A winter hike on the Seine does wonders for the spirit

Photo by Tim Phelan
Kathleen Leathers, Anne Blair, and Denis DePape enjoy a frosty winter stroll on the Seine River, in South St. Vital.

A winter hike on the Seine does wonders for the spirit
Local groups join up to showcase river-side gem
The Lance
By Tim Phelan
January 17, 2008

If there’s one thing you rarely hear in a city, it’s silence.
Then again, going for a walk on the frozen Seine River, it doesn’t feel like you’re in a city at all.
As the river winds it’s way through Bois des Esprits, a relatively untouched urban forest in South St. Vital, it’s easy to be swept away by its natural beauty.
The area is home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, and on Jan 26 is the site of the fifth annual Discover the Seine Winter Hiking Event.
“It’s healthy, it’s invigorating, and it puts you in touch with nature,” says Denis DePape, a board member for the Save Our Seine (SOS) community stewardship group. “Few people realize just how much undeveloped river bank there is along the river,” he says.
SOS organizes the hike on a yearly basis in conjunction with Prairie Pathfinders, a group of avid hikers who live for the calmness and serenity only a nature trail can provide.
The walk is designed to encourage Winnipeggers to take advantage of the natural beauty of the area, and to shed light on the importance of protecting it from urban development.
Anne Blair will participate for her fourth year.
“I love just being outside with the other hikers, and seeing new parts of Winnipeg,” says Blair.
“As you get older, it’s important to keep up the fitness. Walking is one of the best ways. And here, you’re not breathing in bad air because you’re out in the open,” she says.
The Seine River zig-zags through the city for a total of 26 kilometres. That’s a lot of land to be discovered. And as DePape points out, the hike is organized so that a new section of winter trail is showcased each year.
“To me, it’s important to see that deer can still live in the city. It makes me feel better about the state of the world,” says Prairie Pathfinders founding member Kathleen Leathers.
“You don’t have to drive hundreds of kilometres to be in nature.”
The group will meet at the Canada Hindu Temple, at 999 St. Anne’s Rd., at 9:30 am. The hike will begin around 10 am, finishing up around noon with a buffet style lunch provided by Charisma Authentic East Indian Cuisine restaurant.
“They’ve been very co-operative at the temple,” says Leathers. “The food is wonderful and they are extremely kind and hospitable people,” she says.
The cost of the hike, complete with lunch is $23. The walk will go on regardless of the temperature, so warm boots and layered clothes are strongly recommended.

Stabilizing banks in St. Vital Park is high priority

Site prep has begun on the riverbank in St. Vital Park. The real work of stabilization starts Jan. 7 and is expected to be completed by mid-March.

Stabilizing banks in St. Vital Park is high priority
By Matthew Wright
The Lance
December 27, 2007

Fifty metres of eroding riverbank is set to be stabilized by the City in St. Vital Park.
Two excavators were busy last week creating a temporary access to the lower portion of the riverbank where crews will begin the main work on Jan. 7.
“At that time we’ll be installing rock-fill columns to remove the weaker clay soil and replace it with rock filling. This acts as a buttress to fortify the bank,” said City riverbank management engineer Don Kingerski.
The second phase involves providing erosion protection by laying limestone along the river’s edge to prevent soil erosion.
After re-grading the slope, extensive vegetation re-planting will take place in the spring.
Sharon Cave is co-ordinator of the group Walk-on Energizers, a group that promotes active living for all people and proudly calls St. Vital Park their ‘base of operations’.
She said the upgrades are necessary as many of the paths the group uses have been moved away from the river due to the danger posed by being too close to the eroding bank.
“Over the past 10 years we’ve noticed the banks’ deterioration and it’s quite frightening, she said.
“This won’t only benefit our group, but the city and especially the community as well.”
In fact, Kingerski said that during the past year, the riverbanks in the parks have lost up to 10 metres of bank in some areas alone.
Projects that involve riverbanks are normally completed in the winter.
“We have about a three-month window to get this type of work done. The water levels are lower at a more natural state and the frozen bank conditions make access and the actual work a lot easier,” Kingerski said.
He also said that after a 2000 report on the state of City-owned riverfront property, the stabilization of the riverbank in St. Vital Park was one of the report’s top priorities.
The $2 million project is expected to be competed by mid-March.
For traffic re-routing and trail information while construction is going on, check the City’s website at winnipeg.ca/publicworks/Parks

