Celebrating wildlife and wild places in beautiful Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Experience

Think outside the box! Choose a NatureCity adventure with our family-friendly guides to some of Saskatoon’s natural hot spots.

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Join us for the WildCity podcast, a breath of fresh air for your mind. Coming soon to a headset near you.

Anticipate

The NatureCity Festival is on hold because of the pandemic, but we will all be back together soon as we can.

Engage with us!

Watch that crocus! As a pastime, watching plan

Watch that crocus! As a pastime, watching plants grow may not sound like the world's most dynamic activity, but it has its own special joys. it is also surprisingly important. The "Plant Watch" program allows us to contribute to science by recording the blooming times of selected plants, including our very own prairie crocus. By submitting our observations, we can help scientists track the effects of climate change on the prairies. Here's all you have to do: 1. Select a typical patch of plants. 2. Record the date when the first flowers are open in the observed plants. 3. Continue to stop by periodically and note when most blooms are open, and the stems are about 3cm long. 4. Submit your data to the NatureWatch website. Full details here: https://www.naturewatch.ca/plantwatch/prairie-crocus/ The same registration that links you up with Plant Watch also connects to other citizen-science programs, including Milkweed Watch, Ice Watch, Frog Watch and, wonder of wonders, Worm Watch. Enjoy! #crocuscapture
Photo Credit: @bq_loves_photography

Our latest NatureCity Adventure Guide is a guide t

Our latest NatureCity Adventure Guide is a guide to the Northeast Swale. If you are unfamiliar with the Swale, you may consider it just a big field at the edge of several developments. However, a closer look yields a large diversity of endangered plant, animal, and insect life and a very special sense of place. Join Wild About Saskatoon's Meghan Mickelson for a journey to some of her favourite spaces on the swale with photos and resources to help you learn more. Our guide to the Northeast Swale can be found here: https://wildaboutsaskatoon.org/northeast-swale/ Bonus: Tag us and add the hashtag #naturecitycontest to your photos and posts from the Swale to enter the next round of our #naturecitycontest.

Not only are all parts of the prairie crocus poiso

Not only are all parts of the prairie crocus poisonous when eaten, and irritating when they come in contact with the skin, but they also play a huge role ecologically in our local ecosystems. As one of the first blooms, they are a large food source for insects in early spring, and exchange important nutrients with partner flora like fungi. Instead of picking, take a pic and post to social media using #CrocusCapture to enter to win a prize pack! #naturecityyxe #nativeplants #meewasin #saskatooning Photo Credit: Meghan Mickelson

Crocuses push up into the light when there is stil

Crocuses push up into the light when there is still snow on the ground. Fuzzy and pointed, the buds look like clusters of inquisitive snouts sniffing for spring air. Not surprisingly, the earliest buds often appear on south-facing slopes where they catch the warmth of the sun. The plants also thrive on sandy soils and areas that have been burned within the preceding couple of years, so those are also good places to look. Why do prairie crocuses emerge in such a rush? These plants have evolved to take advantage of moisture from the melting snow. Without pausing to grow leaves, they burst directly into bloom, producing the ground-hugging whorls of silky, lavender sepals that give us so much joy. By the time most other wildflowers put in an appearance several weeks later, crocuses are already sporting headdresses of shiny, plumed seeds. They’ve care of business long before the hot, dry days of mid-summer. Photo credit: Meghan Mickelson #naturecityyxe #meewasin

Local photographer Lauren Erickson took this photo

Local photographer Lauren Erickson took this photo of a beautiful neighbourhood fox during one of her early morning adventures in our #naturecityyxe.

April Fools! We can’t wait for the actual first

April Fools! We can’t wait for the actual first arrival, and have teamed up with Saskatoon Nature Society and Meewasin to bring you another reason to get excited for spring wildflowers! Enter to win a prize pack by posting to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (can be on stories) with a picture of a Crocus, using #CrocusCapture, and tagging any or all organizations involved. Multiple entries are allowed, and 10 bonus entries can be made by finding a white crocus. Entries can also be made by posting directly to the Facebook event page. Photo Credit: Meghan Mickelson

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