National Urban Park for Edmonton Region is a Huge Opportunity for Alberta's Future and Conservation
Media Release, August 4, 2021
Edmonton, Alberta -- The Sierra Club Canada Foundation applauds today’s announcement by the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, for the creation of a new network of national urban parks, including a potential National Urban Park in the greater Edmonton area. Sierra Club Canada Foundation, in collaboration with the North Saskatchewan River Conservation Society and CPAWS-Northern Alberta, had high hopes bringing groups together in support of the creation of a national park in the Edmonton region.
“We are inspired by the prospects for a national urban park in the Edmonton region to address conservation and recreation needs as well as learning and wellbeing now and for future generations,” said Dr. PearlAnn Reichwein, Edmonton National Urban Park Leader with Sierra Club Canada Foundation. “To be among the seven cities considered for new national urban parks across Canada is an extraordinary success. We encourage advancing this initiative and joining the new network.”
The recent pandemic has highlighted the need for opportunities to connect with nature in our daily lives for resilient and healthy communities. The Edmonton region is at the convergence of the boreal and parkland bioregions. It sustains high biodiversity, including 27 species of fish, such as the threatened lake sturgeon, and corridors for wildlife such as deer and moose - all within an urban, peri-urban, and farmland context.
“There has never been a better opportunity to advance creating a National Urban Park in the Metropolitan Edmonton Region.” Reichwein continues that a national urban park program is a collaborative nature-based solution to many current and future needs as we aim toward the next century. “It’s about an investment in resiliency and connecting Canadians to nature in ways that have multiple benefits for a brighter future."
“National urban parks announced today are a huge step toward Sierra Club’s goal of ensuring everyone has access to nature, and to protecting wildlife and natural spaces,” according to Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Programs Director. “We congratulate the government for responding to the urgent need to protect biodiversity as part of protecting healthy communities. “
Sierra Club Canada Foundation looks forward to continuing to work with Parks Canada and other stakeholder groups in the establishment of national urban parks in a manner that upholds Indigenous rights, Indigenous leadership and Canada’s commitment to reconciliation, and ensures high standards for environmental protection.
“We are inspired by the prospects for a national urban park in the Edmonton region to address conservation and recreation needs as well as learning and wellbeing now and for future generations,” said Dr. PearlAnn Reichwein, Edmonton National Urban Park Leader with Sierra Club Canada Foundation. “To be among the seven cities considered for new national urban parks across Canada is an extraordinary success. We encourage advancing this initiative and joining the new network.”
The recent pandemic has highlighted the need for opportunities to connect with nature in our daily lives for resilient and healthy communities. The Edmonton region is at the convergence of the boreal and parkland bioregions. It sustains high biodiversity, including 27 species of fish, such as the threatened lake sturgeon, and corridors for wildlife such as deer and moose - all within an urban, peri-urban, and farmland context.
“There has never been a better opportunity to advance creating a National Urban Park in the Metropolitan Edmonton Region.” Reichwein continues that a national urban park program is a collaborative nature-based solution to many current and future needs as we aim toward the next century. “It’s about an investment in resiliency and connecting Canadians to nature in ways that have multiple benefits for a brighter future."
“National urban parks announced today are a huge step toward Sierra Club’s goal of ensuring everyone has access to nature, and to protecting wildlife and natural spaces,” according to Gretchen Fitzgerald, National Programs Director. “We congratulate the government for responding to the urgent need to protect biodiversity as part of protecting healthy communities. “
Sierra Club Canada Foundation looks forward to continuing to work with Parks Canada and other stakeholder groups in the establishment of national urban parks in a manner that upholds Indigenous rights, Indigenous leadership and Canada’s commitment to reconciliation, and ensures high standards for environmental protection.
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Media Contact:
Gretchen Fitzgerald - National Programs Director
1-902-444-7096 / gretchenf@sierraclub.ca
Gretchen Fitzgerald - National Programs Director
1-902-444-7096 / gretchenf@sierraclub.ca
Photo: View of North Saskatchewan River Valley near downtown Edmonton. Credit: Jaclyn Layton.
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