The Pulse: May 26, 2022

More Edmonton backyards became homes to hens in 2020 and 2021 than in all previous years combined, City of Edmonton data shows.

A cap on 50 sites was lifted in 2019, opening the program up at a time when many were at home in search of projects – and thinking more about where their food comes from.

"It's all about food sustainability," Julia Watson, manager of Edmonton's backyard hens and bees program, said of the influx of people keeping urban chickens.

"I think with COVID, and the restrictions that happened during the pandemic, people started realizing 'What if we can't get food?' All these what-ifs because the world is shutting down around us. People really looked at it and saw it as an opportunity to say 'Hey, we can have some eggs in our backyard, we can have these animals, and contribute positively to the environment we're living in.'"

Food security and sustainability were among the main reasons put forward by advocates of Edmonton's backyard hens program, which began in 2014 with 19 sites. Amid the lockdowns and isolation, the city experienced a jump in the number of people applying to build coops and raise their own chickens – with 31 new licences issued in 2020, and 65 in 2021.

Although most people on the planet live in cities, urban areas account for only 5.9% of global cropland. Food insecurity due to supply chain disruptions is one consequence of this situation, but even in times when production and transport are unhindered, the scarcity of agricultural land in urban centres means people have less of a relationship with their food.

"I think that many of us are so removed from our food sources – gardening and things like that – people don't even realize where things come from," said Linda Johnson, a member of Edmonton's urban hen pilot program. She has kept four chickens since as a way of connecting herself and her family to their food.

"I wanted my children to understand and to know what their food sources were, and the role that they play in ensuring that they had safe and healthy sources of food."

Edmonton now boasts 1.5 times the national average of community gardens relative to population, in part thanks to the pop-up gardens and the new City Farm that were responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the growing Edmonton Urban Farm.

• The Edmonton Police Service has launched Project Connection, which it said will focus on "addressing the increased violence, property, and disorder-related incidents" in the areas of downtown, Alberta Avenue, Chinatown, and some LRT stations. The first phase of the project will involve "a high visibility and high saturation of police resources" drawn from existing teams that focus on crime suppression, disruption, and encampments, according to an EPS release.
• In a new blog post about the Edmonton Police Service budget, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi seems opposed to the restoration of a funding formula. "I think it is incredibly important that Council understands the value of what we pay for before locking-in increases to the largest line item year-over-year," he wrote. City council will resume its discussion about police funding on Friday morning.
• The city has sent out over 400,000 property tax notices which are also available on the MyProperty portal for those who prefer paperless. Edmonton is expecting to collect almost $2.3 billion this year, while property owners can expect an average increase of $14 for every $100,000 of assessed property value. The payment deadline is June 30.
• Tyler Shandro, Alberta's justice minister, is facing a flood of criticism for remarks he made in response to a question from Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood MLA Janis Irwin about community safety in Chinatown. Shandro stated — incorrectly — that the two men who died in Chinatown last week were victims of shootings, that city council cut the police budget by $22 million, and that councillors didn't work with the police commission on the budget. An autopsy on Tuesday confirmed that both men died of "blunt force injuries." In a blog post explaining recent discussions about police funding, Coun. Andrew Knack wrote that "the idea that council is considering a cut to EPS' funding is not accurate."
• Hangar 11 at the former Edmonton City Centre Airport has been designated a municipal historic resource. Built in 1942, the city said Hangar 11 is believed to be the last remaining building of its kind in western Canada. The owners will receive a $5 million grant over 10 years to rehabilitate the building.
• MacEwan University has welcomed two new professors as it gears up to apply for two new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair positions, which are five-year federally-funded stints awarded to "exceptional emerging researchers whose potential for leadership in their field is acknowledged by their peers." Dr. Leanne Hedberg's work revolves around community-engaged scholarship for a more equitable future, and Dr. Marielle Papin studies the role of cities in global climate governance. MacEwan president Dr. Annette Trimbee said the appointments "position MacEwan as a leader on a national and international level."
• Smudge, a yellow Labrador Retriever who was a staple sight in the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald lobby, has died. "She was ambassador, raised funds for charity, a family member of the hotel and my personal family, and will probably be most remembered for crashing the premiers conference a few years ago," general manager Garrett Turta told Global News.
• A large sign saying "Play La Bamba, Baby" has appeared by the Walterdale Bridge. Ritchie Valens's 1958 hit was the favourite song of Joey Moss, the iconic Oilers dressing room attendant who passed away in 2020.
• Alphonso Davies is returning from an extended COVID-related medical leave to play for Canada in three games next month as the team prepares for the FIFA World Cup.

The City of Spruce Grove and the Town of Stony Plain are collaborating on a new online tourism initiative called On-The-Edge YEG to attract tourists by highlighting events, restaurants, and recreational activities in the region west of Edmonton.

"Through a collaborative approach, we are able to combine resources and unify tourism initiatives for a stronger, more connected region," Mayor William Choy of Stony Plain said in a Postmedia story. "We look forward to continuing work with Spruce Grove to grow local tourism and draw more visitors to our communities."

The project dovetails with the Stony Plain Tourism Master Plan and Spruce Grove's Cultural Master Plan, both of which see tourism as key to economic development.

On-The-Edge YEG is delivered in partnership with Travel Alberta, which recently received an expanded mandate and a budget increase of $63 million over three years to help support a strong rebound for the tourism sector across the province.

Government and tourism leaders will be in Edmonton on May 31 for the Alberta Tourism Advocacy Summit to discuss the industry's priorities as it seeks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal government has also announced funding to support tourism in Alberta, including $10 million for Explore Edmonton to ensure that K-Days "remains a key part of Edmonton's cultural tapestry." The money will support turning Klondike Park into a year-round destination, generating new revenue streams, and creating inclusive programming for Indigenous, newcomer, francophone, and LGBTQ2S+ communities.

"The roots of K-Days go back 142 years to 1879, with the first Edmonton Exhibition," Explore Edmonton's Arlindo Gomes told Global News. "(We) are excited to steward this event into the future and ensure it meets the needs of our community today and for the next 142 years." This year's event takes place July 22-31.

Explore Edmonton, which took over the management of K-Days from Northlands last year, is seeking public input to revitalize the event. Edmontonians can share what they like and don't like about K-Days using a 10-question online survey, which Explore Edmonton said it will use to shape programming for the next decade.

Explore Edmonton is also hosting an engagement session on June 2 to connect with stakeholders regarding its 2021-2030 Tourism Master Plan. The plan is "aimed at providing a common vision for growth and investment with tourism industry partners" and seeks to position Edmonton as a year-round destination of choice for visitors.

Photo: Festival-goers ride the "swing of the century" at K-Days in 2018. (IQRemix/Flickr)