When summer ends even though it feels like it started not too long ago...

Another summer has sped by, it's hard to believe that it's over already! It really doesn't seem like that long ago that I was preparing for Pond Days, getting ready for planting at our Riparian Improvement Sites, and getting my first calls from landowners interested in taking part in the Save a Barn, Save a Bat program.

But then I remember the early weeks of summer that that were spent with the elementary school kids teaching them about aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Yeah, that took up most of June...

Then July came around and I really went to work planting native seedlings along the banks of the Pembina and Red Water river and various other tributaries in the Athabasca Watershed to improve riparian health on agricultural land. Along with that I was out meeting some great producers who are taking place in the new fencing arm of the Riparian Improvement Program. Ok, so there went another month...

The planting plans for August were cut short due to a hail storm that decimated our seedling yard (fingers crossed that they will recover for next year!) so I was able to really focus on getting out and meeting everyone who had called about wanting to participate in a bat habitat survey. There were a lot of those going on in August so that's where that month went...

Now it is September and it's time to get back to the office and prepare for next summer. Fall and winter also means its workshop season. While I'm stuck inside for the winter I'm sure I'll reminisce on the summer of 2017 , it really was a good one. Eight more months until the next summer season!