Saskatoon Natural Grasslands Local History Walk
2024 RCE Saskatchewan Recognition for Education for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
2023 Saskatchewan Heritage Award Winning
Local History Walk
Celebrating our third year hosting a virtual Jane’s Walk, we wanted to explore how a place can hold time and in Saskatoon there is no better place than the Saskatoon Natural Grasslands. From the million year old fossils, signs of the glaciers that sculpted the landscape, the plants and animals that adapted to the prairie and the fire that brought life - our human footprint on this conservation area continues. Our place in the long timeline of this place is explored and questions about your future stewardship are asked.
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Grasslands Walk
The virtual walk begins at the big fossil rock off of Konihowski, it’s an easy landmark with lots of street parking. Our first step is to build a timeline using story stones of the land, and a timeline of the people who have lived here. Our walk explores these themes as we make our way through this conservation area. Follow the downloadable map below to find the QR codes hidden throughout the Grasslands, and progress through time. If you can’t find the small pieces of limestone with QR codes I’ve planted, please access the content below.
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Follow up Activity
The link below shares 12 news clippings and maps that share some of the history of the Saskatoon Natural Grasslands. What is the dominant story that appears, whose stories are missing, why do you think that is?
Jane’s Walk 2023
The Swale Watchers can be reached here.
Many thanks to Melanie Elliot who walked the Grasslands and patiently shared her knowledge, Greg Fenty of the Saskatoon Young Naturalists who changed my view of the landscape, Chet Neufeld of the Native Plant Society who shared his love of plants, Jeff O’Brien from the City of Saskatoon Archives who is a map-ninja, Bernadette Vangool with Friends of the Forestry Farm for your encouragement and photos, and the conservationists who worked so hard many years ago to preserve this wild space for future generations.
All errors are my own.