Manitoba rivers fail pollution tests: data

Manitoba rivers fail pollution tests: data
But province says crackdowns will cut numbers
Winnipeg Free Press
Thursday December 6 2007
By Mary Agnes Welch

THE water in more than half of the province's major rivers regularly fails pollution tests, according to new data from Environment Canada to be released today.
But the data dates back to 2005, and the province's water experts say a series of crackdowns on sewage dumping, farm run-off and leaky septic fields will soon shrink the number of dirty lakes and rivers in Manitoba.
In fact, the province's water czar. Dwight Williamson, predicted that in five to seven years, Manitobans will see a dramatic improvement in the river ratings.
The study, called the Canadian Environment Sustainability Indicators (CESI), scores each river on a 100-point scale and then rates them between poor and excellent. It's done nationwide by Environment Canada and provincial conservation offices.
Of the 40 rivers tested in Manitoba, eight were marginal and 17 were fair (Ed.: INCLUDING THE SEINE RIVER), meaning they routinely failed water quality tests that looked for toxins or nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen that cause blue-green algae to bloom on Lake Winnipeg, choking aquatic life.
Key rivers that drain into Lake Winnipeg -- the Red and Assiniboine -- rated the worst. But their ratings were nowhere close to that of the dirtiest river in Canada -- the Don River through Toronto, which scored only 38 points out of 100.
Just one Manitoba river rated excellent -- the short Waterhen River located in a pristine area at the northern tip of Lake Manitoba.
Williamson, the director of the province's water science and management branch, estimated the number of marginal rivers will shrink by half in the next several years as new rules and regulations kick in. Those include the ban on dishwasher soap with phosphates and costly repairs and upgrades to municipal sewage treatment plants like the ones in Winnipeg.
Williamson also noted there are already four or five rivers rated fair that are just on the cusp of being bumped up to "good." Williamson predicted about half the rivers rated fair will show dramatic improvement over the next several CESI studies.
Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick said Manitoba's results are on par with the rest of Canada. Manitoba has slightly fewer rivers that rate poor or marginal, fewer ones that rate "excellent" but many more in the middle of the pack with a "fair" grade.
"We're doing OK compared to the rest of the pack, but we've got to do better and the rest of Canada has to do better," said Melnick.
But Glen Koroluk, the water expert at Manitoba Eco-Network, says the province doesn't test rigorously enough and water problems are serious in Manitoba, which is the catch basin for a huge area of the continent.
"Why aren't more of our rivers in the top two standards -- good and excellent?" wondered Koroluk. "It sounds like we've got a lot of work to do."

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca

River watch

THE water quality index grades most major rivers in Canada out of a possible score of 100. Scientists look at about 345 rivers and water bodies across Canada, checking for nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, metals like lead and mercury and organic compounds like pesticides. The latest data is based on testing done between 2003 and 2005.
Assiniboine R. at Headingley 50.7 Marginal
Assiniboine R. upstream of Portage 53.9 Marginal
Assiniboine R. downstream of Portage 54.9 Marginal
Red River upstream of Winnipeg 58.2 Marginal
Red River downstream of Winnipeg 62.2 Marginal
Pembina River at Windygates 60.1 Marginal
Red River at Emerson 59.8 Marginal
Souris River Near Westhope N.D. 49.7 Marginal
La Salle R.downstream of
La Barriere Park dam 65.0 Fair
Souris River near Treesbank 65.5 Fair
Assiniboine River northwest of Treesbank 67 Fair
Assiniboine River at Brandon 67.7 Fair
Swan River near Lensewood 68.5 Fair
Saskatchewan R. above the Carrot River 73.4 Fair
Boyne River at Carman 72.1 Fair
Roseau River near Dominion City 72.2 Fair
Seine River south of Winnipeg 73.7 Fair
Cooks Creek at Springfield and
St. Clements boundary 74.1 Fair
Vermilion River north of Dauphin 74.8 Fair
Rat River at Otterburne 75.2 Fair
Edwards Creek south of Dauphin 78.2 Fair
Brokenhead River near Scanterbury 78.9 Fair
Whitemud River at Westbourne 79.3 Fair
Burntwood River at Thompson 79.4 Fair
Woody River northeast of Swan River 79.6 Fair
Ochre River near Ochre River Community 80.5 Good
Split Lake near Split Lake Community 81.6 Good
Valley River north of Dauphin 82 Good
Little Saskatchewan River 83 Good
North Duck River at Cowan 84.1 Good
Boggy Creek downstream of Lake Irwin 86.2 Good
Mossy River near Winnipegosis 87 Good
Turtle River at Ste. Rose du Lac 87 Good
Sipewesk Lake near outlet to Nelson River 87.1 Good
Playgreen Lake at Norway House 89.2 Good
Cross Lake upstream of
Cross Lake Community 90.1 Good
South Indian Lake near
South Indian Lake Community 90.3 Good
Footprint Lake near Nelson House Community 91 Good
Winnipeg River at Pointe du Bois 91.1 Good
Waterhen River at Waterhen 96.1 Excellent
- Source: Environment Canada and Manitoba Water Stewardship

