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Winter Newsletter 2021

Greetings from the Board President

As the Henteleff Park Foundation Board begins to plan and budget for next year, we reflect on what we – with the aid of many of you – accomplished in 2021. We believe the past year marked a major step forward. Fifty volunteers generously gave their time to the Park and made it a better place for the entire community. Far less could have been accomplished without their gifts of time and energy. Members of the Board have happily received many compliments about the Park and have been sure to credit volunteers. I, as President, along with the rest of the HPF Board, am so grateful that so many chose to spend their valuable time working with us.

In this issue, please be sure to see the infographic that sums up the results of a survey conducted by our Volunteer Coordinator, asking this past summer’s volunteers for feedback on their experiences. Please also see the photos of the much-needed work carried out on the fence that protects the tall grass prairie and the article about the work that the beavers have done on our riverbanks. Finally, enjoy our annual recap of summer activities as we prepare to welcome 2022 and hopefully a return to a more normal new year.

Along with volunteering, there is also another way to contribute to the success of Henteleff Park. The Foundation receives grants and assistance from all three levels of government, but these funding sources do not cover many of the Park and community’s needs, such as the provision of portable toilets during the spring, summer, and fall months. For us to provide such amenities and to plan and carry out new projects, we rely heavily on donations from individuals like yourselves. These donations will ensure that Henteleff Park continues to be a place for all to enjoy and a focus that serves the broader Winnipeg community. Please consider making a donation. At the end of this newsletter, under the title “Donations Needed,” please see how you can donate through CanadaHelps or by cheque. With your help there is no end to what we can accomplish together.

Owen Clune
President, Henteleff Park Foundation
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Summer 2021 was busy and productive at Henteleff Park as community use continued high. The recruitment of approximately 50 volunteers by our Volunteer coordinator, Terri Ashcroft proved a significant factor in allowing summer staff to focus on critical tasks.

While it was again necessary to cancel our yearly tree planting public event due to Covid, staff were able to plant a total of 378 trees and shrubs, including Manitoba maple, Basswood, Bur oak, Hackberry, Red-osier dogwood, Pagoda dogwood, High bush cranberry, Silver buffaloberry, and Wood rose.

Special Thanks!

The total cost of these and the supplies to plant them was covered by a grant from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (FEF) and by a Land Dedication Reserve Fund grant (LDRF) from the City of Winnipeg. We again thank these funders from the bottom of our hearts (and pockets!) We also express our deepest thanks to Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ), whose funding, together with the TD FEF grant, allowed us to hire four staff for eight weeks and two staff for twelve weeks. These grants meant that we could pay more than minimum wage to staff, mainly students, in a job market also sorely tested by Covid.

For those who have so graciously supported, encouraged, and advocated for the Park in the past year, we express our thanks to: Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South; Rochelle Squires, Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Riel; and Markus Chambers, City Councillor for the St. Norbert-Seine River Ward.

The presence of volunteers also allowed staff, in response to severe drought conditions, to spend significant time watering the new plantings to ensure these survived. The TD FEF grant also allowed us to rehire two staff in September to continue watering to ensure that new plantings would survive the drought as it continued.

In addition to freeing up staff to plant and water, the presence of volunteers also let staff focus on removing invasive species such as burdock, maintain Park trails, and lay down woodchips on roughly 750 meters of the new trails in the 10 acre western addition to the Park. These invaluable volunteers included individuals, families, and ten high school students fulfilling their required volunteer work in the community. In addition to making the Park more tidy and welcoming, volunteers removed invasive species from previous years’ plantings and from the Tall Grass Prairie. The work carried out by volunteers meant that the Park and members of the community interacted in a whole new way – to the profound benefit of all.

Special Welcome!

This year we also welcomed our newest Board and Site Management Committee member, Doug Drobot, who brings his education and experience as an arborist to the Henteleff Park Foundation. We also welcomed our newest Foundation and Communications Committee member, Bridget White, who is completing her Masters (MSc) in Entomology at the University of Manitoba and is managing much of the Foundation’s social media presence. As a member of the Communications Committee, Karen Ilchena has also been a welcomed addition to our Board.  While welcoming them, we also note that the Foundation postponed its Annual General Meeting (AGM) until this past October. We were gratified that approximately ten members of the community attended this event, which was conducted virtually as another response to Covid.

