Gophers and Thistles and poop, oh my! Alice Y. and Curtis W.

Monday, September 20, 2010

After weeks of preparation, the first journey into the vast wilderness was finally undertaken by groups of young eager students, each excited to discover and unravel the ecology lying underfoot in the ponds, grasslands, and forests of Nose Hill Park. Carrying notebooks, pens, and recording instruments, we set off on our own to use the three hours needed to understand the nature in each of our respective fields. As the temperature dropped to a chilling 3 degrees Celsius, students fumbled for gloves and coats in the fear that snow and wind would soon force us to retreat to the hollowed halls of Sir Winston Churchill High School. Past the fences encompassing the park’s interior. Past the gates encompassing the whole of Nose Hill Park ventured the class, gaping into the sheer size of the never-ending hills and valleys as far as one could see.               

 To the grasslands we walked, where a stray deer galloped away a stone’s throw away, the hum of grasshopper wings accompanying the orchestra of human steps and voices. Past the ponds we went, to the dominating area of grasses, teeming with life, where we would attempt to learn as much as we possibly could about the ecology of the Nose Hill Grasslands.

             Directly to the North-West of the grasslands study area lay the communities of Edgemont and Hawkwood, Dalhousie to the West, Charleswood and the University of Calgary to the South, Panorama Hills and Hidden Valley, and the Calgary International Airport about 3 kilometres to the East, a large public park in Calgary, Alberta (1129 hectares), Nose Hill Park is located in the Northwest Quadrant of the massive city. Completely surrounded by the daily to-dos and lifestyles of one million Calgarians, the area in itself required massive infrastructure and municipal buildings in order to support the population. The park is also surrounded by major roadways built by the city. Along the south end of the park lies John Laurie Boulevard, Shaganappi Trail along the West side, and 14^th Street encompassing the East side of the park. Sir Winston Churchill Sr. High School is located to the South-West of the park, The Park is surrounded by the 180+ number of communities in Calgary, being utilised on a daily basis by bikers, dog-walkers, joggers, and the average Calgarian. 

            Located at in the grasslands area of the SW section of the park, the first measurement recorded was the location of the transect. The coordinates recorded were (in degrees) N 51.1136^o (+/- 6.72693m) and W 114.1299^o (+/- 6.72693m)/ (in minutes) N 51.6^o 6'48'' and W 114^o 7'47''. A 10meter by 1.0 meter transect was set up on a grassy hill, clumps of grass and wildflowers gently swaying in the wind. The forest area loomed behind us back by the path taken to get from the pond area to the forest and grasslands area. Using the wooden stakes, hammer, string, and measuring tape, we set off building the transect on which we would soon begin to delve into the thriving system present there. A 0.5m by 0.5m area was sectioned off about 2.5 meters up from the bottom of the transect for general observations. Once the transect was completed, we set off on the beginnings of our observations.

            First, a hill profile was recorded along the Eastern side of the transect, from the lowest part of the hill upwards to the top. Using the clinometer tool, the angle of the hill was recorded at each 1.0m increment for a total of ten measurements along the side of the transect. A profile of the hill has been analyzed and produced according to the observed values seen on the clinometer. After these observations were taken, the temperature of the soil was recorded 5.0cm below the ground, at ground level, and 1.0 meters above the ground, These measurements were recorded as 5.6^oC five cm below, 5.2^oC at ground level, and 6.8^oC five centimetres above ground level. Afterwards, the plant species present in the area were recorded using photography and writing.

