Innovative Urban Ecological Solutions Discussion

[Chadillaccc]

In light of how popular my post in the skyline thread of the City of Calgary's use of goats as a measure to enhance the ecology of our many urban parks by managing the grasses, getting rid of weeds, and fertilizing the soil, I figured a thread on innovative urban ecological solutions would be pretty interesting. (sorry for the major run-on sentence)

This will be the fourth year Calgary has been using goats in our urban parks, but from what I can see, the trend seems to have began in Los Angeles in 2010.

What solutions does your city use that might be a bit outside of the box in order to deal with the environment in the urban realm?





Chomp, chomp: City aims to unleash army of sheep and goats on city green spaces
SHAWN LOGAN | Calgary Herald | April 17, 2019

More Calgary green spaces will become leafy banquets for hundreds of temporary furry workers this summer, as the city aims to unleash herds of goats and sheep to tackle weeds and keep grass under control.

The city is looking to secure about 1,000 of the hoofed gardeners to graze at a half-dozen targeted sites in the city, part of a program that has continued to expand since a pilot project was launched in Confluence Park in 2016 as a more natural way to tackle invasive weeds.

Chris Manderson, urban conservation lead with the city, said while the initiative is one that often delights park-goers, it’s not all just for show: the hard-working ungulates are extremely effective at maintaining healthy green spaces.

“It’s not a petting zoo — they’re there to work,” he said.

“Grasslands in general benefit from a certain amount of grazing. And sending someone in to do spot treatment of weeds is roughly cost equivalent to putting goats on a site for a few weeks.”

The city has issued an open invitation to shepherds and their flocks to graze at a handful of city parks from June until the end of October, with plans to add Weaselhead Park to its growing inventory of sites earmarked for goat grooming.



Manderson said goats, in particular, are excellent greenskeepers due to their penchant for munching on broadleaf plants, which often include weeds that require provincially mandated management, as well as being adept at working on steep slopes. Those skills were on display last summer when a herd of 130 goats from a ranch in Wycliff, B.C., spent 17 days feasting on McHugh Bluff overlooking Prince’s Island Park, wiping out weeds to help the city restore native plant cover to the area.

While the city tends to favour goats for its weed management, Manderson said sheep are also no slouches, being more generalist grazers proficient at keeping grasslands healthy.

City officials are looking for herds of between 100 and 300 sheep or goats to tend to several sites, ranging in size from less than a hectare to as much as 100 hectares over the next three years.

...

Full story: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...y-green-spaces





There are five cities I know of that use goats and sheep to enhance the ecology of their parks; Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Dubuque, though I'm sure there are many more.



Please feel free to share any innovative ecological solutions your city uses, or any you've heard of, in order to enhance the discussion on here

[Chadillaccc]

Another environmentally sensitive solution that Calgary uses. As opposed to rock salt or harmful chemical solutions, Calgary employs the use of beet brine in order to keep streets ice-free over the winter.


Beet brine again used to keep Calgary streets clear of snow and ice
City uses eco-friendly mixture in conditions as cold as –20 C

Dave Dormer | CBC News | Nov 17, 2018

With the white stuff now blanketing the city, roads crews are again adding a shade of brown to some Calgary streets.

As part of an ongoing pilot project, beet brine is being sprayed on streets in the Beltline, as well as pathways, to prevent ice from forming.

"We started with a small trial of about 2,000 litres, then the next year we extended the trial to 30,000 [litres]. This year we want to continue that," said Jim Fraser, the city's central district manager for roads maintenance.

The aim behind the initiative, says Fraser, is to use less salt, which can be corrosive to vehicles.

"So about 5,500 litres [of beet brine], which is a full truck for us, represents about 980 kilograms of salt," he said.

"And if we used a full truck of just salt, that would represent about 7,000 kilograms. It's a situation where we're just trying to reduce the chloride usage and be a little bit more environmentally friendly."