If you visited the Park this summer, you’ll have noticed that the City completed removal of the fence posts that had separated the Park from the added ten acres to the west. We have seen many more community members make use of this added land and this added way to enter the Park. We thank the City for this removal work, for garbage removal, for supplying mulch for trails, and for completing rough cuts in selected Park areas.

You will have also noticed the increased signage in the Tall Grass Prairie that cautions Park users that this is a fragile and sensitive ecosystem. This photo below shows what this ecosystem can look like when not stressed by both drought and inappropriate use.  (Photo by M. Latta)

We continue to witness the Park as a vitally important part of the community as we all deal with Covid. Two examples are its use by many seniors in nearby condominiums and apartments whose lives have been restricted by the pandemic, and its use by groups of school students as an outdoor classroom to enrich awareness of the environment. We hope to announce further developments regarding education in the coming year.

As our President has said in this issue, we are deeply appreciative of the community involvement and support we have received. Thank you!

 

 

 

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Over 50 volunteers spent their valuable time lending a hand at Henteleff Park this past year.  Thank you for your time and for responding to our survey.  We look forward to seeing you again next year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fence Repair Project

In addition to those who donated time, we were also privileged to receive the donation of materials. Our fence, the one you might see families gathered around for summer wedding or fall photos, has been spruced up!

Simon Laplante and Laura Mikuska graciously donated 30 peeled spruce rails which allowed us to repair the fence so the Henteleff Park community could continue to enjoy its presence.  Photos by J. Borody

 


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As you walked along the river bank on the northern edge of the Park this past fall, you’ll likely have noticed recent activity by beavers.

So if we have beavers in Henteleff Park, where is the beaver lodge and dam you might expect? Interestingly, not all beavers build dams or make a visible lodge. Some beavers (often referred to as bank beavers) make a den in the bank of a river or stream, so their home is out of our sight. However, they will create a large food cache of felled small trees and branches that they can access through the winter.

Beavers are the largest rodents found in Canada, usually weighing between 12 to 30 kilograms. They are mainly aquatic and since they are herbivorous their diet consists only of plant material. They will eat the leaves, buds, twigs and bark of deciduous and occasionally coniferous trees and seem to have a special fondness for aspen. Although they can easily cut down large trees, sometimes they just chew off the bark.

A beaver’s front teeth grow continuously so they must also gnaw trees continuously to keep their teeth from growing too long. Beavers are mainly nocturnal (active at night) but are occasionally seen during the day. They mate for life. A family unit usually consists of two adults, the kits that are newborn in late spring or early summer, and the yearlings born the previous year.

Beavers have large webbed feet that help propel them through the water. They are distinguished by a large multipurpose flat tail. The tail serves as a rudder in the water, props them up on land when cutting or chewing trees, and when slapped on the water serves as a danger alarm.

Muskrats, since they may occur in similar habitats, are probably the only animal you might confuse with a beaver, but muskrats are smaller than beavers and do not have the distinctive flat tail.


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Donations Needed

Henteleff Park Foundation’s mandate is to maintain and restore Henteleff Park as a passive park – a place of beauty, quietude, and reflection – a welcoming space for all wildlife and native plants as well as for human beings.

As we work to restore the Park, each year we apply for grants from government and from some corporations to enable us to purchase native species of trees and shrubs, pay salaries to summer staff, and maintain equipment. These grants are by no means assured. For this reason, we welcome and gratefully accept personal donations by cheque or through CanadaHelps.

We are a non-profit registered charity with Canada Revenue agency and all donations receive a tax-deductible receipt. If donating by cheque please make it payable to “Henteleff Park Foundation.”

