Even though summer on the calendar is a couple of weeks away, June 1 marks the beginning of meteorological summer! If you are new to Hawkwood, you would have seen the flower and winter displays in our 88 planters, 17 flower beds, as well as weekly mowing in our 62 green spaces. You would have noticed that a number of our parks receive irrigation, as well as quick response times for litter control and 311 concerns. Hawkwood is one of 13 Calgary Non-Resident Association communities who are fortunate to have voted in an Enhanced Landscape Maintenance Program, affectionately known as LEAF (Landscape Enhancement Appreciation Fund) in our community. Yes, that is correct, since its inception in 2004, Hawkwood’s Community Association pioneered this program in Calgary overcoming seemingly insurmountable hurdles to become the first of its type, and it has grown to 13 communities now! Hawkwood continues to maintain our contribution fees among the lowest 10% in all of these communities.
Some of the program’s quieter initiatives over the last few years have derived a sustainable irrigation program with the City of Calgary in eligible parks between 0.4Ha and 0.7Ha in size. We are pleased that Calgary Parks will once again be able to provide this service city-wide in a staggered implementation plan. Additionally, LEAF communities will continue to have the option of irrigating their parks between 0.2Ha and 0.4Ha. With this freed up capital normally utilized for water and maintenance of the larger parks; the smaller ones will now receive full season irrigation. We are still working with the City to try to reinstate the ability to irrigate parks smaller than 0.2Ha, of which a number of them are Tot-Lot playgrounds. The larger sports fields will continue to be managed by the City.
This year will see the return of perennial pollinator plants in our displays! Last year’s experiment was a surprising success. We received many positive feedback emails as well, thank you! The perennials will be utilized in the entrance beds which will hopefully allow other initiatives to bloom, so to speak, and a succession plan as vegetation matures.
Our spring cleanup is complete and now mowing will be in full swing. As the summer season sees drier turf, efforts will become tailored to median and newly transplanted tree watering as well. It is always a balance of the four gardening “Ls” in Calgary’s growing climate: Location (our elevation has scorching days and chilly nights), Loam (have you tried to dig a hole in Hawkwood? Not the most fertile soil…), Love (this is where the LEAF program comes in! Watering, pruning, tending to problem sites with special care), and Luck (Did someone say hail? Frost in August?).
Whatever our summer in Hawkwood has in mind for 2023, we hope you will regularly take some time to explore and relax in your community and enjoy the floral displays of colour and parks kept in good care. We live in a beautiful community, now with the new Outdoor Recreation Facility and many activities for everyone to experience and enjoy. We live in a beautiful city with a spectacular mountain backdrop, and in a province and country that provides peace, opportunities, and freedom.
Click here to the Hawkwood Community News home page for the latest Hawkwood community updates.
