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 2020. Vol 17. Issue 2.
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.
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.
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 PastIt’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.
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.
Henteleff Park Foundation Inc.
1964 St. Mary’s Road
Winnipeg, MB R2N 4G8
Dear Friends of Henteleff Park:
First off, the Board of Directors of Henteleff Park Foundation wishes to thank you for the tremendous support and kind words that you have sent us over the past months. Your feedback and participation are extremely meaningful. Thank you for this help.
Year-to-Date (Spring 2020)
Like all years, this year has been very interesting at Henteleff Park with lots of challenges and new things. I will present some of the highlights below.
TD Bank Friends of the Environment
Once again we received very generous financial support from TD Bank’s Friends of the Environment program. As in the past, this grant will be used for equipment upgrades, plant purchases and very importantly, wage-supplements for our summer employees. For more information about the TB Bank FEF grant program please got to: https://www.td.com/ca/en/about-td/ready-commitment/vibrant-planet/fef/
Canada Summer Jobs (Service Canada)
Again, as well, we received financial support from Service Canada’s Canada Summer Jobs program. This program provides financial support for public, private and non-profit organizations in employing youth across Canada. This year we will be hiring 4 youth for 8 weeks to plant and water trees, clean and maintain the trails, remove weeds from various parts of the park and cut the grass. As you likely know, Service Canada has been working extremely hard in managing a very different set of circumstances this year due to COVID-19. We wish to thank Service Canada for communicating with Henteleff Park as quickly as they did.
New Directions
Henteleff Park Foundation is very happy to announce that New Directions will be helping with various tasks at Henteleff Park this summer. New Directions is a non-profit organization responsible for the care of youth and adults in the community. We welcome New Directions to Henteleff Park and we look forward to a summer of more beautification through their efforts.
Henteleff Park Board of Directors
This year a member of the South St Vital community joined the Henteleff Park Foundation Board of Directors. We would like to welcome Sheila Pursey to the Board of HPF and to thank her very much for taking on the challenging role of Board Secretary.
The Development Next Door
As you will have noticed, the condo/townhouse development directly south of the park is underway and we have received several emails and telephone calls with updates and aspects of this process over the past months. We too have been paying very close attention to the removal of trees, the excavation of earth and the proximity of all this to the creek. We are very concerned that the creek could be damaged as a result of all that work. We are monitoring this very closely and we will keep you updated as things progress.
In Conclusion
Now in its 21st year, Henteleff Park continues to thrive through the efforts of funding organizations, community support and volunteers like you. There is a particular group of volunteers, however, who deserve special mention. Without the Henteleff Park Board of Directors, the work that takes place at the park would not occur. I would like to take this opportunity therefore, to thank the folks who take the time to work on projects and attend board meetings throughout the year:
Yude Henteleff, President Emeritus
Owen Clune, Vice-President
Marilyn Latta, Treasurer and Site Supervisor
Sheila Pursey, Secretary
Corinne Caron, Director
Ian Keenan, Director
& Karen Ilchena for her wonderful website and communications efforts.
All the best everyone, and here’s hoping that you have a wonderful summer!
See you at the park!
Saul Henteleff, President
Henteleff Park Foundation
Photo taken at 2019 Tree Planting
[Rochelle Squires MLA for Riel; Terry Duguid MP for Winnipeg South; Markus Chambers City Councillor St. Norbert-Seine River Ward; Yude Henteleff]
It is with great disappointment that we must announce the cancellation of the (2020) tree-planting at Henteleff Park.
The tree-planting is a time that we look forward to most in the year, as it brings together the community, the Foundation and representatives of the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba and the Federal Government for a morning of coffee, donuts, conversations and of course, planting trees. Under the current circumstances, however, such an event is impossible.
Nonetheless, the park is open and we encourage you, your family and your friends to visit and enjoy!
Some observant park users spotted this Common Snapping Turtle in Henteleff Park on March 4th and Henteleff Park Secretary, Sheila Pursey, managed to get this great photograph. Sheila estimated the turtle was about 50 cm long, not including the tail, so this was one big turtle!
Snapping turtles can live to be 100 years old and interestingly, continue to grow throughout their lifetime. Most of their time is spent in the water where they eat both plant and animal matter and serve as important aquatic scavengers. They also hunt for invertebrates, fish, frogs, and unwary water birds and small animals.
Occasionally though, they can be found wondering around, especially when the females are looking for a place to lay eggs. It is unwise to get too close to them as they have powerful beak-like jaws and will snap at anything they find threatening.
The best place to find them in Henteleff Park is in Normand Creek on the south side of the bridge. Take a close look and you might find that a greenish looking rock in the water is actually an algae covered Snapping turtle having a nap. Submitted by Marilyn Latta & Sheila Pursey
It was another beautiful year at the park!
