conservation support – Forests of Memory. Forests of Learning. Forests for Life.

We came. We saw. We bio-blitzed. The City Nature Challenge is our annual chance to get up close and personal with the astonishing biodiversity of Saskatoon — the birds, the bugs, the blooms. But amid the native wildflowers and elusive owls, something a little more… sinister… was lurking. This year’s observations didn’t just turn up charismatic critters and rare plants — they also uncovered some unwelcome guests. Think of them as the party crashers of the natural world: invasive species.

These invaders are not just botanical and entomological curiosities — they’re early warning signals. Each detection offers a vital chance for early detection and rapid response. And let’s just say, our keen-eyed citizen scientists didn’t miss a beat.

Take Coccinella septempunctata, the Seven-spotted Lady Beetle. Cute? Maybe. But it’s elbowing out native lady beetles with a voracious appetite and reproductive gusto that would make rabbits blush. This beetle didn’t just show up once — it popped up in multiple locations, proving it’s not a fluke. It’s a trend.

Then there’s Phyllotreta striolata, the Striped Flea Beetle. These pint-sized pests are the bane of brassica crops — punching way above their weight class by chewing through canola and mustard leaves like it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet.

And let’s not forget Artemisia absinthium — Absinthe Wormwood. Once prized for its use in the infamous “green fairy” liqueur, it’s now a noxious weed with allelopathic tendencies, meaning it literally poisons the soil around it to suppress native competitors. Think of it as the botanical equivalent of a playground bully.

Add to that list Sitona cylindricollis (the Sweetclover Weevil), Romualdius scaber (Crusted Root Weevil), Lilioceris lilii (Lily Leaf Beetle), and Taraxacum officinale (yes, the familiar and deceptively cheerful Common Dandelion that arrives when the soil becomes hard packed to help drill down with its tap roots to break it up), and you start to get the picture: Saskatoon’s natural spaces are in a quiet battle.

Some intruders hitched rides long ago and have become fixtures (Apis mellifera, the Western Honey Bee, is a European transplant we now depend on). Others, like the Siberian Elm and Caragana, were introduced on purpose for shelterbelts and windbreaks — good intentions that spiraled into ecological headaches.

The beauty of the City Nature Challenge is that it mobilizes everyday observers into frontline biosentinels. Your photos, your logs, your curiosity — they’re all helping scientists and city planners get the jump on these sneaky invaders before they spread.

Invasive species might not make headlines like polar bears or monarch butterflies, but trust me — they matter. And the fact that we’re spotting them? That means we’re paying attention. We’re waking up. And if nature’s taught us anything, it’s that being alert is the first step toward resilience.

So, next time you’re out snapping shots of Saskatoon’s wild side, remember: even the smallest weed can tell a big story. And that story — with your help — might just have a happier ending.

iNaturalist Connect with nature for the City Nature Challenge Saskatoon and Area Défi nature urbaine hosted by the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc

Mushrooms, Grasshopper, Caterpillar, Fungi

The Nature of Thanks: Saskatoon’s Citizen Scientists Take a Bow
It’s not every day you get to witness a whole city lean in—eyes wide, hands busy, hearts open—to catalogue the wild. But over the course of a few breathtaking days, that’s exactly what happened in Saskatoon. With binoculars swinging from necks, phone cameras held aloft, and a collective curiosity humming like cicadas in the coulees, a wave of observation and identification swept through our river valley, our aspen groves, our backyard gardens.

And now, the results are in.

The city that bridges the prairie and the boreal has done it again—rallied its people, picked up its field guides, and thrown itself into the great mystery of the natural world. But before we tally species or sort our data, let’s pause to recognize something that matters just as much: the people behind the pixels.

This was no solo act. It was an orchestra.

Let’s begin by applauding the ones who struck up the first notes—the nonprofit environmental charity Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas. These folks didn’t just participate in the City Nature Challenge (CNC)—they ignited it. They initiated the 2025 edition of CNC YXE with a spark of passion, rallying the public with grassroots determination and a deep love for the land. From crafting social media campaigns to issuing the all-important call to action, they became the beating heart of the challenge. They posted, promoted, and prepared. They reminded everyone that our wild places—from Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area to the West Swale—deserve to be seen, celebrated, and stewarded.

It’s thanks to their vision and organization that CNC YXE 2025 became more than a weekend event. It became a movement. It became an invitation: Come to Nature, Come to Life.

And oh, did Saskatoon answer.

Let’s cue the spotlight for the Saskatoon Nature Society, whose members seem to have a sixth sense for warblers at fifty paces and rare mosses in ditch-side shadows. Their leadership, mentorship, and enthusiasm lit the trail for many first-time participants.

To SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskEnergy and the Saskatoon Nature Society, whose members seem to have a sixth sense for warblers at fifty paces and rare mosses in ditch-side shadows. —thank you for powering more than just the city grid. You helped energize a network of nature lovers, enabling them to plug in, upload, share, and connect their discoveries with the world. When infrastructure meets inspiration, amazing things happen.

To Wild About Saskatoon, your name says it all. You remind us that wildness is not something to fear, but something to cherish. You held the door open and invited the public to step outside—to smell the buffalo beans and listen for meadowlarks. That’s community science at its best.

And to the Saskatoon Public School Board—thank you for nurturing the next generation of biologists, botanists, and bug-chasers. When kids learn that a beetle on a sidewalk can be more than a bug—it can be data, it can be wonder—you’re sowing seeds that grow into lifelong curiosity.

Of course, none of this would have worked without the tireless volunteers. From retirees with notebooks to teenagers with TikTok accounts, from birders in ball caps to botanists in bucket hats—you were the real engine of this initiative. You got down in the dirt. You stayed up late checking IDs. You logged observations while the mosquitoes logged theirs.

And to the naturalists—local and global—who turned blurry photos into precise identifications, who gently corrected and generously shared your knowledge, who treated each amateur like a fellow explorer: thank you. You gave context, confidence, and community. You turned a scavenger hunt into a science lesson.

Let’s not forget what we’ve accomplished together. We’ve built more than a snapshot of species—we’ve built a tapestry of stories, stitched with the threads of wonder, woven from thousands of tiny, individual acts of looking closely. We’ve proven that in a world often distracted by screens and schedules, there’s still room for wonder. There’s still space for a moment where someone sees a bird, logs a plant, or bends down to inspect a caterpillar inching across the path—and says, simply, Wow.

So thank you, Saskatoon. From the banks of the South Saskatchewan to the trails of the Meewasin Valley, from the rooftops with nesting swifts to the wetlands that whisper with frogs—you showed up. You cared. And in doing so, you reminded us that science doesn’t just live in labs. It lives in us.

And what a beautiful life it is!

Addresses:

Part SE 23-36-6 – Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A

Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A

S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A

NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063

Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot

Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com

Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map

Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)?with map

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