             There were many plant species observed in the grasslands transect under study. The majority of the ground was covered with thick coats of Rough Fescue-Parry Oatgrass and Smooth brome (Bromus inermis).  Buck brush/Western Snowberries (Symphoricarpos occidentale) are abundant in the area, characterized by white, waxy berries and small, purple-blue flowers. The berries last throughout the winter, and are considered unpalatable by most (berries are mildly toxic). There were flat, green and yellow leaves on stems with fuzzy hair-like appendages sticking out of the stem. These were like bushes, all branches leading out to the white snowberries and blue-purple flowers. Canada thistle was another common plant species seen in the grasslands area as a whole. The bulbous parts of the flower appeared purple, while white (extremely light purple) flower strands were seen coming out of the tops. These plants’ stems are spiked, which most likely alludes to self-defence against potential predators that would eat them. A final plant species of stinkweed, or pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), was identified in the transect. The plant consisted of bare branches and white, flat leaf-like structures extending from the “branches.” The leaf-like structures were white in colour, and dark patches (looked like seeds) were held in the leaves. Most branches were bare when viewed, however, which makes sense due to the impending winter months (“leaves” drop in colder temperatures). 

Animal species seen in the Grasslands area of Nose Hill consisted of a lone white-tailed deer running off in the distance the moment we arrived on scene in our study area. The deer most likely use the grasslands as areas for rest at night, as identified by more concentrated numbers of deer droppings found in the area and flattened grass (the second time the same area was observed). Piles of dirt found in the area are most likely pocket gopher mounds, made by Northern Pocket Gophers in their pursuit for underground tunnel networks that may sometimes extend up to 60 meters deep. Richardson’s Ground Squirrels also reside in the area, as small holes under grass cover were found which match the burrowing habits of the animal (size of the hole was large enough for an average-sixed ground squirrel to fit (measured around 5cm x 5cm large)). Although a couple of birds were seen during the time spent at Nose Hill, not enough was observed during the fleeting seconds that they flew by, making identification and natural habits/tendencies difficult to identify, and would most likely prove to be inaccurate. One of the birds was a dark black colour, and most likely was an American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), of which are common to stay in these large field areas until late October. There are many species of birds that are present in the sanctuary found in Nose Hill Park, which many animals capitalize on when humans aren’t around to interfere. A single white-tailed deer was also spotted in the park, which allows us to conclude that deer reside in the general area, or come to the corner of the park to drink or rest in the pond area next to the park’s entrance.

The most abundant organisms, yet the least seen, were the insect species. Only a few were able to be captured and identified, but there were definitely hundreds of other organisms that went unnoticed and unseen by us. The first identified was a “Packard’s grasshopper” (Melanoplus packardii). The grasshopper was a pale brown-caramel colour, with large hind legs and distinctly recognizable thorax and abdomen. Dull stripes were observed on the grasshopper’s wings/abdomen area, which is another characteristic that defines the specific grasshopper species. The second organism that was collected would most likely be a predatory plant bug of the family Miridae. It has the praying mantis-like claws, leg structure, and wings that match those of a predatory plant bug. It was only about a centimeter in length, which is too small for a mantis (most likely it was very young), and its structures were difficult to see with the naked eye. The Plant Bug would probably prey on smaller insects. A spider was caught among the grasses within the string confines of the transect. The spider was identified as a common garden-variety orb spider, of which there are countless similar-looking varieties, but are most commonly associated with the family Araneidae.

After the plants and animal species were recorded, the trough was used to dig up a 30cm by 30cm square of soil, 20cm deep in the smaller area sectioned off in the transect earlier on. The portion, composed of mostly grass and soil, was put into a plastic bag for future analysis and observation back in the classroom. Clippings of all of the plant species seen in the transect were taken using the clippers, and kept for future identification and analysis.

             By 12:30 PM, all observations were taken, and it was time to pack up to return, our minds buzzing with excitement over our newly found data just ready to be processed. With backpacks and minds full, we set off, with a newly found mind set and appreciation for the great outdoors just a twenty minute walk from our own school. What a time to be a Calgarian student at Nose Hill!

The Nose hill Park Grasslands; A Journey of Discovery

Peter and Kevin

October 28, 2010

Figure 1. Grasslands on Nose Hill park. 