The beet brine is used to pre-treat pavement before snow falls.

"That way it keeps the bond of ice from forming, so it's easier for us to clear the roads … and it also keeps the roads clear for a longer period of time," said Fraser.

"It gives us a little bit bigger window in terms of our snow clearing operation for snow and ice control."

The city uses the beet mixture in conditions as cold as –20 C, but Fraser said he's heard from officials in other jurisdictions — namely B.C., where it's used on parts of the Coquihalla Highway — who say it has prevented ice from forming down to –26 C.

Full story: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...trol-1.4909615

[vid]

They fertilize the soil by pooping and peeing all over it.

[Eau Claire]

I'm not sure how it turned out, but the City of Saskatoon tried using wood chips instead of sand and gravel in one part of the city this year. I know other cites have tried this as well.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...nter-1.4898874

[scryer]

Love the goats and beets ideas in Cowtown!

[VANRIDERFAN]

The best part of this is that weeds cannot build up a natural resistance to Goats!

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

The best part of this is that weeds cannot build up a natural resistance to Goats!

That's a great point.

Originally Posted by Eau Claire

I'm not sure how it turned out, but the City of Saskatoon tried using wood chips instead of sand and gravel in one part of the city this year. I know other cites have tried this as well.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...nter-1.4898874

That sounds pretty cool, I would how the storm drains handle that?

[TownGuy]

I mean nothing really innovative but I like how the town now deals with storm water management in all new developments. They all have storm water management ponds, this keeps water out of sewers, cleans water naturally, they look nice, and add habitat for plants and wildlife. Also one development has what is essentially a giant bioswale running through it for nearly a km which doubles as parkland.

We've all seen storm water management ponds but look how beautifully they do their job. Why send water off for treatment when you can let this do it instead?

This bioswale I think is more unique because of the size of it. As I said it runs for nearly 1 km through the development, slowing down cleaning runoff naturally. Look at all the happy wildflowers in there

[scryer]

Well Vancouver is considering a "Blue Way", a restoration effort for creeks that were filled in, to help with water run-off:

https://globalnews.ca/video/5282952/...r-city-council

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by scryer

Well Vancouver is considering a "Blue Way", a restoration effort for creeks that were filled in, to help with water run-off:

https://globalnews.ca/video/5282952/...r-city-council

That is a fantastic idea. Despite Calgary's horrific sprawl, one decent thing the developers did is maintain most of the creekbeds that feed into the Nose Creek. However, the neighbourhoods along the Bow and Elbow were built too early for that to have been a consideration, unfortunately. :/

Originally Posted by TownGuy

I mean nothing really innovative but I like how the town now deals with storm water management in all new developments. They all have storm water management ponds, this keeps water out of sewers, cleans water naturally, they look nice, and add habitat for plants and wildlife. Also one development has what is essentially a giant bioswale running through it for nearly a km which doubles as parkland.

We've all seen storm water management ponds but look how beautifully they do their job. Why send water off for treatment when you can let this do it instead?

This bioswale I think is more unique because of the size of it. As I said it runs for nearly 1 km through the development, slowing down cleaning runoff naturally. Look at all the happy wildflowers in there

That's great to see that this is happening even in the smaller towns out east now. I know it's been going on in Calgary for some time, and it really is a fantastic idea that is not only good for the environment but also saves the city money in the long term. My school even added one in the most recent redevelopment of one of the two central quads about 8 years ago. The current one is currently undergoing redevelopment with similar concerns being considered.



This is the quad redone 8 years ago. There is a significant amount of it behind, out of frame...


https://www.o2design.com/taylor-fami...brary-and-quad


And it's to the right in this picture...


