Adventures for Wilderness, Busy Beavers and Fickle Fish – Jul. 26, 2023

July 26, 2023

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Photos and text by Devon Earl

Led by Flora Giesbrecht, Elbow River Watershed Partnership

 

The evening of July 26th was bright and warm – the perfect weather for a walk through the Bragg Creek watershed with Flora Giesbrecht of the Elbow River Watershed Partnership. We were hoping that we would be lucky enough to spot a beaver that evening, as beavers are more active in the evening than during the day. Flora came prepared with tons of beaver facts and images to fill our brains either way.

There was hardly a cloud in sight as we set off into the trees on West Bragg Creek’s Watershed Heritage Trail – a trail that Flora herself helped build. She explained to the group how trails can be built intelligently to avoid runoff into the creek, which could affect water quality and habitat for aquatic animals. As we strolled through the forest, we stopped frequently to observe our surroundings. We passed by aspen trees whose leaves had been carved up by aspen leaf miners, an osprey, and the site where a youth hostel once stood before burning down in 1984. On our way to the beaver dam, we foraged on sweet wild strawberries the size of a typical blueberry.

Upon arriving at the beaver dam, we quickly realized that we were interrupting some important work – a busy beaver swam back and forth, making new additions to an already very impressive arch-shaped dam. We peppered Flora with questions – How do beavers know how to do that? Where did they go to school for engineering? The beaver clearly had lots to do, and ignored the intrusion. As a group, we decided that this was better than watching television. We eventually had to tear our eyes away to wander back, as some kids and adults (including myself) needed to eat something more than a handful of tiny strawberries for dinner. All in all, it was a successful and informative evening walk in Bragg Creek.