           

Nose Hill Park is a biological symbol of the city of Calgary. The park is surrounded by 12 communities is covers over 11 square kilometres. Surrounded by 4 major roads, there is a sharp contrast between the subtle beauty of the natural grasslands and the rowdiness of the city streets leading to the tall skyscrapers in the distance. Nose Hill Park has been preserved ever since the 1980’s in the northwest quadrant of Calgary; it is one of the largest municipal parks in North America. This shows that Calgarians do care about the ecology in our area and want to preserve this land for future generations. By examining the grasslands of this area, we learn about biochemical’s cycles, interactions, organisms and human impacts. We can apply the knowledge to the conservation Nose Hill Park in the future. 

Figure 2.  Sign introducing Nose Hill.

Of course going to this park was not just a spur of the moment sort of thing. Careful planning had to be done to make our investigation a successful one. The weather, clothing, instruments, materials must all be considered. What we brought with us were cameras, soil corers, shears, string, stakes, hammer, shovels, and many plastic bags for samples.

On September 20, 2010, my partner and I set off from Sir Winston Churchill High School to the wilderness of Nose hill Park. The wind was blowing after a large rainfall, we could still feel a light drizzle. Of course, we still went anyways. We prepared ourselves and entered Nose Hill’s vicinities.

Figure 3.  Our group at the grasslands.

On a cold wet cloudy day, my partner and I trudged our way through the depth of Nose Hill Park. As we walked down the dirt path, the smell of fresh air and rotting feces filled our nostrils.

            Weary from our trip, we reach our destination. To our left were the vast grasslands; to our right was a dense forest. Of course, we knew ahead of time that the grasslands were our destination. We scaled the hill; our pants got wetter and wetter as we reach our target.

            We examine the area and set up our simple 10 meter by 1 meter transect. Within the artificial boundaries of our transect was a myriad of life. At first glance, all one could see was grass; tall grass short grass, you name it.  Some of these species include: snowberries, asters, wild roses, False Solomon’s Seals, and smooth bromes. With such a rich assortment of biodiversity, we hoped to uncover more about why so many plants can grow in our little transect.



Figure 4.  the grass within our transect.

            After our initial observations, we decided to take some in-depth data. In the cold September weather, the temperatures at a meter above the ground were consistent 0.5°C. While temperatures 5 cm below the soil had respective temperature of -0.1°C, 0.0°C, 0.9°C, 0.0°C, and -0.2°C. The fact that temperatures beneath the ground were colder than temperatures above ground appalled us. We wondered why this would be. Perhaps, water was frozen beneath the ground, or maybe the soil is poor at retaining heat. We actually still can’t verify why this is.





Figure 6.  A second soil correr sample.  Our transect is in the background.




Figure 5.  Grassland soil core sample.

 

 To further examine our transect we took some soil samples using our soil corer. With limited success, we pulled up two samples. From our samples we could see that the just topsoil extended at least 20 centimeters. The soil from our samples was pretty consistent in their content. It had high humus content as well as decomposing organic matter, as well and some unrecompensed filler. We assumed that this soil composition provided a great abundance and verity of nutrients for the plant.

Figure 7.  Soil characteristics and testing.

Further testing of the soils somewhat backed our initial assumption about the nutritional potential of out soils. We dug a 50 by 50cm pit, 20 cm deep and collected the soil for testing. During this process we found multitudes of earthworms as well as the odd spider. The soil sample was going to be tested for ammonium, ph, phosphates, iron, calcium, and nitrates.



Figure 8.  Drawing of a Berlese funnel used to extract soil arthropods.

Figure 9.  Soil sample in the Berlese funnel.

The soils were tested by testing the possible nutrients that may have dissolved into distilled water after filtering a distilled water and soil mixture. Each nutrient was tested 5 times. The results were as follows. Ammonium had an average concentration of 2.6ppm, phosphates had an average of 0 ppm, iron had an average concentration of 0 ppm, Calcium had a average concentration of less than 20ppm, and nitrate had an average concentration of 2ppm. 

