Latest news with #RASC
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Northern Heights trail open for riders
May 19—ROCHESTER — It's early on an unseasonably cool Sunday morning in May but the trail at Northern Heights Park in northeast Rochester is already seeing traffic. Dog walkers and mountain bikers pass Alec Tackmann as he's giving a tour of the recently completed project. "I remember when we ran the machines here to cut the trail here for the first time," Tackmann said Sunday, May 18, 2025. Although city parks department staff helped with clearing debris and trash from the woods, most of the work and trail planning was done by volunteers from the Rochester Active Sports Club. Even after clearing roots and debris the trail was loose at first, surrounded by bare dirt where buckthorn, honey suckle and other invasive plants had been. Now the trail is packed, almost smooth in parts, and plants and ferns grow up to the trail's edge. "It's really nice to see it look like this," said Tackmann, a RASC board member and volunteer. Some plants filled in naturally such as Jack in the pulpit flowers. Others were added by Tackmann and RASC trail builder Scott Hogen, who both personally planted more than three dozen ferns alongside the trail. Two bridges made from deck wood and utility poles and a wooden boardwalk span portions of the ravine and keep the trail at "easy" difficulty level for use and help prevent erosion. Benches along the trail, painted by different artists and volunteers, offer hillside views of the woods. Overall, it took three months of work, two in the fall and one in the spring, and about $17,000 in funding to make the approximately 1.4-mile Northern Heights Park Trail a reality. The dirt trail loop is designed for walkers and mountain bike riders. "All that considered, this trail was pretty cheap," Tackmann said. The project plan received some opposition from neighbors. Now Tackmann sees some of the people who spoke against it publicly using the trail. "This is a good proof of concept now," Tackmann said. Concerns included erosion, crowding, people parking in the neighborhood and noise. However in about a month of use, none of those problems have yet appeared. However trash, invasive species and dead trees have been removed from the previously undeveloped wooded city parkland. "This is a nice trail, it's nice and wide, it's easy," said Margot Zerrudo, of Kasson, who rode on the trail Sunday morning with her husband Kim Zerrudo. Kim tried the trail on his own a few weeks ago and thought it would be a fun ride for the couple. The couple used to live in Rochester and would go out of town in order to access soft trails for mountain biking. "This is great for Rochester to have this," Kim said. The trail was designed by Joshua Rebennack, an environmental engineer and mountain biking trail volunteer based in central Minnesota who helped design part of the Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trail. It fits in a small space but was designed so that it doesn't feel small. Changes in elevation make some of the switch backs hard to see from the trail giving the appearance of uninterrupted woods. Work is ongoing. Some buckthorn debris and downed trees still need to be removed. Tackmann said he comes to the trail about twice a week to check on it and volunteers from the RASC rotate trail maintenance work days. However, trail users are already doing their share, Tackmann said. He pointed to a tree that fell across the trail that now sits along the side of the trail. He had found the trail blocked by the tree and called the city Parks Department to cut up the log. By the time staff assessed the job, a group of trail users had moved the tree. "Some of the maintenance is going to happen organically," Tackmann said.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Weaselhead preservation group seeks nocturnal sanctuary status for Calgary's only 'delta'
An environmental preservation group wants to keep the park dark to support the birds and the bees. The Weaselhead Glenmore Park Preservation Society is working with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) to obtain nocturnal sanctuary status for the Weaselhead Flats, according to a local naturalist. Such a designation would recognize the importance of maintaining dark skies for the variety of wildlife within in the flats, said Sara Jordan-McLachlan, a representative of the Weaselhead preservation society. At an event to recognize World Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, she told Postmedia the preservation society will first have to submit an application to the RASC, before the two organizations collaborate on a joint application to the city. 'We'll need city approval so it's about working with the city as well to make sure they're on board, because ultimately, it's their park to manage,' she said. 'They would give us the approval to designate that as a nocturnal sanctuary and then we'd be in charge of managing it.' The Weaselhead Flats are a natural area, located in southwest Calgary, at the mouth of where the Elbow River flows into the Glenmore Reservoir. The flats are technically Calgary's only 'delta' — a geographical landform created where a river slows as it spills into a standing body of water. In the case of the Weaselhead, when the river reaches the flats, it deposits sand and gravel to create a network of bars, channels and marshes. While the flats have a special protected-area status that prohibits development, the Weaselhead doesn't currently have a nocturnal sanctuary designation as part of its habitat management plan, according to Jordan-McLachlan. She noted there have been some rumblings about adding lighting fixtures to the cycling and walking path that cuts through the flats, which she warns would be harmful for birds and other wildlife. 