, 2023): DUC attended the Earth Day celebration hosted by the City of Grande Prairie and County of Grande Prairie No. 1 educating the public about wetlands role in the environment and the Wetland Center at Evergreen Park.

-Peace Wapiti Academy Project Day (May 4, 2023): Students from Peace Wapiti Academy came out to the Wetland Center to help clear new trails for the upcoming Walk through the Forest event as part of the Wetland Centre of Excellence program at the high school.

-Construction of the Hammerhead Energy Corduroy Road Extension: Ironwood Mats, in association with Hammerhead, used the wood of trees taken down during the Danger Tree Assessment to build a boardwalk across a wetland connecting the edge of the corduroy road demonstration and the existing trail system. In addition, Northlink Supply spread mulch and seed on the slopes of the corduroy road demonstration to minimize erosion of the road from precipitation.

Citizen Science Visits: Volunteer data collection of the 29 water wells at the Wetland Centre continued in May 2023 (new volunteers always welcome!). In addition, various groups came as part of data collection efforts including for the May Plant Count (May 27, 2023 – Alberta Native Plant Council) and a birding tour (June 3, 2023 – Peace Parkland Naturalist Club).

-Wetland Assessment Knowledge Exchange (June 6, 2023): Professionals in the environmental field and wetland enthusiasts gathered to learn about vegetation and soil identification and wetland classification while sharing industry insights on wetland conservation. This event was facilitated by DUC.

K-12 Education: Although delayed by wildfire/smoke risk, K-12 programming delivered at the Wetland Centre by Inside Education and the Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance officially kicked off in June with multiple classes visiting the Wetland Centre for curriculum-tied tours.

-Bioblitz (June 19-25, 2023): A weeklong event promoting iNaturalist and citizen science happened at the Wetland Centre offering a variety of events including: iNaturalist introductions, a wetland stewardship presentation as part of NAIT’s Centre for Boreal Research speaker series, a tea bag science experiment for the homeschool community, a tour of the SEEDS research demonstration (Seed Enhanced Ecological Delivery System) with Natural Resources Canada staff member Richard Krygier, and a plant walk led by DUC.

With the unexpected complications from the recent wildfires, several of our anticipated May events were cancelled or rescheduled. This included Walk Through the Forest, hosted by The Grande Prairie and Area Environmental Sciences Educational Society (GPESES), and was rescheduled for early May of 2024. Also cancelled was our volunteer maintenance day which would have seen Weyerhaeuser and Canfor summer students and staff assisting with site maintenance and clean-up. Other cancelled events include the Inside Education programming which had been originally scheduled for mid-May and the Country of Grande Prairie High School tours (tentatively rescheduled for Spring 2024).

Regardless, the Wetland Center is still aiming to make the most of the summer weather. We’ve still got events coming up such as the Junior Forest Ranger Maintenance Day and upcoming infrastructure improvements at the Wetland Centre (i.e., trail upgrades, garbage cans, etc.)! Keep an eye on the event schedule and stay tuned!

Digging Discovery: How Organic Material Accumulation is used to Classify Wetlands at the Wetland Centre

What makes a wetland a wetland? How can you tell where one wetland class ends, and another begins? The material under your feet can help you discover the answers to these questions! To better understand the classes of wetlands present at the Wetland Centre at Evergreen Park and to refine the original wetland boundary mapping developed in 2016, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) collected peat depth and vegetation data at sampling sites across the Wetland Centre in July 2022.

Rick Murray (DUC Conservation Programs Specialist) led the assessment and was supported by the Grande Prairie Junior Forest Ranger Team and DUC staff member, Madalyn Barnfield.

Using a hand-auger with multiple extensions (that reach depths of 3.2 m) and our trusty wetland classification guidebook, the team collected soil and vegetation data from 29 sites in 2022, to add to the 27 sites already done from 2019 to 2021.

Peat depths locations recorded at the Wetland Centre from 2019 to 2022.