What the ratings mean:
Excellent (95 to 100) - Water quality measurements never or very rarely exceed water quality guidelines.
Good (80 to 94.9) - Measurements rarely exceed water quality guidelines and usually by a narrow margin.
Fair (65 to 79.9) - Measurements sometimes exceed water quality guidelines and possibly by a wide margin.
Marginal (45 to 64.9) - Measurements often exceed water quality guidelines and/or by a considerable margin.
Poor (0 to 44.9) - Measurements usually exceed water quality guidelines and/or by a considerable margin.

A new way to donate to SOS

Save Our Seine is now registered with Canada Helps. This enables donors to give online in a secure and easy manner. Thank you for your support!

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s74785

SOS BOARD 2007-2008

WHO WE ARE

SOS operates as a non-profit, volunteer based organization, and is a registered charity (Charitable Tax Reg. No. 89399 6975 RR0001). Over 1,000 members support and volunteer with SOS.

The 2007 - 2008 Executive and Board of Directors is comprised of the following members:
Tammy Rutherford (President)
Alain Cenerini (Vice-President)
Suzanne Gessler (Vice-President)
Tannys Moffatt (Secretary)
David Venema (Treasurer)
Jules Legal (Past President)
David Watson (Past Vice-President)
Denis DePape
Sandra Gessler
Kristine Koster
David Danyluk
Mike Allen
Erin Waterman

Advisory Board Members serve in a consultant capacity and include the following:
Gabriel Dufault – (President, Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba)
Cheryl Heming (City of Winnipeg, City Naturalist)
Pat Leblanc (Teen Stop Jeunesse)
Kathy Lemky (Casera Credit Union)
Janice Lukes (Winnipeg Trails Association, Winnipeg Trails Coordinator)
Kevin Nixon (City of Winnipeg, Active Transportation Coordinator)
Harold Thwaites (Past President of SOS)
Dr. David van Vliet (MCIP, Department of City Planning, Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba)

Winter Walk

Prairie Pathfinders Walking Club and SOS have come together again to offer Winnipegers a cure for January cabin fever. The 5 th annual “Discover the Seine in Winter” Hike and Lunch will be held on January 26, 2008. Back by popular demand, Charisma of India will delight your culinary senses with a delicious lunch of authentic East Indian vegetarian food.

Prairie Pathfinders in partnership with SOS are pleased to once again host this popular event with the assistance of the south end Hindu Centre and their helpful staff. Join us for good fun, good food and healthy, outdoor, winter activity. For more information contact:

Prairie Pathfinders Walking Club
Box 68052 RPO Osborne Village
Winnipeg, MB R3L 2V9
Phone: (204) 774-0190 Fax: (204) 772-9044
Email: prairiepathfinders@shaw.ca
Website: http://www.prairiepathfinders.mb.ca/

Advance registration is available on-line at http://www.prairiepathfinders.mb.ca/ or by mail (see Prairie Pathfinder’s web site for registration form)
Date: Saturday, January 26, 2008 Time: Sign In—9:30am Hike – 10:00am Lunch – approximately 12 noon

Online Registration: Closes January 24, 2007 http://www.prairiepathfinders.mb.ca/
Mail Registration: Closes January 17, 2008
Cost: $23.00
Register early as this event fills up fast!

Welcome to Save Our Seine News

Save Our Seine is happy to announce that we have entered the blogosphere. Check out Save Our Seine News for current events in St. Boniface and St. Vital on Winnipeg's 25K long Seine River. (Not that wannabe Seine River in France.) You can leave us comments like you can on every other blog. Bookmark this site and check us out from time to time.
Happy canoeing . (Please disregard this last remark if you happen to be reading this in January)