'That's our biggest challenge — keeping that dark,' she said. 'But otherwise, no development can happen in that area.' A park in the Calgary region that currently has nocturnal sanctuary status is the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area, located just south of city limits in Foothills County. The sprawling area received nocturnal preserve designation in 2015, according to the RASC's website. There are numerous ecological benefits to keeping a natural area devoid of artificial light, said Jordan-McLachlan, who is also a representative of Bird Friendly Calgary. Through her involvement with the local avian advocacy group, Jordan-McLachlan has advocated for stronger protection for birds during the spring and fall migratory seasons, such as educating residents of high-rises to turn off their lights at night to help prevent window strikes. McLachlan-Johnson said Bird Friendly Calgary hasn't formally lobbied the city to enact a lights-out policy or bylaw, which is a measure that some U.S. cities, like Baltimore and Chicago, have introduced. Instead, their advocacy has focused on education. 'A lot of people have the perception that lights mean safety,' she said. 'It's working on these different issues to realize the lights are not actually providing that safety. They're increasing light pollution which affects our circadian rhythms in addition to harming migratory birds that try to use the night sky to navigate. 'There are a lot of different facets to it and a lot of education and political will that is needed.' sstrasser@
Calgary Herald
11-05-2025
- General
- Calgary Herald
Weaselhead preservation group seeks nocturnal sanctuary status for Calgary's only 'delta'
An environmental preservation group wants to keep the park dark to support the birds and the bees. Article content Article content The Weaselhead Glenmore Park Preservation Society is working with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) to obtain nocturnal sanctuary status for the Weaselhead Flats, according to a local naturalist. Article content Such a designation would recognize the importance of maintaining dark skies for the variety of wildlife within in the flats, said Sara Jordan-McLachlan, a representative of the Weaselhead preservation society. Article content Article content At an event to recognize World Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, she told Postmedia the preservation society will first have to submit an application to the RASC, before the two organizations collaborate on a joint application to the city. Article content Article content 'We'll need city approval so it's about working with the city as well to make sure they're on board, because ultimately, it's their park to manage,' she said. Article content 'They would give us the approval to designate that as a nocturnal sanctuary and then we'd be in charge of managing it.' The flats are technically Calgary's only 'delta' — a geographical landform created where a river slows as it spills into a standing body of water. In the case of the Weaselhead, when the river reaches the flats, it deposits sand and gravel to create a network of bars, channels and marshes. Article content While the flats have a special protected-area status that prohibits development, the Weaselhead doesn't currently have a nocturnal sanctuary designation as part of its habitat management plan, according to Jordan-McLachlan. Article content Article content She noted there have been some rumblings about adding lighting fixtures to the cycling and walking path that cuts through the flats, which she warns would be harmful for birds and other wildlife. Article content 'That's our biggest challenge — keeping that dark,' she said. 'But otherwise, no development can happen in that area.' Article content A park in the Calgary region that currently has nocturnal sanctuary status is the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area, located just south of city limits in Foothills County. The sprawling area received nocturnal preserve designation in 2015, according to the RASC's website. Article content There are numerous ecological benefits to keeping a natural area devoid of artificial light, said Jordan-McLachlan, who is also a representative of Bird Friendly Calgary. Article content Through her involvement with the local avian advocacy group, Jordan-McLachlan has advocated for stronger protection for birds during the spring and fall migratory seasons, such as educating residents of high-rises to turn off their lights at night to help prevent window strikes.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Roger Muirhead, veteran of El Alamein, the invasion of Sicily and the Normandy landings
Roger Muirhead, who has died a few days short of his 104th birthday, was awarded campaign medals for his Army service in North Africa, Italy, Normandy and Burma. Roger Hedderwick Muirhead was born in Scotland on April 17 1921. His father, Brigadier Sir John Spencer Muirhead, DSO, MC, served in both world wars, and taught Roman law at Glasgow University. His great-grandfather, James Hedderwick, founded and published The Citizen, Glasgow's evening newspaper. He was educated at Fettes and enlisted in the Army in 1939 at the outbreak of the Second World War. Commissioned into the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), he joined his unit, part of 151st Brigade, British 50th (Northumbrian) Division at El Alamein, Egypt, in September 1942. He commanded a platoon in the Second Battle of El Alamein, the turning point of the North Africa campaign, and in the Battle of the Mareth Line. In July 1943, he commanded an ammunition platoon in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. He and his men embarked from Port Said on a passenger liner before transferring to a landing craft. He landed south of Capo Murro di Porco. There was little