CBC Calgary recently featured a story on Calgary park maintenance, and how a new report going to city council says that service levels have declined because the number of parks has increased and costs have risen faster than funding. .
Nature Calgary President Kaya Konopnicki was featured in the story:
Kaya provided additional context:
“The term “park” can mean very different things depending on the context. It can refer to everything from sports fields and playgrounds to more naturalized areas that function as wildlife habitat.
In the case of this report, it appears the focus is largely on highly managed spaces such as sports fields and playgrounds rather than natural areas. These spaces are typically dominated by grass, and from a biodiversity perspective they provide very little habitat value. They offer minimal food or shelter for wildlife and are often best described as biodiversity-poor environments. At the same time, these park spaces have significant recreational value and are very important to the people of Calgary for that reason.
In terms of our perspective, if these areas are not maintained, they can quickly become dominated by invasive plant species. Those invasive plants can then spread into nearby natural areas, where they degrade habitats that are important for wildlife. In addition, overflowing garbage can also attract wildlife and introduce garbage into both maintained and naturalized areas further degrading the overall “feel” of the parks for people and the habitat value for wildlife (the “usability” of these spaces).
Maintaining strong funding for Calgary Parks is important. Calgary is known for its extensive park system and the opportunities it provides for people to spend time outdoors, and those spaces need to be maintained.
Where we see opportunity is in taking a more strategic approach to how park spaces are managed. For example, identifying which areas are priorities for recreation, such as sports fields, playgrounds, and picnic areas, and which areas may be underused or difficult to access. Some of those underutilized spaces could potentially be transitioned into more naturalized areas planted with native flowers, shrubs, and trees, while still maintaining the level of maintenance required for more managed park spaces.
There is also an opportunity to incorporate more native plants into existing planting beds within parks. Research shows that even very small patches of native plants, as little as one square metre, can provide meaningful benefits for native insects and other wildlife. Over time, native plantings can also require less water and maintenance, though they still require monitoring for invasive species.
That said, making these kinds of changes takes time, planning, and resources. With parks staff already stretched maintaining existing spaces, it can be difficult to shift toward longer-term ecological improvements while also keeping up with day-to-day maintenance.”
We encourage Calgarians to email City Council with their thoughts on this issue.