by Michelle Varem
Spring is upon us, and with warmer weather upcoming many of us are going to be looking to get outside and enjoy nature. Here are a couple ideas for anyone looking to explore new areas nearby to our community.
Griffith Woods Park – Approximately 5 Minutes’ Drive from Our Community
Just across Stoney Trail from our neighbourhood is Griffith Woods Park. This gorgeous 93-hectare park is tucked away next to the community of Discovery Ridge and bordering the Tsuut’ina Nation. It is a natural environment park with both paved trails and unpaved trails and is very popular for dogwalkers, families, and those looking to escape the noise of the city without needing to drive out of it. This is an environmentally significant park as well as the conditions are perfect for White Spruce to grow, making it one of the only places in the city to host a mature forest of those trees. For those who are interested in birdwatching, it is a great place to spot Northen Flickers, Grey Jays, and Red-breasted Nuthatches.
Griffith Woods is accessible year-round, just note that in the shadier areas of the forest it can stay a bit snowy and icy into the spring, so prepare accordingly. Keep an eye out for habitat restoration occurring in some of the areas off the main or side trails. These are fenced off areas allowing for certain plants to regrow undisturbed by human activity and contribute to a healthy ecosystem within the park.
The City of Calgary has a self-guided walking tour on their website, for anyone who likes to have a more interactive walk. The tour can be found at their website: https://www.calgary.ca/parks/griffith-woods-park-walking-tour.html.
Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre – Approximately 10 Minutes’ Drive from Our Community
Not too much further away, off of Springbank Road you can find the Kiyooka Ohe Arts Centre (KOAC). The arts centre was founded in 2007 by Harry Kiyooka and Kate Ohe with a mission dedicated to the research, exhibition, education, and documentation of contemporary visual arts. Currently the arts centre is the home of studio and gallery spaces, a research library, and a significant collection of artwork from the past several decades.
Outdoors and accessible to the visiting public is a beautiful nature sanctuary and sculpture garden. Across 20 acres of landscaped areas and woodlands, visitors can walk through and discover abstract sculptures from Canadian and European artists and spend time viewing how the art both compliments and contrasts the surrounding nature. The nature sanctuary includes a botanical garden with a wetland as well as a protected Aspen, Birch, and first growth forest.
The sculpture park is accessible year-round for self-guided tours from Thursdays to Sundays, 10:00 am until 6:00 pm, admission is by donation. There will also be ticketed guided tours on Saturdays in the summertime, more information will be available on the KOAC website closer to that time. The sculpture park does have accessible gravel pathways; however, dogs are not allowed due to the conservation efforts in the area. For more information about the KOAC, including private tours, workshops, residencies and more, feel free to email [email protected], or check out their website here: https://www.koartscentre.org/.
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