From these tests we could tell that two essential products from the process of nitrogen fixation and nitrification were present. Ammonium and nitrate are the basic essentials of plant growth. The abundance of these nutrients may explain the variety and abundance of plant life in these grasslands. However, we could not find existing data on the nutrient levels grassland soils so no comparisons could be made.  Of course the decomposers like the earthworms probably helped the soil to get to this state. With so much plant life, the soil must depend on the decomposition of dead plants for its nutrients.

Water was found on average to make up 13.3 percent of the soils mass. This was done by finding the mass of 50g of soil after it was dried. The difference in mass must be the water that was evaporated. Organic material was also found to make up about 15.4 percent of the mass of the soil. Again, this was done by drying the soil, submerging it in water and collecting the debris that floats to the surface. The debris (organic material) is then dried and weighed again. Again, no reliable values could be found to compare this data. Therefore, it cannot be determined if a soil in this state is more beneficial or detrimental to plant growth. However, we can infer that this soil composition if beneficial due to the fact that there was such an abundance of producers in the ecosystem. 

We had one last test for the soil before moving on; and that was the Berlese funnel. Any animals in our soil sample should fall into the methanol so escape the heat of the light, or so we thought.

However, after two trials, only specs of dirt fell down the beaker. Perhaps our soils did not host as much life as we thought. Although, one has to consider that the soil was left in a Ziploc bag for a week.






Figure 10.  Arthropods on the Erlenmeyer flask after
24 hours in the Berlese funnel.

 

Figure 11.  Conversions of biomass to energy.

Of course, there was more to our transect than just soil. To increase our understanding of the ecology of our transect. We gathered all the bio mass in a 0.25m² area. Our dried producer biomass was 133.44g, our decomposer (a worm) biomass was 2.38g, and our consumer’s (an aphid and dwarf spider) biomass was 1.78g. In total this came to be 137.60g or biomass per 0.25m. According to this ratio, there should be 5504.00kg of biomass per hectare. 

From the previous data, we can also find the energy in the biomass of the various organisms. If one calorie is equivalent to 4.18 joules, and there is 1.5kcal/g in animal tissue and 4.23 kcal/g in leaves, the energy in 133.44g of plant/leaf tissue is 2359.41kj. The energy in the worm, spider, and aphid combined is 26.08kj. Such a disparity in energy supports the idea of highly inefficient energy transfers in a ecosystem 

We can also calculate that there are 40000 aphids, worms, and spiders per hectare of grasslands. However these calculations are likely to be completely inaccurate due the fact they are likely to be more consumers in our sample area but they were just too hard to spot.

In total there is 2386.21kj of energy per 0.25m². According to this ratio, there is 95 448 400kjof energy per hectare.

From what we found in our transect, a food web can be produced as shown in figure 12.

Figure 12.  A food web for Nose Hill grassland.

The species on the first row include: snowberries, asters, wild roses, False Solomon’s Seals, and smooth bromes

            From the species found in this web, we can only conclude the existence of interspecific and intraspecific competition and predation Various plant species compete other species for the space. This suggests interspecific competition. However these species also compete with other in their own species; suggesting intraspecific competition. Finally, aphids ingest the various producers and he spider eats the aphids. These are fine examples of predation.

 Unfortunately, due to the lack of time and availability of species, this food web is likely a small fraction of the actual food web of the nose hill park grasslands.

            And that concludes the part 1 of 3 part series on the ecology of the Nose Hill Park grasslands. We have observed many different species of plants and animals and found many quantitative relationships in our little transect. Tune to our podcast for the 2^nd instalment of the Grassland Ecology of Nose Hill Park: The Transfer of Energy!



Kritika and Felicia's grassland Blog

Nature Preserved!





Figure 1.  Map of Nose Hill. Photo by KS.

