Thoughts on improving Nosehill?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

It has some nice dips and slopes for an interesting bike ride, for sure. I did find the seemingly random network of trails to not make much sense on my one trip through.

Splits off at so many points that I got lost briefly but essentially did one big loop. I liked the southern swing but the rest was confusing and the lack of any landmark made it tough to track your location in relation to everything else.

I really feel that they could plant trees in specific areas and pave a few more paths to "organize" the park in a way that makes sense and makes it more pleasing for visitors.

No more paved paths...


Anyway, sounds like you were just lost with too many options. Like I said, it took years to string together some great loops, but the choices are there.

[gasman]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

https://maps.calgary.ca/CalgaryImagery/


Air photo from 1948. I don't think they had DSLR's back then.

That is a pretty sick website. I just checked through the history of our house from 1969, which is pretty cool. Also interesting, from 2013-2019 the picture shows my truck and trailer parked out front of my house. My trailer is never home for more than 24 hours, so they must by taking pictures on a Friday or a Sunday every year, and managed to catch us packing for camping... neat

also what happened in 1997 when they hired OGL Engineering to take the photos, it looks like they used a potato. The pics from 1995 are crisp, but black and white, and then in 1997, it looks like a Bob Ross Water color.

[Fuzz]

The OGL ones aren't aerial, they are satellite imagery. Back then the best non-military imagery came from Landsat 5, which had a resolution of around 60m per pixel.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I'm always amused at the things we try to protect, as if they had been around forever, and everyone just assumes that is the case. Like Princes island - don't you dare disturb the wetland on the east side!- which has only been around for maybe 50 years, or the Weaslehead, which was made from damming Glenmore. Hell, Fish Creek used to be a munitions test range. They are all ecosystems now, and I'm not saying to not protect them, but the reality is we also made them in the first place.

Difference being the Weaselhead is pretty cool. I enjoy walking through the forest there and there is a lot of wildlife that roam through there.

[You Need a Thneed]

Nose Hill is a fantastic park, so beautiful in many parts.

Sure there is some duller flat stuff in the middle, but the slope of the south &east sides are fantastic places for a walk.

[CroFlames]

I like the idea of mass-planting trees and turning into a forest.



Further to this, I wish we did this all around the city in areas such as the grasslands that border Stoney Trail all the way around.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I like the idea of mass-planting trees and turning into a forest.

Further to this, I wish we did this all around the city in areas such as the grasslands that border Stoney Trail all the way around.

I don't know about the whole thing being a forest, but definitely trees and shrubs around the boundaries and roads of Nosehill would look great, I think. TBH, I also think it would be great in general to plant a ton of fruit bearing plants in public areas to attract animals.

If anything, I think if they should mass plant Malus apple trees in public places. I think it would be awesome. That way we'd have a ton of pink flowers that would be reminiscent of cherry blossoms in May-June.

Currently the two main places I am aware of that have Malus and are nice, but IMO, not even in the amounts necessary to be awesome.
1. U of C campus.
2. SW corner of Edworthy Park

You could do garden variety apple/crab apple and hawthorn and the white flowers would be beautiful as well. There are cherry trees that survive in Calgary, but they grow too slow. I think gut cherries (I think it's actually a plum genus?) would make more sense than cherry trees in general.

A couple of community gardens/fruit bearing shrub areas in small areas would be kinda neat too. Gut cherries, haskap, saskatoons, lingdonberry/cranberry etc.

[zamler]

Thoughts on improving Nosehill?

Get rid of the humans.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I like the idea of mass-planting trees and turning into a forest.

Further to this, I wish we did this all around the city in areas such as the grasslands that border Stoney Trail all the way around.

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I don't know about the whole thing being a forest, but definitely trees and shrubs around the boundaries and roads of Nosehill would look great, I think. TBH, I also think it would be great in general to plant a ton of fruit bearing plants in public areas to attract animals.

If anything, I think if they should mass plant Malus apple trees in public places. I think it would be awesome. That way we'd have a ton of pink flowers that would be reminiscent of cherry blossoms in May-June.

Currently the two main places I am aware of that have Malus and are nice, but IMO, not even in the amounts necessary to be awesome.
1. U of C campus.
2. SW corner of Edworthy Park

You could do garden variety apple/crab apple and hawthorn and the white flowers would be beautiful as well. There are cherry trees that survive in Calgary, but they grow too slow. I think gut cherries (I think it's actually a plum genus?) would make more sense than cherry trees in general.