Henteleff Park Foundation Inc.
1964 St. Mary’s Road
Winnipeg, MB  R2N 4G8

Henteleff Park Foundation Board of Directors:
Owen Clune, President / Corinne Caron, Vice-President / Sheila Pursey, Secretary / Marilyn Latta, Treasurer / Ian Keenan, Director / Terri Ashcroft, Director /  Karen Ilchena, Director / Doug Drobot, Director / Yude Henteleff, President Emeritus

Annual General Meeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Meeting Agenda

Annual Meeting Reports

Summer Newsletter 2021

Greetings from the Board President

I am delighted to present our first newsletter of the year and I hope that you will find the information in it both compelling and practical. Henteleff Park has seen a tremendous increase in use over the past year; while that has presented some unique challenges it also has presented tremendous opportunities.

The outpouring of public support for the protection of public greenspace noted later in this newsletter (see: Greenspace Advocates Spoke and the City Listened), was for example, a real win not only for the Park Foundation but also the community it serves. The additional protections approved by Winnipeg City Council will ensure that Henteleff Park will continue to provide a natural green space for all to enjoy for years to come.

We are grateful for the kind support of visitors willing to share their views about Henteleff Park. Your feedback, summed up in two informational graphics in this issue, will significantly strengthen our chances of obtaining funding from the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative (go to https://communityfoundations.ca/initiatives/chci/ for more information) to create a virtual arboretum.

The Foundation hopes that this project will enhance the experiences of those who want to learn more about the Park’s native plant species while limiting human impact on the natural surroundings. My favourite outcome of the survey were the responses to the question “What has Henteleff Park meant to you during the COVID-19 pandemic?” It is truly validating to see the many people who share our vision.

Finally, I am really proud of the contributions that our community, volunteers, and staff have made over the past year. My hope is that the Park will stand as a testament to the collective power of dedicated individuals who together strive to make their community spaces even better. If this effort sounds like something you would like to be part of, I invite you to get in touch with our volunteer coordinator, Terri Ashcroft, or to make a donation. Every action helps and we are so thankful for your support. See you at the Park!

Owen Clune
President, Henteleff Park Foundation




CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE


Community Opinion Survey Results

The Henteleff Park Foundation recently applied for a grant with the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative which recognizes the importance of public spaces (both real and virtual) to support healthy physical and social activities, especially during COVID-19.  To help determine which project we wanted to pursue, we conducted a community survey in April 2021 and here is synopsis of the results.

This tree graphic is a beautiful representation of the survey question:
“What has Henteleff Park meant to me during the pandemic”




Beautiful visitors!
Photo credit: Marilyn Latta


Foundation News

Annual General Meeting
The Foundation’s AGM has been postponed to early October.Information on the exact date will be announced in early Fall.

Summer Staff Announcement
We have six wonderful staff who have been working hard to preserve our park since the end of May. They are taking all necessary precautions as we continue through this pandemic journey. Thank you for respecting their space and allowing them to complete their tasks!

Volunteer at Henteleff Park
Our new volunteer program has had a promising start. Approximately 50 new volunteers have joined us. Much of the work can be done at a time and frequency chosen by the volunteer.Those who are experienced gardeners are “Prairie Pals”, weeding in the tall grass prairie under Site Supervisor Marilyn Latta’s direction. Most of the volunteers are removing weeds from trees and shrubs throughout the Park. You might see volunteers with specialized skills doing different tasks from time to time.All of the volunteer work is coordinated between Volunteer Coordinator Terri Ashcroft and the Site Management Committee. Please contact Terri rather than starting a specialized task on your own. Terri will contact people as different jobs arise throughout the summer.Interested in volunteering at Henteleff Park? Contact terri.ashcroft@henteleffpark.org

Greenspace Advocates spoke and the City Listened
Advocates for protecting and expanding Winnipeg’s greenspace are rejoicing after City Council gave final approval to amended City planning documents, OurWinnipeg 2045 and Complete Communities 2.0 on June 24, 2021.The Henteleff Park Foundation added its voice to greenspace advocates OURSWinnipeg, SaveOurSeine and many others at a public hearing before the City’s Executive Policy Committee on May 13, 2021, asking Council for amendments that will preserve and protect public greenspace.The amended planning documents will serve to prohibit development on major city-owned green spaces, such as golf courses, forests and parks, including Henteleff Park, and will provide guidelines that should significantly reduce the risk that housing and other development proposals will threaten existing green space. Council also voted to “take steps” to add 1,000 acres of public park space to its reserves by 2045.Thank you to everyone who contacted the Foundation expressing support for Henteleff Park and to all of you who contacted Mayor Bowman and city councilors to voice your concern about the loss of one of our city’s most precious resources, our public green space. Your voices were heard!