 What is the visible difference between urban areas and rural areas? Greenery,



Nature, and preservation of natural land. Many may think that the previously stated characteristics are have no  place in a city such as Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but they would be thinking wrong.  There once were vast pieces of green grasslands in the region we call western Canada.  Nowadays that is not the first, second or even third trait we use to describe western Canada. Words that do come to mind are oil sands, growing population, and industrialization.  A place which has been left to pay tribute to the natural ways of life in Calgary is Nosehill Park. Nosehill Park has one of the most significant urban grassland ecosystems in western Canada. With over 11 square kilometers of preserved land, Nosehill Park is located in the Northwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta at the intersection of John Laurie Boulevard and Shaganappi Trail as indicated in Figure 1.  An interesting fact about this location is that constructed suburban communities and main roads.

     To appreciate and inform ourselves of the ecology of this land, in a group of 5, we divided and explored the ecosystems of Nosehill Park: grassland, forest, and pond. I personally, with my peer Felicia, took the task of informing ourselves of the grassland ecosystem in Nosehill Park, and this task was not an easy one.



Figure 2.  Walking to Nose Hill grasslands.  Photo by KS.

     We started not knowing much about Nosehill as a piece of land but quickly learned about the diversity in plant species that is supported by Nosehill, this diversity can be experienced if you view our vodcast at the end of the blog. For the diversity, we chose to focus on the plants that grow in nosehill’s grassland by identification through preservation, a process you will read about more in depth later through the blog.   An aspect that we knew directly affected the growth of plants and diversity is soil, so the second testing that was conducted for the grassland biome was testing of the soil nutrients with a soil sample collected from the transect and aquarium testing kits.



Figure 3.  Our transect.  Photo by KS.



Figure 4.  Grass. Photo by KS.



Figure 5.  Low growing Wild rose.  Photo by KS.



      Our experience of Nosehill was a physically harsh yet intellectually exciting one, our day began early morningof September 20, 2010, dressed in proper gear (fleece jacket, rubber boots, nets, etc.) we strolled as a group to the intersection of John Laurie boulevard and Shaganappi Trail, where across the busy street was and still is a fenced-in park by the name of nosehill park. Then inside the park (see Figure 2), dodging the puddles made from the rain of previous night, we began hiking up the hill to where we randomly chose our transect. In one transect there were countless plants observed, some of these plants were obtained and captured in zip lock bags for further identification in the lab. The transect created, as seen in Figure 3, was 10.0 m by 1.0 m and the plants collected were from a rectangle from the transect with the size of 0.5 m by 1.0 m. Also removed from the rectangle in the transect was a soil sample with a mass of over 500 g.

     Looking at the grassland ecosystem at Nosehill Park, it can be observed that all of the plants properties of the plants that we preserved to the descriptions of plants provided in field guides, we identified the six most visually abundant plants from our transect. The plants we identified are listed below with their pictures.

Figure 6.  Snowberry leaves.  Photo by KS.

are fairly short in height and close to the ground. Using shears we collected samples of different plants and took them back for further analysis. Although most of the plants in the grassland ecosystem looked the same, we found a large variety of different plants, especially grasses. To preserve these plant samples we collected and pressed the plants for several days, and then taped each sample onto a separate piece of paper to be identified. The purpose of this preservation process is to remove all the water from the plants while preserving their original colors and structure. To identify these plants, a series of different field guides were used. Some were provided by the City of Calgary while others were from Sir Winston Churchill's Library. One specific source that we used to identify the plants was from the Friends of Nose Hill Society website, which is an organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of this park. Comparing

Figure 7.  Pasture Sage.  Photo by KS.



Figure 8.  Smooth Brome.  Photo by KS.





Figure 9.  Parry Oat Grass.  Photo by KS.



Figure 10.  Crested Wheat Grass (Agropyron cristatum).  Photo by KS.

