Botany Alberta: Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park

Botany Alberta will be held Friday June 21st to Sunday June 23rd, 2024 at Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park near Slave Lake, Alberta.

Email botanyab@anpc.ab.ca to register.

The event will include:

• An optional Friday afternoon trip to a rich fen ecosystem if there is enough interest.  
• Saturday Lily Lake Trail – This highly recommended hike is one of our prime activities for the weekend. The trail offers a who’s-who example of boreal clinal variation from Boreal Upland (with some lower foothills species), where you can see Lodgepole Pine, Mountain Ash, Red Elderberry, and the notorious Devil’s Club – down through a beautiful elevation change (complete with several wooden bridges and boardwalks) and forests of Balsam Fir, and thick growths of Lady Fern, Oak Fern and lots of beautiful mosses. The trail winds right down to a beautiful boreal treed fen – complete with peat moss, and a gorgeous lake with small Yellow Pond lily and some type of ribbon grass – which is regularly stocked with trout. One unique rare plant on this walk is the Northern Beech Fern (Phegopteris connectilis).
• Saturday Evening Social: Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation  https://www.borealbirdcentre.ca/index.htm
• Sunday Shoreline Walk – Devonshire Beach This beautiful beach stretches more than 3 km along the eastern shore of Lesser Slave Lake, with large stands of sand-holding willows, shallow wave generated wetland complexes where you can find lots of tadpoles, small bodied fish and spring peepers. There are also beautiful treed dunes with lots of unique and rare xeric grass-loving species. Bald Eagles sit in the tall pines along the edge of the dune and shoreline habitat waiting for fish, creating fantastic photo opportunities! Several rare species to be found along the beach habitat are Sitka Willow (Salix sitchensis), as well as Canada Rice Grass (Piptatheropsis canadensis) and the beautiful Flat-topped Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia). There are some rare sedges, prairie grasses and Selaginella within the dunes as well.

Accommodations:

• The Nest: Available on a first come, first served basis, with 6 bedrooms for up to 12 volunteers and attendees, free of charge. Email botanyab@anpc.ab.ca to reserve your spot! Please indicate # attendees (including yourself) and your preference for a queen room or bunk beds. If you have a friend you would like to bunk with, please let us know. Located behind the Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation in Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park. Additional tents or trailers are not allowed on or near the site. No pets allowed. https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/north/lesser-slave-lake-pp/information-facilities/camping/the-nest/
• Alternate accommodations are available in the Town of Slave Lake or within the nearby campgrounds: https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/north/lesser-slave-lake-pp/information-facilities/