Donations Needed

Henteleff Park Foundation’s mandate is to maintain and restore Henteleff Park as a passive park – a place of beauty, quietude, and reflection – a welcoming space for all wildlife and native plants as well as for human beings.

As we work to restore the Park, each year we apply for grants from government and from some corporations to enable us to purchase native species of trees and shrubs, pay salaries to summer staff, and maintain equipment. These grants are by no means assured. For this reason, we welcome and gratefully accept personal donations by cheque or through CanadaHelps.

We are a non-profit registered charity with Canada Revenue agency and all donations receive a tax-deductible receipt. If donating by cheque please make it payable to “Henteleff Park Foundation.”

Henteleff Park Foundation Inc.
1964 St. Mary’s Road
Winnipeg, MB  R2N 4G8

Henteleff Park Foundation Board of Directors:
Owen Clune, President
Corinne Caron, Vice-President
Sheila Pursey, Secretary
Marilyn Latta, Treasurer
Ian Keenan, Board Advisor
Terri Ashcroft, Volunteer Co-ordinator
Yude Henteleff, President Emeritus

Annual Tree Planting 2021

Due to current public health restrictions, we are disappointed to once again cancel our annual tree planting that was originally scheduled for Saturday, June 12th.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to next year!

Attention Bird Lovers!

A guide to bird watching at Henteleff Park is now available.

Click on an image for a printable PDF version.

   

Thank you for your input!

The Henteleff Park Foundation has applied to the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative.  This initiative recognizes the importance of public spaces (both real and virtual) to support healthy physical and social activities, especially during COVID-19. We thank you for taking the time to complete our survey and give us your opinion on future projects.

We truly appreciate your feedback and will be sharing our findings shortly. Stay tuned!

Fall Newsletter 2020

Fall 2020. Vol 17. Issue 2.

A Message from the Henteleff Park Foundation Board

Elsewhere in this issue, we’ve offered a report of activities in the Park this year and some plans for next. Here, we’d like to tell you about some changes to the Board of Henteleff Park Foundation and some organizational plans going forward.

At the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the end of June, graciously hosted in the meeting room of the Waterfront Condominiums, Saul Henteleff chose to step down after seven years as HPF Board President, handing over the position to Owen Clune. At that time, Saul hoped to continue as Past-President and to support the Board’s effort in other capacities. Unfortunately, this was not to be, and Saul resigned from his position as a board member in August of this year. His years of service are much appreciated.

At the AGM, the Board also welcomed a new member, Terri Ashcroft. As well as serving on the Board, Terri has created and embraced the position of Volunteer Co-ordinator. In the coming year, Terri and the Board hope to seek out and call on the enthusiasm, expertise, and sweat of new Park volunteers, new members of the Foundation, and new members of the Board. Please check out our website or keep an eye on the message board in the Park in the spring if you would like to become involved.

During the fall of 2020, the Board also organized several new committees to effectively manage the work of the Park. The newly formed Site Management Committee will assist Marilyn Latta in her indispensable work in rehabilitating and maintaining the physical fabric of the Park. The new Communications Committee will promote the Park through various social media and through this newsletter. You may have already noticed that the Park now has an Instagram presence! We want to thank Bridget White for her continued skilled work in this regard. We also want to thank Karen Ilchena, who for many years has done the major portion of work on this newsletter. Karen has now joined us as a member of the Communications Committee. The Board has also created a Policy Committee that will work on refreshing the administrative framework of the HPF Board as new members and volunteers join us in caring for the Park.

