I SPOTLIGHT I
Walk on the Wild Side From fens to foliage, Wagner Natural Area is a rustic escape just minutes away from more urban jungles BY CORBIN STEWART
SITUATED WEST OF Edmonton on
Highway 16, Wagner Natural Area is a provincial nature reserve that’s home to an abundance of wildlife and biodiversity that connects its visitors to the beauty of Alberta’s natural habitats. Spanning more than 250 hectares and hosting a scenic 1.5 km walking trail, it exists to conserve all that biological diversity for scientific, educational, and research purposes.
“We’re proud that we can share the area with the broader community, said David Ealey, President of the Wagner Natural Area Society, “and they can recognize that there is something special about it.” What makes Wagner Natural Area so special is its fens–a type of wetland that forms when groundwater rises to the surface–giving the area a strong source of water and nutrients. Fens represent a small sample of Alberta’s boreal forest, and they exist due to the aquifers formed during the last ice age, over 10,000 years T8N September/October 2020 27