opposition but he was involved in a skirmish in the dark with American paratroopers who had landed in the wrong place. He said afterwards that he narrowly escaped being shot. A merchant ship which he saw being bombed was carrying all the alcohol for the Officers' Mess. He was the Messing Officer and had spent all the funds for its purchase in Alexandria. After the fighting, he took some of his men to the top of Mount Etna and they camped there for the night. The next morning, a German bomber came over them, flying very low, pursued by an RAF fighter. Muirhead and his platoon crossed to mainland Italy with their lorries and moved up to Bari on the Adriatic coast before returning to England in December to re-equip and train for the Normandy landings. He landed at Arromanches on August 12 1944. Within a few days he was hospitalised with a recurrence of malaria and it was October before he was able to rejoin his unit, part of an anti-aircraft brigade, at Terneuzen in the Netherlands, on the southern shore of the western Scheldt Estuary. He took part in the battle to open up the Scheldt between the strategically vital port of Antwerp and the North Sea to enable shipping to bring supplies to the Allies. He came across 20 Canadian Army three-ton lorries. They were under-employed and he commandeered them for several weeks before returning them to their base. The 21st Army Group was badly in need of infantry officers to replace casualties. Muirhead was posted to the Isle of Man to re-train but in May 1945 he volunteered to serve with the RASC in the Far East. He was based at Comilla in Assam (now Bangladesh), a transit camp for the 14th Army in Burma, before moving to Rangoon. In August, the Japanese surrendered and for the next nine months he managed a British Military Government food supply depot at Teluk Anson in Perak State, Malaya. In August 1946, he was demobilised in the rank of captain. He went up to Glasgow University to read law but he could not stand listening to lectures in Roman law by his father; after two terms, he emigrated to Canada. He returned to Britain in 1949 and went to the Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Edinburgh, as a mature student. For 20 years he served as a veterinary officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (Maff). Following extensive research, he played a notable part in the identification of tuberculosis in badgers as a cause of bovine TB and in demonstrating how transmission of the bacteria could be eliminated by controlling the movements of these animals. In 1972, his findings were published in the State Veterinary Journal. In 1975, he was part of a team that went to Malta to deal with an outbreak of foot and mouth disease and, in April 2001 Maff asked him to help with the British foot and mouth crisis. Aged 80, he worked on farms full-time for six months. On his retirement, he was appointed MBE for his services to agriculture. Settled in a village in Gloucestershire, he enjoyed walking his dogs and adding to his considerable knowledge of old motor cars. In his later years, he was cared for by his business partner, Peter Robertson, and subsequently by Peter's son, Jay. Roger Muirhead, born April 17 1921, died April 11 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BBC News
19-02-2025
- BBC News
Canada's remote (but accessible) dark-sky sanctuary
Spanning 11,000 sq km of protected, pristine wilderness, Jasper National Park offers a one-of-a-kind destination for stargazers. It's a balmy October evening and an overture from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Strings hushes a buzzing crowd. Dusk has fallen in Jasper National Park, and I'm snug under a blanket, gazing up at a sea of stars amidst the Milky Way's glow. Just below, snow-dusted peaks rise towards the heavens and the clear, glacial-blue waters of Lac Beauvert blend into the inky darkness. Symphony Under the Stars is one of many events at the annual Dark Sky Festival (17 October to 2 November 2025) held in Jasper National Park, one of the world's largest and most accessible dark sky preserves. Designated as a Dark Sky Preserve in 2011 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) and spanning 11,000 sq km of protected land where minimal to no light pollution is allowed, Jasper isn't just one of the best places to stargaze; it's also an ideal spot to see the Northern Lights. And as experts predict that 2025 "will mesmerise" with one of the greatest aurora displays in 20 years, there's never been a better time to explore this quiet corner of the Canadian Rockies. Unlike other Dark Sky Preserves in Canada and the US like Wood Buffalo National Park and Grasslands National Park that have little to no infrastructure or lodging, the eponymous 4,700-person town of Jasper – located within the preserve – allows travellers easy stargazing access. According to Tyler Burgardt, an astrophysicist and general manager of the Jasper Planetarium, what makes Jasper so unique is visitors can drive right in. Located roughly 3.5 hours from Edmonton and Calgary, the town's hotels and locally led stargazing tours means star-lovers don't need to rough it. "You get to see something you don't get in other [accessible] places, which is the ability to see thousands of stars, even from the middle of town," Burgardt said. His favourite tour is one offered in summer, where guests visit the planetarium and then take a twilight stroll down to a peninsula located on Lac Beauvert. Ringed by rugged peaks and hauntingly silent, the only sound you may hear is the soft ripple of wind on the water. Burgardt estimates the Northern Lights are visible here roughly every 10 days to two weeks. "It's just absolutely beautiful," he said. "It's a really cool way to truly experience the nighttime side of the Canadian Rockies." The quaint, alpine community is committed to