     To understand the process by which we found the soil nutrients in the soil sample from the transect at nosehill park listen to the podcast Felicia recorded . The results of the soil testing are in table 1 after the podcast.

Nutrient Test	Trail 1	Trail 2
Phosphate	0.01mg/L	0.05mg/L
Calcium	Just Below 20mg/L	Just Below 20mg/L
Iron	0.1mg/L	0.1mg/L
Ammonia	0.25mg/L	0.6mg/L

Table1: The results for soil nutrients measured using Nutrafin testing kits for phosphate calcium iron and ammonia. The nutrient with the lowest concentration is phosphate and the nutrient measured to have the highest concentration in the soil is Calcium.

     Another important aspect that ties well with Nosehill Park and its preservation process is the human impact on the park and the soil. Since 12 communities surround the park, much of the run off is absorbed by the soil and the run off is also responsible partly for the nutrients taken up by the roots of the plants. In usual and natural circumstances the run off consists of oxygen, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, sulfates, carbonates and water.  This is rare in parks such as nosehill, because of the disposal of chemicals in the communities such as Edgemont. Some of these chemical substances are detergents, cigarettes, and hormones. These substances increase the abundance of some elements in the soil while other element levels either decrease or remain the same, for example detergents and shampoos increase the level of sulfates in the run off, which directly increases the level of sulfates in the soil.  This could be a benefit for the plants or a disadvantage, depending on the level of sulfate available to the soil beforehand. In the case of hormones, the hormones enter the soil and therefore enter the plants. The hormones may affect the growth of the plants and make the natural growth cycle irregular, and these plants are then consumed by the wildlife at nosehill such as deer, coyotes, and squirrels. The affect of the hormones on the wildlife is similar as the affect of hormones on plants, the hormones could trigger irregular growth by suppressing the natural hormones of the organism, also the hormones can affect the ovulation cycle in animals by creating hormonal imbalance, this imbalance creates a difficulty for reproduction, which results in a decrease of population. Another human impact on the park is the abuse by the humans of the park, such as littering, and not abiding by the rules of the park.

To finish our blog on nosehill, we would like to show you a video Felicia and I made at nosehill, we hope you will enjoy!

VODCAST







Human impact on Nose Hill Park: Alice and Curtis.

            Nose Hill Park in our opinion is such a great place- it provides an area where animals, insects and plants can establish their own natural community within Calgary’s urban community. We think that Nose Hill is a very valuable gift that citizens of Calgary over time have fought to give to the animal, insect and plant species that have been displaced from the never-ending construction and urban development of Calgary’s increasing population. However, Nose Hill park is a public park and citizens of Calgary love to go into the park to bike, take walks, walk their dogs, or to just enjoy the natural scenery. Or if people are students, teachers, or scientists, we like to step into this park to investigate its ecology like what we just did a couple weeks ago. This leads to a question: how has human use of this park affected the organisms and ecology of the park?

            There are many negative affects of human use of the park that we have researched all of the following information was found in Biophysical Impact assessment (2006). First of all, trails and informal walk-ways have been constructed and developed all throughout Nose Hill for human users. These trails affect many things. By building trails, strips of habitats will be lost; organisms and animals will be displaced- losing their feeding, reproduction, shelter or living grounds.

Trails also result in what’s called habitat fragmentation: what was before a large piece of land is separated into smaller pieces by intersecting trails. This will lead to smaller communities in a smaller area- this smaller community is then more prone to extinction in that small area. Habitat fragmentation also inhibits certain species from movimg across the trail barriers to other pieces of habitat.  This reduces habitat availability for these less mobile organisms.

            Another issue is the constant trampling in the grasslands by people and dogs. It has been researched that the dominant grass species of Nose Hill- Rough Fescue grass- is very sensitive and susceptible to trampling. Trampling can do many negative things to the grassland. Firstly, it compacts the soil more which reduces the amount of air and water that seep through the more compacted pores in the soil. This results in decreased plant growth because the plant roots cannot grow down into the compacted soil. This also leads to more of soil erosion after rainfalls/snowfalls. Secondly, these trampled areas start to undergo a succession process which usually involves more un-natural weed-like species inhabiting the disturbed area (especially along trail-sides). This will cause increased competition between the natural species and the weed species that are usually the more competent ones.

