Lois Hole Park will get a little bigger next week as the province officially adds an interpretive wetland to its borders.
The province announced Friday that it would unveil new plans for Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park on Wednesday, Sept. 15. Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister Cindy Ady, Mayor Nolan Crouse, and other dignitaries are expected to attend.
The province is keeping the specifics under wraps for now, says Tourism, Parks and Recreation spokesperson Camille Weleschuk, but did say the plans involved a “significant” amount of land added to the park at multiple locations. She also says the announcement did not involve the park’s interpretive centre, the location of which has been in question for years.
Ducks Unlimited spokesperson Anh Hoang confirmed that some of that land contains the John E. Poole Interpretive Wetland near the Big Lake Environment Support Society’s (BLESS) viewing platform. Beaverbrook Developments is the current owner of that wetland. She also confirmed that officials would hold a groundbreaking ceremony at the wetland.
Ducks Unlimited announced the $1-million interpretive wetland project in June 2009 as part of the kickoff for the John E. Poole Conservation Fund, which is named after the late construction magnate John Poole. Shell Canada donated $100,000 to the project earlier this year.
When complete, the wetland will feature an elevated boardwalk that naturalists will use to teach about 1,500 students a year about waterfowl. Alberta parks official Archie Landals has suggested that the future Lois Hole park interpretive centre would likely be built near this path. Plans for the wetland presented last year in St. Albert included a ped-way over Ray Gibbon Drive to the new Hole’s Enjoy Centre.
Construction of the wetland was supposed to start last winter, say Ducks Unlimited officials, but was delayed due to land negotiations with Beaverbrook.
The groundbreaking ceremony will take place near the BLESS viewing platform at 11 a.m. For details, call Weleschuk at 780-427-2206.