A couple of community gardens/fruit bearing shrub areas in small areas would be kinda neat too. Gut cherries, haskap, saskatoons, lingdonberry/cranberry etc.

For things like Stoney Trail and Nosehill Park I'd prefer to see native species (grasses etc) planted, things that actually grow in our climate without too much help. I've always wondered why we build overpasses etc. and then seed them with regular grass which inevitably becomes a field of weeds.

Speaking of UCalgary, they are actually looking at transforming the landscaping along these lines to make it more sustainable.


https://www.ucalgary.ca/facilities/p...landscape-plan

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

For things like Stoney Trail and Nosehill Park I'd prefer to see native species (grasses etc) planted, things that actually grow in our climate without too much help. I've always wondered why we build overpasses etc. and then seed them with regular grass which inevitably becomes a field of weeds.

Speaking of UCalgary, they are actually looking at transforming the landscaping along these lines to make it more sustainable.


https://www.ucalgary.ca/facilities/p...landscape-plan

Neat. Kinda cool what the U of C is doing. Conceptually, I think there's also the concept of the BP forest in Silver Springs. More of that in the city would really be nice.

What do your thoughts are by "native species/without much help"? IMO, I like your concept, but I am not stuck on the idea of native species. Just stuff that is ableto survive in Calgary without much help and extra watering.

Stuff like Saskatoons and orange sea berries I've seen do well without much help in spaces like Nose Creek valley and Country Hills boulevard. I think Saskatoon meets both, but I cannot imagine those orange sea berries are native? Some do well, but will just grow slower in Calgary climate like Haskap.

Gut cherries might be more native, but perhaps not species like Amur cherry or Evans cherry and all these I think will survive well without much interference or upkeep.

Malus apple I think are fine, as are other stuff like dolgo crabapples, great land, parkland etc.
https://www.gardenia.net/guide/best-...estern-gardens

Non native that are probably too risky and not native are perhaps like the pear trees that grow along 2nd street SW (or within a few blocks of there) by the belt line).

I would rather not seeing more spruce. Aspen/popular I think is native (ish) depending on the type, but having more cotton trees in the city might suck. No more boring blue spruce etc. please.

Elm/birch seems half and half. Grows but slow.
Larches? But you'd need to have other stuff around for when they are sickly looking.
Mountain ash... is it native? Those berries are gross though.

Community gardens of native flowers/flowers that grow well here might be sweet. Crocus etc. but there's also relatively "native flowers" that might not be great in public areas because they're poisonous like Lily of the valley etc.

Mint, raspberries and strawberries are closer to "native" and overtake spaces here without help, but so does Goji, but that's not native.


In all seriousness, I know some individuals that leave near Bragg Creek, Water Valley etc. and "native plants" are very different there than North Calgary. Some stuff out there, I've never seen in Calgary or North of Calgary before.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Well that's a stupid idea. I pay taxes, dogs don't. I don't take a crap wherever I feel like it, and leave it lying around. I don't chase people and wildlife because my owner can't figure out what a on leash area means. Besides that, exercise and outdoor activities are healthy and should be encouraged to save tax dollars. Walking a dog can happen anywhere.

Dog owners have shown to be incredibly disrespectful up there, and I have deemed them to have lost their privileges. I shall run for mayor, and make it so.

So on point.

I stopped running on Nose Hill after doing so for nearly 30 years due to the constant bad encounters I've had with off leash dogs and their petulant owners. It had gotten especially bad over the past 10 years, I just got sick of being forced to protect myself and the ensuing 'my dog is friendly' confrontations with the idiot owner after. The whole park should be on leash only. The city spent $50K+ installing bollards along the main paths in 2019/20 that notate 'off-leash' areas. Dumbest thing ever as everyone just ignores them and there is no enforcement, what a waste of taxpayer money.


I had a great conversation with an Animal Services Officer a few years ago after a bad encounter with a ####ty dog/owner on Nose Hill. He said between between May and the end of September, Nose Hill Park produces the most dog complaints in north Calgary every year. He also told me he had to testify in a court proceeding where two off leash Dog's attacked a Mountain Biker which resulted in knee surgery for the rider plus damage to a $10K bike. The Dog owner did not fare well in litigation I was told.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by zamler

Get rid of the humans.

That can extend well beyond nose hill.