Marilyn Latta continues in her all-important position as Treasurer, Corinne Caron in her linchpin position as Vice-President, Sheila Pursey in her vital position as Board Secretary, Ian Keenan as Board advisor and key member of the Communications Committee, and Yude Henteleff as the living memory and ultimate driving force of the Park as President Emeritus.

Please be sure to watch our social media and future issues of this newsletter for opportunities to join with us in protecting and enhancing the Park into the future.


Our Heartfelt Thanks to Marilyn!

While Henteleff Park would not exist without the unceasing efforts of Yude Henteleff and others, it must also be said that the Park would not exist in anything resembling its present form without the energy, knowledge, skill, guidance, and caring of Marilyn Latta, our Site Supervisor and Chair of our Site Management Committee. The Henteleff Park Foundation wishes to express our heartfelt thanks, deep affection, and profound appreciation to Marilyn.

In addition to her devotion to Henteleff Park, Marilyn has worked tirelessly and in many roles for Nature Manitoba (formerly Manitoba Naturalists’ Society). Rather than recapping her many awards, contributions, and accomplishments with them, please go to www.naturemanitoba.ca/ and search under Marilyn’s name.

As you walk into Henteleff Park, one of the first sites you’ll notice is the Tall Grass Prairie. This intense and sustained work of habitat restoration, begun in the spring of 2007, would not exist without Marilyn’s meticulous planning, direction, and stewardship.

Near the east end of the Tall Grass Prairie there stands an information board installed earlier this year. This is another Park amenity Marilyn conceived of and oversaw to completion. On it you can find a list of bird species seen in the Park that draws on sightings by a wide range of observers, from novice birders to some of the most experienced in the Province. This list is yet another of Marilyn’s creations. She (and the Board with her) hope to follow this list with similar ones of plants and of animals seen in the Park.

Further into the Park, you’ll notice areas of thriving young trees that give the appearance of undisturbed nature. But this appearance is deceiving. During the Park’s time as a market garden under the Henteleff family and as a tree farm operated by the City of Winnipeg, the local ecosystem was significantly changed. What you now see reflects Marilyn’s knowledge and sensitivity in selecting planting areas and nurturing the plantings in them. She has consistently guided the work of the Park’s summer staff over many years to carry this out. She has selected and pre-ordered native tree and other native plant species, supervised their placement, and directed ongoing battles by volunteers and staff to control invasive, non-native plant species.

Shaping the Future

As many of you will know, in spring, summer, and fall seasons Marilyn devotes many hours each day and each week to enhancing the Park. Many of us have seen her in her trademark gear, delving deep into a pants pocket to pull out her field notebook – a notebook packed with observations, jots about what soon needs to be done, and thoughts to shape future planning.

Marilyn is a self-taught botanist with a phenomenal knowledge of plants. She is not only able to identify many species, but can describe their preferred habitats, their seasons, and their habits. She is generous in sharing this knowledge. Ask her anything about the Tall Grass Prairie – her particular passion – and she knows the answer (although she is the first to humbly admit that there are certain plants that she finds “a little more challenging”). And if she doesn’t know the answer, she will find it through her network of specialists, in her reference books, or through her online research. Marilyn loves to learn. And as frequent users of the Park know, Marilyn loves to share her knowledge, her time leading many themed field walks through the Park, her extra guidebooks, the cuttings and seeds from her garden, and most of all her passion for the natural world. Marilyn is also an accomplished photographer who uses many of her images in the courses she teaches. As one of her colleagues at Nature Manitoba has so effectively put it, “these remarkable achievements could have been reached only through a combination of disciplined personal study, association with other botanists, dedicated field work, and careful record keeping.”

In all her efforts, Marilyn has applied her remarkable energy, her friendly powers of persuasion, and her winning personality to give generously of her time and spirit as a leader, an organizer, an administrator, an exceptional naturalist, and a true friend of Henteleff Park. As you can perhaps tell from this article, it is a challenge to find enough superlatives to convey our admiration for and reliance on her.

Thank you, Marilyn, thank you!