Trampling will cause physical damage to the leaves, stems and roots of plants which will inhibit the plants’ ability to grow and mature.

As well, trampling results in certain bird species’ nests to be damaged and damaging other organisms’ nesting/den grounds.

            Finally, another big human impact issue in the grassland of Nose Hill are dogs. Dogs love to chase around small mammals in the park such as rabbits and Richardson’s ground squirrels. Not only will this cause distress to these rabbits and ground squirrels, but the dogs may attack them and kill them.

            All of these are the three main issues of human impacts on the grassland area of this park. However unlike most cities, Calgary is fortunate to have kept this large expanse of natural environment; even though there are some serious ecological issues by human use of the park, the organisms that inhabit the park are more fortunate than other organisms. There are government planners that do keep in mind of these bad human impacts and bring up suggestions to fix these issues. The question is - is there such thing as a perfect natural protected park where organisms can dwell in such an expanding and populated city? Is there only so much we can do to protect Nose Hill from urban sprawl? These questions are hard to answer but hopefully we will find the answers through continuous research and love of this wonderful park. 

Biophysical Impact assessment. (2006). http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/parks_operations/nosehill/nh_bia.pdf). Retrieved October. 26, 2010,

Autumn 4: Leaves

Autumn 4. The Leaves

            In the part of the world I call Home, leaves of broad leafed, or deciduous, trees respond to shortened day length by changing colour from green to red, orange or yellow.  Aspen and Maple, Birch and Elm spread colour to the winds, signaling the beginning of the season when plants and animals prepare for winter; Autumn.  Many here call this season “Fall”, perhaps remembering this is what leaves do after their colour is changed by trees.  Leaves cover the roadways and sidewalks, parks and lawns, dancing in the wind and collecting in bright crunchy piles wherever the wind chooses to pile leaves.

Figure 1.  Autumn leaves on the forest floor.  Photo by TP.

            My neighbours do not like leaves.  They invest time and effort blowing leaves off sidewalk and driveway; raking leaves off lawns.  Leaves fill giant plastic bags, and bags decorate sidewalks until those in charge of bags for the city in which I live come and take them.  Leaves look better without bags.  And the wind blows the leaves, and the leaves dance.  Leaves like my neighbour’s lawns, satisfying my neighbours need to blow and rake.

            I like leaves.  I invest time and effort walking through leaves, kicking them into the air, revelling in the flash of colour and the sound of crunch.  I like Ladybird beetles, and Ladybird beetles like leaves.  Deep under the soft insulating leaves, where the cold never reaches, all through our long white winter, Ladybird beetles sleep.  I know leaves guard Ladybirds, so my leaves stay where the wind would have them.  Who would argue with the wind?

            What of the leaves that Aspen turn yellow in the forest of my park?  No doubt some dance into my neighbour’s rakes.  Some fly into the grassland at the whimsy of the wind.  When I look for leaves, I find most lying on the forest floor, patches of yellow on brown and red.  Last years leaves lie beneath, hinting of what happens to Aspen leaves as autumn turns into winter, and winter into spring.  Frail and thin, brown soggy parchment leaves slowly disappear, vane first, leaving delicate networks of vein and rib.  In time, vein and rib, too, follow vane into soil.  Hidden life thrives in turning leaf to soil.  This life, so often ignored, releases carbon and nitrogen, phosphate and mineral.  Leaf becomes soil and soil nourishes forest, ensuring Aspen will set new leaves come snow melt and spring.  Aspen teaches about Aspen, leaf slowly becomes leaf, nutrients cycle, and all is well with my forest.