President's Corner

The spring meet of Nature Saskatchewan is over, and judging by the evaluation forms that we received everyone had a good time. The success of the meet was due to the hard work of many people in our society, especially those who comprised the organizing committee: Donna Bruce (program), Greg Fenty (registration), Branimir Gjetvaj (A/V and displays), May Haga (hall and catering), Anna Leighton (book sale), Kathy Meeres (secretary), Angela Stern (silent auction), Jan Shadick (budget), Stan Shadick (field trips), and Marten Stoffel (accommodations, hauling, etc.). A special thanks goes to Carol Blenkin who used her calligraphy skills to produce the name tags and the program sheet for the banquet. My call for help during the meet was heard by society members, and we actually had more volunteers than work to do. The efforts of everyone during the meet was greatly appreciated and contributed significantly to making the meet trouble-free. One highlight of the meet was the tour of St. Volodymyr Park, an area that few even from Saskatoon had visited before.

Other highlights included the cooperative rails at the Pike Lake fen, the images of the banquet speaker Jason Bantle, the used book sale and silent auction, the Prairie Conservation quilt on display, and many more.

Financially, the meet basically broke even (there might be a small surplus although the books are not yet closed), and this is another tribute to the planning committee.

With the meet behind us, it is time to turn to other matters. In particular, what is happening to Cosmopolitan Park as the area worked on last year appears to be suffering from significant erosion. Although planting has occurred, I find it somewhat inadequate, and perhaps there is a role the society can play in furthering the vegetation once the civil engineering is completed. Also please consider helping with the bird surveys of the NE swale and Chief Whitecap Park.

Robert Johanson
SNS President