The Year Past
The Year to Come

It’s an understatement to say that the year 2020 has so far been eventful for each and every one of us. For Henteleff Park, wider events have greatly increased the use of the Park, with mainly positive results.Many of our neighbours and visitors take great pride in the Park and tell us about their sense of ownership and community.

The Board of the Henteleff Park Foundation would like to recap events of this year and give a glimpse of some plans for 2021.

Click here to read the full article.

 


 

Marilyn Latta found Leopard frogs were more abundant in 2020 than ever noted before.

 

 

 

 

 

 


A male Cardinal, photographed by Claude Garand, was not only a treat visually but also to the ears.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Many, Many Thanks!

One of the joys for the Henteleff Park Foundation Board is witnessing the support, kindness, direct help, and engagement of so many people, and being able to thank them for contributing in so many different ways.Because there are so many people we wish to thank, we’ve grouped them below by those who have provided financial support, those who have encouraged or advocated for the Park, those who have helped make the Park better known, and those who advised, facilitated, or carried out work in the Park itself. If we’ve missed you or anyone you know, please let us know and please accept our apologies!

To note those agencies, organizations and individuals who provided financial support, we say thank you to: Canada Summer Jobs; TD Bank Friends of the Environment Foundation; the Green Team Program of Manitoba Conservation and Climate; the City of Winnipeg Land Dedication Reserve Fund; and all of you who have so kindly sent individual donations to the Park this year and in the past.

For those who have so graciously supported, encouraged, and advocated for the Park in the past year, we express our thanks to: Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South; Rochelle Squires, Member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly for Riel; Markus Chambers, City Councillor for the St. Norbert – Seine River Ward; and Brian Mayes, City Councillor for the St. Vital Ward.

Regarding those who have helped make the Park better known, we offer profound thanks to: Karen Ilchena of Karen Ilchena Communications; Bridget White; Claude Garand, photographer; and Wes Braun, photographer and volunteer.

For those agencies, organizations and individuals who have so kindly offered advice, assistance, donation-in-kind, or have carried out work in or for the Park over the past year, we offer our heartfelt thanks, in no particular order, to:

The City of Winnipeg Naturalist Services Branch, particularly Paul Mutch and Cameron Ruml; Jessica Mutimer of the City of Winnipeg Parks and Open Space Division; Karl Thordarson, Superintendent of Parks East; Alexandra Mathieson; Helen Fabbri; Linda Pearn; Philippe Sabourin; Dr. Roof; Saul Henteleff; the New Directions Program and its participants; Doug Fyfe; Sheila Pursey; Ailsa and Bryce Desender; Rosemary St. Laurent; Corinne Caron; John Borody (aka: Dr. Burdock); Progressive Real Estate; Ian Keenan; Terri Ashcroft; Gord Elvers; Marilyn Latta; Susan Burko; our 2020 summer staff: Braedon Walker, Peter Kiz, Tessa Ferch, Andrew Kiz, Ava Ryszytylo, and Ayotunde Dada; and most certainly not least, the living reason for the Park’s existence, Yude Henteleff.

The Board of Henteleff Park Foundation once again says to everyone who has funded the Park, who has advocated for and encouraged the Park, who has promoted the Park, or who made in-kind donations or helped rehabilitate or improve the Park itself, your support is deeply appreciated.

Henteleff Park would not be the jewel it is without you!


Both John Borody and honey bees enjoyed the Jerusalem artichoke flowers blooming in late summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Donations Needed
We appreciate all the financial and other assistance provided to HPF by all three levels of Government. But that falls considerably short of what HPF requires to maintain and improve Henteleff Park as set out in its mandate and we need your financial support to do so. That mandate is to maintain and improve itself as a passive park – a place of beauty, quietude and reflection. HPF is a non-profit registered Charity with the Canada Revenue agency and all donors will be provided with a tax-deductible receipt for their donation.   Please make your cheques payable to “Henteleff Park Foundation”

Henteleff Park Foundation Inc.
1964 St. Mary’s Road
Winnipeg, MB  R2N 4G8

Fall Fest 2020