My photo




And this is the render of the other main quad currently being revitalized. The difference is that this one doesn't include a pond, it includes an enormous amount of indigenous grasses to treat the water...



https://dailyhive.com/calgary/univer...opment-project

[SignalHillHiker]

We recently started treating our wastewater. Prior to that, every toilet flush in St. John's drained right into our harbour - rising to the surface at the main outflow in a churning bubble of human waste, toilet paper, tampons, etc. A favourite hangout for the gulls.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...-off-1.3078124

Currently, the City of St. John's prohibits construction in flood plains. The Provincial Government intends to build its new mental health hospital right on one of the highest-risk flood plains in the city. The City is begging them not to, even going to the media, but the Province insists. We'll see how it goes.

In other good news, the City has revived some old policies intended to encourage our clear-cut subdivisions to have at least one tree per property.

[Chadillaccc]

Jesus that sounds unimaginably disgusting. Calgary is the only major city in North America (as of 2015 at least) that doesn't release any wastewater into the environment that hasn't been triple treated. Can't believe how reckless coastal cities are, while (most of them) piously claiming to be so environmentally conscious. The worst joke in modern history. Great to hear that at least St. John's is starting to turn a corner.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

Jesus that sounds unimaginably disgusting. Calgary is the only major city in North America (as of 2015 at least) that doesn't release any wastewater into the environment that hasn't been triple treated. Can't believe how reckless coastal cities are, while (most of them) piously claiming to be so environmentally conscious. The worst joke in modern history. Great to hear that at least St. John's is starting to turn a corner.

Attitudes toward effluent are different when you discharge into a small river rather than into the ocean. Kitchener, where the effluent goes into the Grand River (Cambridge and Brantford downstream) has tertiary treatment, although I don't know whether that's 100%.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Attitudes toward effluent are different when you discharge into a small river rather than into the ocean. Kitchener, where the effluent goes into the Grand River (Cambridge and Brantford downstream) has tertiary treatment, although I don't know whether that's 100%.

Well I mean, you'd think that the cities who promote themselves as environmentally conscious ad nauseum would try their best not to be the biggest hypocrites in the world... yet, nope.

The difference in Calgary, Edmonton, and all the rest of the prairie cities is that you never hear about how incredibly environmentally conscious they are, if anything public perception (especially in the east and far west) is the exact opposite of that fact. The only time people ever hear the truth about it is in the occasional news article or on forums like this one.

The point is that the cities which aren't at all environmentally friendly are the ones constantly promoting themselves as such, while the ones that are don't talk about it, because they don't need to.



Edit: Yikes. Sorry for the rant. It's all true... but... well whatever I guess.

[Architype]

Seems like the sewage dumping isn't such a big thing after all.

In fact, in a pattern that Albertans might find familiar, the decades-long vilification of Victoria’s “raw sewage” has been driven almost exclusively by a combination of politics, fear and emotional appeals from environmental activists.
“There are no major human health concerns associated with the sewage discharge,” reads a 2006 editorial co-authored by nine Victoria ocean scientists and published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...-alone-alberta

[Architype]

Urban farmers transform Vancouver lawns into vegetable gardens

An innovative urban farm in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighbourhood is going even more hyper-local than a farmers' market by growing carrots and kale on the very blocks its customers live on.
Elana Evans, an urban farmer, along with her business partner Maddy Clerk, run City Beet Farm. The organization converts regular yards — in the front or the back — into vegetable plots.
In exchange for the use of the land, each homeowner gets a share of the vegetables grown on the plots. City Beet Farm sells the excess produce through a vegetable box program which runs during the summer months from June to October.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...uver-1.5149810

[Chadillaccc]

Another awesome urban initiative in Calgary. When built it will be one of the largest solar farms in the country with nearly 1600 panels, enough to power 4500 homes. Though it will soon be supplanted by one just outside the city a few kilometers, which will be by far the largest in the entire country. It will have 700 000 panels, and have the capacity to power 25 000 homes.

What makes the one within city-limits so dope is that Ward 12 councillor Shane Keating has suggested that the power be directly linked into the Green Line rapid transit, as it should have the capacity to power the entire line. He's also suggested that it could at least power the LRV maintenance facility. The terminus of the line and the maintenance facility will be less than a kilometer from the solar plant.