Of the sites completed in 2022, 19 were “simple assessments” where we recorded organic material depth and a general observation of plant species at the site. We also completed ten “detailed assessments” where we recorded : organic material depth, decomposition rate (i.e., Von Post rating), texture of the mineral underlying the organic material (e.g. sand, silt, clay, etc.), indicators of water influencing the soils (e.g., mottling, gleying [see Photos below]), type of plants, plant cover height, and surface or below ground water depths.

So how exactly can we use this information to tell if we’re in a wetland? There are a few key indicators that can be spotted when soils are wet for long enough. These indicators include the accumulation of organic material (deep peat!), soil mottling, and gleying. If you have any of these soil indicators, it’s time to get your guidebooks out to take a closer look!

Prominent mottling in Soil (Orange colour splotches; left Photo), gleying in soil (dull dark gray, bluish tinge colour; Middle and Right PHotos)..

An accumulation of organic material is often a sign that you are in a wetland. In addition, the depth of organic material can help determine whether an area is a peatland (bogs and fens; >40 cm) or mineral wetland (swamps, marshes, shallow open waters; <40 cm).

Various fen and swamp soil samples laid out to show the different layers of organic material (darker colour) prior to reaching the underlying clay (Note: The top of each photo represents the ground surface).

Let’s take a look at what we found at the Wetland Centre to see if our assumptions match our results:

• Five sites were Upland (zero/minimal organic material accumulation, no mottling or gleying)

• Nine sites were Wooded Coniferous Swamp (ranged between 20 to 150 cm organic material accumulation with a Von Post of 5 to 7)

• Three sites were Shrubby Fen (ranged between 175 to 265 cm organic material accumulation; no Von Post recorded)

• Twelve sites were Wooded Coniferous Fen (ranged between 75 to 245 cm organic material accumulation with a Von Post of 4 to 5)

organic material depths (cm) recorded at the Wetland centre in 2022

“But wait!? Some of these swamps have >40 cm of organic material; shouldn’t they be classified as fens?” You’re right, but relying on organic material depth alone can be tricky when determining the wetland class. Another indicator to consider when determining whether an area is a peatland or mineral wetland is how decomposed the organic material is. Weakly decomposed organic material is typically associated with bogs and fens while highly decomposed organic material is typically associated with swamps, marshes and shallow open waters.

Examples of weakly decomposed (left; von post 3) and well decomposed (right; von post 6/7) organic Material samples

So, what happens when your depth says peatland (fen) and your state of decomposition says mineral wetland (swamp)? The answer comes down to a judgement call. In this case, although four of the swamp classified sites at the Wetland Centre had >40 cm of organic material accumulation (65, 85, 125 and 150 cm), a closer look at the higher degree of decomposition of the material (Von Post as high as 7) along with a lack of peatland plant species pushed our team to classify these sites as swamps rather than fens.

Exploring the soil in wetlands can be very helpful in determining the wetland class, but it is always best to view soil results alongside other wetland indicators like vegetation. What can be said is that it’s never a dull day in swamp town!

Loquiz Wetland Tour at the Wetland Centre

The Wetland Centre at Evergreen Park is home to Loquiz! Developed by the County of Grande Prairie No. 1, this app provides a fun and interactive way to navigate the Wetland Centre while competing against other teams to see who is the master of wetland knowledge!

Using your smart phone or tablet with the Loquiz app, you will be prompted to answer various questions about wetlands submitted by wetland experts who live and work in the Peace Region. This includes specialists from the County of Grande Prairie No. 1, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Matrix Solutions Inc., the Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society (Cows and Fish), the Alberta Conservation Association, and the Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance.

The Loquiz app is perfect for junior high and high school classes, but all groups who are interested are encouraged to reach out for more information!

If are interested in participating, please reach out to Jill Henry (jhenry@countygp.ab.ca) and Kate Winterford (kwinterford@countygp.ab.ca) for more information and to book a timeslot.