The Pulse: July 14, 2023

Should Edmonton have a lichen preserve, or would the important but overlooked organism be better served by having more natural spaces everywhere in the city?

Episode 66 of Let's Find Out considered such questions on a visit to the Larch Sanctuary in the Magrath Heights neighbourhood. The trip was prompted by a question from Kyla Tichkowsky, who wanted to know why there are sanctuaries for birds but not the same kind of conservation efforts for species such as lichen.

"I understand from some of my very knowledgeable, science-passionate nerd friends that lichens are a better bioindicator than birds, but birds get a lot of the airtime," she told host Trevor Chow-Fraser.

It's certainly true that some organisms are easier to drum up support for than others, said Meghan Jacklin, a conservation coordinator with the Edmonton and Area Land Trust, which monitors the Larch Sanctuary, north of the University of Alberta's MacTaggart Sanctuary.

"This is really a relatively well-known problem, in that what gets the most attention for conservation is the charismatic species," Jacklin said. "So, unfortunately, lichens aren't charismatic enough to enough people."

The Larch Sanctuary consists of 59 acres of undeveloped forest. Diane Haughland, a lichenologist with the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, pointed out several kinds of lichens on the tour of the sanctuary.

Small-scale disturbances in those spaces aren't a bad thing, as lichens depend on disruptions to spread and move around, Haughland said. However, too much disruption can prevent them from reestablishing in a habitat.

That's why "a preferred way to protect natural spaces is simply to have more of them," Jacklin said. "If you have the same number of people spread out over more area, you're going to reduce that impact. Then everybody gets access to those spaces and the spaces are protected for wildlife and for plants and for other things."

• The number of emergency medical services (EMS) responses for opioid-related incidents in Alberta reached 356 during the week of July 3, which is the third consecutive record high. The increase was most notable in Edmonton, which saw 200 calls last week and has had increases every week for the past six weeks. The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) said the numbers demonstrate the province's focus on recovery-oriented care is failing, adding that the union has for years called on the province to fund harm reduction programs and wraparound mental health services. Last week, Premier Danielle Smith reiterated to reporters that her government does "not believe that there is such a thing as a safe supply of opioids."
• Edmonton police officers will receive a retroactive raise of 7%, according to an arbitration decision made on June 7 that imposed a new contract between the Edmonton Police Association and the city. According to preliminary financial estimates provided by the Edmonton Police Service, the incremental cost of the settlement is $19.7 million, or nearly $10,000 per officer. The settlement brings the Edmonton police budget to more than $438 million for 2023. Postmedia columnist Keith Gerein said future raises will be a critical part of discussions about a new funding formula for the police, which is expected to be debated by city council in August.
• Football Canada has decided that players, coaches, and families in Edmonton for the Football Canada Cup will no longer use public transit following a recent incident at the South Campus LRT platform involving a woman who allegedly had a knife. "We just can't afford to risk the safety of our individuals — of anybody at this event — so we've moved to bus transport," Tim Enger, executive director of Football Alberta, told Global News. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he understands why the decision was made and said the city has been increasing police resources even though violent crime is a symptom of other multi-faceted issues that are too big for it to tackle. "I also want to stress that every week, 1.5 million trips are taken on the LRT and the vast majority of the trips are safe," Sohi said.
• The city's subdivision and development and appeal board revoked a development permit for the proposed Boyle Street Community Services supervised consumption site in Ritchie, citing accessibility issues. The board said Boyle Street can move forward with the project, known as the Wolf Den health hub, once it installs a ramp. Boyle Street called the event a "setback," which will take weeks rather than months to fix but was encouraged by the board's recognition of the supervised consumption site as a health service. "While it is difficult to think about the delays this causes in setting up this lifesaving service, this is ultimately a win for any future overdose prevention sites," said Elliott Tanti.
• Safety concerns expressed by police and library staff led to the decision to disconnect two temporary water stations — located at Bissell Centre West on 96 Street and outside the Stanley A. Milner Library — during last week's heat wave, Postmedia reports. The Edmonton Police Service confirmed that it asked for one fountain to be moved twice, first because of "illicit or unsafe activity which did not occur when the fountain was not active" and then because the fountain's proximity to an encampment made it unsafe for cleaning staff without police presence, although the new location is directly beside an encampment. In response, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi tweeted that he was "very concerned" about the fountains being turned off without a contingency plan.
• The city's naming committee has named two Edmonton parks after highly respected local women. In Edgemont, Karen Leibovici Park is named for the four-term city councillor and former MLA who was central to various social justice initiatives. In Laurier Heights, Julie Rohr Park is named for the active community member and children's advocate who died in September 2021.
• The province awarded a $1.5-million contract to an Edmonton-based marketing agency called Nordic Media, whose executive producer and co-owner, Matthew Altheim, was Premier Danielle Smith's campaign manager when she was seeking the UCP leadership. News of the contract, which was uncovered by independent journalist Jeremy Appel on July 12, follows reporting by Appel and CBC about two previous sole-source contracts awarded to Nordic Media. In early June, the agency wrote that it was "tasked with working alongside" the province to create branding for a new venture called "Help is on the Way," which is linked to the UCP government's efforts to reform Alberta Health Services.
• Environment Canada issued an air quality advisory for Edmonton on July 13 due to wildfire smoke. Air quality in the city reached "high risk" in the afternoon and was expected to remain so through the night, before dropping to "moderate" risk during the day Friday.

Opportunities this weekend include a family-friendly community market, multidisciplinary mythic performances, a wildly hilarious adventure, a behind-the-scenes look at bison conservation, and a pitch night for community projects.

• July 14, 6pm: Alberta Avenue Night Market at Downtown Auto
• July 14-16: Myth Country Fair at Alberta Avenue Community Hall
• July 14-16: The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival at Kinsmen Park
• July 15, 12:30pm: Bison Backstage at the Heritage Barn in Elk Island National Park
• July 15, 6pm: Ward Karhiio Community Pitch Night at the Mill Woods Library

Find even more things to do in the Arts Roundup and the Food Roundup.

Photo: Herman Lau will return to Myth Country Fair on July 14 and 15, performing Chinese folk tales with the Mingle Ensemble. (Mat Simpson/Thousand Faces Festival)