Largest solar energy project in Western Canada could be built within Calgary city limits
By Adam MacVicar | Global News | February 6, 2019

Despite the lack of heat recently in Calgary, an Irish energy company is banking on a lot of sunshine to fuel a potential new solar energy farm.

DP Energy is proposing a 156-acre solar energy production facility within Calgary city limits. If approved, it would be the largest in Western Canada.

“We do have a number of small (solar) farms that are at the compost facilities and I think some of our landfills have a small array, but nothing of this size,” Ward 12 councillor Shane Keating said.

The company is eyeing a property in the Shepard industrial site off Barlow Trail S.E. which is currently owned by Viterra, which would lease the land to DP Energy.



The site is home to an old tailings pond that has been capped, which means development opportunities on the land are limited, but officials believe the fixed-angle solar panels won’t disturb the land underneath.

“The panels would be installed on a concrete base that would rest on top of the land so as to not disturb the soil cap below,” a report going before Calgary’s planning commission said.

The proposed project would see the construction of 1,576 solar panels arranged in 78 rows and is expected to generate 25 megawatt hours of renewable electricity annually.

...

The new Green Line LRT is designed to travel through the area adjacent to where the proposed solar farm would be built and Keating believes the accompanying new LRT maintenance facility could benefit from the project.

“The beauty of this is all of our CTrains are run by renewable energy,” Keating said. “So this is the win-win — we’re building something in the heart of Calgary that eventually could be running one of our CTrain Lines.”

Full story: https://globalnews.ca/news/4931598/c...farm-proposal/




And the story about the (by far) largest in the country just outside the city...

Canada's largest solar farm one step closer in Rocky View County
Rocky View County is hoping to get into the renewable energy game with plans to build the country’s largest solar farm project.
RYAN RUMBOLT | Calgary Herald | March 5, 2019

The county passed land-use changes this week allowing for development firm RealPart Canada to move ahead with plans to construct a solar farm with 700,000 panels on rural property near Indus, just southeast of Calgary. At 386 hectares, the project’s size would rival some of Calgary’s suburbs (Auburn Bay, by comparison, is 450 hectares).

If the company is able to secure a development permit from the county, RealPart Canada estimates the farm will be capable of generating 150 megawatts of power, equivalent “to supplying power to around 24,600 homes.”

The project would also create about 200 full-time jobs during construction, the county said, with another 20 to 30 permanent jobs created once the site is fully operational.

In a statement, County reeve Greg Boehlke called the development an exciting first step in a “forward-thinking project” for the region, while recognizing “the importance of Alberta’s conventional energy resources.”



“Alternate forms of energy such as solar farms can play an important supporting role in any future energy needs, and in the economic diversification of the County and the province,” Boehlke said.

The county said landscaping around the site will be designed to reduce visibility of the solar panels from adjacent roadways, and the installation of the solar farm “will not impact the long-term sustainability of the land for future agricultural use.”

Full story: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...ky-view-county

Originally Posted by Architype

Seems like the sewage dumping isn't such a big thing after all.



https://nationalpost.com/news/canada...-alone-alberta

That is hilarious, coming from British Columbians. "Leave our horrific amounts of pollution alone, Albertans! Only we can be pious, holier than thou c*nts about things!"

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

That is hilarious, coming from British Columbians. "Leave our horrific amounts of pollution alone, Albertans! Only we can be pious, holier than thou c*nts about things!"

Lol. This forum is really bringing some strong reads these days, and I am just LIVING for it. P.S: I'm a Vancouverite c*nt .

[Chadillaccc]

Don't worry, I'm a Calgary c*nt. Just about different thing, but at least you and I are honest about it

[lio45]

Shame on Calgary for dumping untreated goat shit all over the city's green spaces. That shit drains into rivers...