ensuring that minimal artificial lighting is visible by installing streetlights that point downwards and have a softer glow than regular lights. As Burgardt notes, Jasper's location within the national park, and surrounded by the Unesco-designated Canadian Rocky Mountains, also provides a natural barrier from the artificial light created by nearby cities. According to the RASC, the goal of a dark sky designation in a community is to promote "low-impact lighting practices, to improve the nocturnal environment for plants and wildlife, to protect and expand dark observing sites for astronomy and to provide accessible locations for naturalists and the general public to experience the naturally dark night sky". Phillipa Gunn, public relations and communications officer for Parks Canada, said Jasper National Park initially met some of the requirements from the RASC needed to become a Dark Sky Preserve prior to its official designation, including accessible observation sites where visitors can view the sky. "Jasper National Park is an ideal location for a Dark Sky Preserve as 97% of the park is a designated wilderness area, free of light pollution," Gunn said. Parks Canada has also continued to expand its dark sky interpretation programmes, while working with the town and private partners to ensure all the street fixtures in the townsite are dark-sky compliant. As a result, when driving to Jasper at night, it's nearly impossible to tell a town is even located in the vast blackness that envelopes the area. In July 2024, a series of devastating fires ripped through Jasper, causing the "jewel of the Rockies" to close for several months. The park reopened last autumn in time for the Jasper Dark Sky Festival – albeit just on a smaller scale. But with 2025 marking the festival's 15th anniversary, Naji Khouri, director of destination development for Tourism Jasper, says this year's festival will be bigger than ever before. Plans include a drone show where 200 synchronised drones put on a light display, notable guest speakers (Bill Nye has previously attended), planetarium stargazing sessions and a portable telescope and tent at the base of the Jasper Sky Tram. "We invite space or science enthusiasts, aurora chasers and anyone that is fascinated by the dark sky and wants to learn more about it. We have unique experiences that are really of interest to a wide range of people, including families," said Khouri. And locals want people to know that Jasper isn't only open for the Dark Sky Festival, but for business as usual, with more than 80% of local businesses back open since the blaze. After hiking the Sulphur Skyline trail to experience sweeping views of the Fiddle River Valley and Utopia Mountain, paddling on the "pearl necklace" that is Maligne Lake or exploring the Pyramid Lake Overlook by day, visitors should also seek out stories of the stars from an Indigenous and cultural lens. The Indigenous people of Canada have long utilised the night sky in all aspects of daily life: the stars and constellations served as guiding lights for their ancestors and the sky was used as both a clock and calendar, indicating when to plant, hunt and work the land. The stars are also intrinsically linked to First Nations' spiritual identities and are connected to the legends of the past. Matricia Bauer of Warrior Women, an Indigenous- and women-owned business run by Bauer and her daughter, offers a fireside stargazing tour in Jasper that is based around Indigenous creation stories. Being of Cree descent, Bauer recognised the importance of decolonising her own education and that included learning about the Cree Star Chart and the Indigenous constellations that came to rest in the kisik (sky), in Cree. "[The Cree Star Chart] made sense of the world around me, it made sense of the Northern Lights," she said. "I understood who Star Woman was. I understood why we come from the stars and why we return to the stars." In Cree culture, there are different Star Beings, and Star Woman is one of them. According to Bauer, Star Woman saw the Earth – where humans lived – and she gave up her Star Being to come to "Turtle Island" (North America) . When she became pregnant with twins, this was the start of the First People. At the end of her life, she was granted three wishes and one of the wishes was that she could return to the sky. More like this:• The Indigenous tribes reclaiming travel• The only land disputed between the US and Canada• The last places on Earth to see truly dark starry nights "And so, when we see the Northern Lights, we call that the Cipayuk," said Bauer. "It means ancestors dancing, or ghosts dancing. It's reminding us that there is another realm that exists, that we get to stay in for the rest of our lives. It's when we go back to the Star World where we came from." As Bauer recants stories with songs, she also tells me about Spider Woman, the one who is weaving our fates in the dark sky that soars above us. She then recounts the story of the coyote, tricking the wolves and bears into the sky so that he could create his own constellation. A story that takes place in winter, to be told in winter, when the days are short, the nights are long and the fire becomes a place to gather. To Bauer and many First Nations residents in and around Jasper, the stars, also known as achakosak, are considered relatives: "Every constellation, every star has a beautiful song, has a beautiful story, has a beautiful place in our culture." There are many more stories that Bauer wants to tell for visitors, and many more conversations to still be had under the black cloak of Jasper's night sky. The snap, crackle and pop of the fire is an accompanying beat to the drum that she plays, and her voice dances towards the place where she knows she will one day return. -- For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
