A clean-up event on Paskapoo Slopes.

We shall meet at the posted coordinates at 17:30, choose trails to clean up depending on your hiking abilities and return to the posted coordinates with your collected garbage by 18:30. A group photo shall be taket at 18:30 at the posted coordinates. This is an actively used area, be careful of cyclists, runners and walkers and their four-legged friends.

Tips for a successful day from the City of Calgary:

Please follow these guidelines. The health, safety and well-being of our citizens is of top priority. We encourage all to do the following:

• Wash your hands frequently: Use hand sanitizer when you can’t wash your hands with soap and warm water. We encourage you to do this at the beginning and end of a litter cleanup at minimum.
• Catch your germs: Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze by using the inside of your elbow or your shoulder.
• Avoid touching your face: Keep your hands away from your eyes, ears, nose and mouth while performing this activity.
• DO NOT pick up face masks, or gloves.
• Stay home if you are feeling sick: If you are experiencing, fever, cough, difficulty breathing or other flu like symptoms, stay home and away from others. If you have questions or concerns about your health contact Health Link 811.

Before your cleanup

• Dress appropriately for the weather.
• Wear sturdy, closed-toed footwear.
• Bring a hat, sunscreen, water and insect repellent.
• Review the layout of your cleanup area.

Cleanup day

• Wear protective gloves.
• Do not touch unknown items, syringes, glass or other sharp objects. Contact 311 to report their location.
• Do not compress garbage or reach into containers with hands or feet.
• Leave natural materials behind (leaves, deadwood, bones, etc).
• Do not wade into bodies of water to retrieve items.
• If working near a pathway, be careful of cyclists, runners and walkers.
• Do not remove large items (bikes, tires, sleeping bags, etc). Contact 311 to report their location.
• Do not enter illegal camps. Contact 311 to report their location.
• Take breaks. Drink water and wash or sanitize your hands before having a snack.
• Have fun!

After your cleanup

• Place bags beside existing City of Calgary garbage cans at the posted coordinates for pick up by City staff.
• The EO shall call 311 to report the location of our bags.

From https://calgaryheritage.org/wp/paskapoo-slopes-our-winter-playground:

The Paskapoo Slopes Natural Area, located to the east of Canada Olympic Park, belongs to a many layered cultural landscape with human use going back 7,000 years. The slopes consist of six benches cut by twelve ravines formed by Glacial Lake Calgary between 20,000 and 16,000 years ago. The Paskapoo Slopes feature a concentration of archaeological sites composed of bison kill areas and associated butchering and processing camps. The kill sites and camps located on the upper benches are evidence of large-scale communal subsistence activities associated with the Paskapoo Slopes Phase, a regionally distinct local variant of archaeological time period known as the Pelican Lake Phase. The bottom of the Paskapoo slopes is characterized by smaller archaeological sites that may have been used opportunistically, rather than for larger communal operations. Most of the archaeological sites date within the last 3,000 years, and are representative of a single bison hunting complex of regional and provincial significance.  

The dense aspen forest present today is relatively new vegetation for the area, as grazing bison and controlled burns managed by Indigenous groups kept tree growth under control during the pre-contact period. Later historic land use maintained the area for agriculture and pasture.  As the subdivisions of Calgary expanded west, the Paskapoo Slopes attracted suburban Calgarians for leisure activities such as walking and hiking, allowing the aspen forests to mature. 

Canada Olympic Park (CHI 2014)

For the past 50 years, the Paskapoo Slopes have been maintained as a natural area park and ski hill, featuring prominently in the development of Calgary as a winter sports hub. In 1961 the Paskapoo Ski Hill opened to the public with significant redevelopment beginning in 1984 prior to the 1988 Winter Olympics. Easy access to ski jumps, bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, and half pipe has encouraged two generations of Calgarians to carry on the legacy of Calgary as a winter sports city. In addition to the thousands of years of precontact Indigenous history, the area also features mountain bike and hiking trails, along with a prominent glacial erratic.