Thanks to the efforts of our summer staff, countless volunteers and supporters, we managed to complete numerous projects once again. From tree planting to ground maintenance and restoration and much, much more. We extend our special thanks to the many people involved in making Henteleff Park the great place that it is for both people and wildlife. Please click here to read the full Site Planning Committee report.
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When you’re enjoying Henteleff Park with your dogs, we ask that you please keep them on leash. We want to ensure we keep our furry friends and wildlife safe.
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
748 Borebank Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3N 1G4
Annual Tree Planting 2020
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Join us for a Guided Walk
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Annual Spring Tree PlantingSaturday June 8 — 10:00 am – 12:00 pmSink your roots and branch out as part of our renaturalization project at Henteleff Park. We’re bringing the community together to plant trees and shrubs on Saturday June 8 starting at 10:00 am at 1964 St. Mary’s Road. Bring your shovels, gloves, smiles, friends, neighbours, uncles, aunts, cousins and all your family for a morning of fun and community fellowship. We hope you can join us! Come make a tree your own personal landmark in Henteleff Park. |
Message from the PresidentDear Friends of Henteleff Park: Winters for Henteleff Park Foundation are always a time for important reflection, new ideas and planning for the summer to come. This winter saw lots of that and more. In 2018 we were very happy to receive employment funding from Service Canada which over the past years has laid the necessary base for our summer employees. Happily, last year we also received a grant from TD Bank Friends of the Environment which not only helped to augment those wages but also helped us purchase new lawnmowers, a new trailer and a lawn tractor. These grants helped us enormously. We are very happy that Canada Summer Jobs and TD Bank are again supporting Henteleff Park in 2019 in our efforts to beautify south St Vital and assist us in re-naturalizing the park through tree and shrub plantings. We are also very happy that the City of Winnipeg continues to support Henteleff Park through the Land Dedication Reserve Fund (LDRF). The LDRF has served as a backbone to much of the work that has taken place at Henteleff Park and we wish to thank the City of Winnipeg and the Riel Community Committee for its tremendous insight into the needs of the community. As with many volunteer organizations, Henteleff Park Foundation depends on a board of directors and volunteers to manage its multi-faceted business. This past winter saw important changes to Henteleff Park in this regard. New to Henteleff Park Foundation are Marilyn Latta, Owen Clune and Corrine Caron who bring a wealth of experience and ideas in the areas of large-scale gardening, human resources and communications technology. We are VERY happy to have them with us. At the same time, we saw long-time members Gord Elvers and Bruce Donaldson retire from the board and move on to other endeavours. We wish to thank them for their outstanding contributions and all the best in their next adventures. We would also like to extend a deep thanks to Karen Ilchena who continues to assist Henteleff Park Foundation in her work on the newsletters and other media related matters. Finally, I would like to thank the Board of Directors of Henteleff Park Foundation who bring extraordinary talent and grit to the table: Yude Henteleff, President Emeritus Henteleff Park Foundation is very excited about the months and years to come. As a community-based organization we have made wonderful friends throughout the neighbourhood, the city and beyond and these contacts and the fantastic support that we continue to receive give us great energy for a strong and healthy future. As it is said in Yiddish: “Gut gezunt!” Thank you very much! |
Guided ToursIf any group wishes to book a guided tour of the Interpretive Centre and Park, please email Yude Henteleff at y.henteleff@gmail.com to arrange a convenient time. |
Donations NeededWe 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” |
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Cooper’s hawks have nested in Henteleff Park for at least the two summers. They are what are referred to as forest hawks. They are fast fliers and fly low through the trees looking for birds and small mammals, rather than soaring high in the sky like many other hawks. They are frequently confused with Sharp-shinned hawks, another forest hawk, as they look fairly similar and often occupy the same habitat. Due to an interesting phenomenon called “reversed sexual size dimorphism” (common in birds of prey), where the female of the species is larger than the male, a female Sharp-shinned can be as large as a male Cooper’s so size is not a reliable diagnostic guide. The best field mark is that Cooper’s hawks have a rounded end to tail when in flight, while the Sharp-shinned tail is straighter across or squared off. This can be somewhat apparent, though not as obvious, when birds are roosting. The immature Cooper’s hawk pictured here was photographed in the middle of August. Although as large as an adult bird, the light-coloured eyes and the vertical striping on the breast identify it as a young bird. Also, adult birds are fairly wary and would not normally tolerate this close approach by a human.
Safe Journey
Normand Home
This year HPF again received funds from the Federal government’s Canada Summer Jobs program to hire 4 summer students. HPF strongly supports this initiative and feels very strongly that Government support in this fashion is extremely important as it allows charitable organizations such as HPF to employ high school and university students for community and environmental enhancement programs.
Since the Interpretive Centre’s opening in August 2016, Yude Henteleff, President Emeritus of the HPF Board has hosted and led several group tours of the HPF Interpretive Centre and the Park as a whole. Shown here is a tour in September with a group from Creative Retirement.