A beautifulscene as families enjoy — and photograph — autumn colours at Weaselhead/Glenmore Park; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
What was more important? To stay home and watch the 3rd and final game of the baseball series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays or to attend the Ismaili Civic Day 2023 in Calgary? The event was part of the worldwide Ismaili Muslim community’s commitment on September 24, 2023, to put their ethics into action to enhance the quality of life in the communities where they live. This year’s theme was Environmental Stewardship. The task for Calgary’s Ismaili Civic Day volunteers was to address the issue of invasive plants in an important city park.
I have always prioritized the youth of the Jamat (community) over all other segments of the Jamat — and so my decision between the Blue Jays game and Ismailis in action wasn’t hard to make. After a quick breakfast at McDonald’s, I used my GPS for directions to Weaselhead/Glenmore Park using the postal code in the community’s Al-Akhbar newsletter. Alas, the parking area I reached was not the meeting place. Luckily an Ismaili volunteer, Khadijah, arrived at the location at the same time. She made a phone call or two, and asked me to follow her to the proper location.
Dylann Golbeck, the Coordinator of the Invasive Plants Program at the Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society, presents an informative workshop and gives instructions to the Ismaili Civic Day volunteers before they proceed to remove invasive plants from the Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
Around 30 Ismaili Civic Day volunteers, from young children to youth to professionals of the Ismaili community, had registered for the event. The number had to be limited, as the goal was to focus on a specific forested area of the park containing invasive plants. Of course, there are other areas in the same park with invasive plants.
Dylann Golbeck, the Coordinator of the Invasive Plants Program at the Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society, provided the group with an excellent orientation about the program and inspired us by telling us that we were stewards and helping to promote a healthy ecosystem. The invasive species that were targeted by Dylann were Cotoneaster and Tatarian Honeysuckle.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers select their tools for removing invasive plants from a section of the Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
She explained that by pulling the invasive species out from the ground we were preventing their spread in order to help maintain biodiversity in the park which leads to a more resilient habitat. We were warned about animals in the park, including coyotes. Group members then picked their tools and set off for Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park for the task at hand.
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Coyotes are common in several Calgary Parks. The Ismaili Civic Day volunteers did not encounter any; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers commence their 25 minute walk to a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers walk through a section of Weaselhead Park rich in fall colours; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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A plaque explaining the history of The Weaselhead; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
After a good walk of around 20 minutes, the group made a short detour through a forested area for another brief workshop session. We then continued along our original path until Dylann had arrived at a section that she knew contained invasive plants.
She explained how the invasives were to be pulled up with the tools that we had. They were then to be hung up on tree branches to dry so that they would die in a few days. In total she tagged 115 invasive plants with orange ribbons. In addition to tagging Cotoneaster and Tatarian Honeysuckle, she also found three European Barberry invasive plants in the same area. The Ismaili volunteers then went to work in an impressive and disciplined manner. The younger ones removed the smaller plants. There were invasives with deep roots, some intertiwned with roots of surrounding trees, and it took 4 or 5 strong hands to dig deep into the ground and pull them out.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers pose for a photograph with fall colours behind them on their way to Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers take a short detour for another brief workship section with Dylann Golbeck; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers listen to Dylann Golbeck (not shown) as she presents another brief workshop explaining the features of Weaselhead Park; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Dylann Golbeck uses orange ribbons to begin tagging invasive plants in a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park for removal by Ismaili Civic Day volunteers; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
An Ismaili Civic Day volunteer digs into the ground to remove an invasive plant from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; Calgary, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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After removal, the invasive plant is hung onto a branch of a tree to dry out and die; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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A team of Ismaili Civic Day volunteer dig into the ground to remove a deeply rooted invasive plant from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Young Ismaili Civic Day volunteers get some assistance from a senior Ismaili volunteer to remove an invasive plant from a section of the Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers, men and women alike, participate in the removal of invasive plants from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Dylann Golbeck continues to locate and mark invasive plants with an orange ribbon for removal by Ismaili Civic Day volunteers in a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers dig up a tagged invasive plant in a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers take a short break as they pose for a photograph after removing an invasive plant from a section of the Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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His Highness the Aga Khan seen addressing at the House of Commons Chambers to both the houses of Canadian Parliament on Thursday, February 27, 2014. Photograph: The Office of the Prime Minister of Canada.
I have been impressed by recent studies showing the activity of voluntary institutions and not-for-profit organisations in Canada to be among the highest in the world. This Canadian spirit resonates with a cherished principle in Shia Ismaili culture — the importance of contributing one’s individual energies on a voluntary basis to improving the lives of others. This is not a matter of philanthropy, but rather of self-fulfillment — “enlightened self-fulfillment.” — Excerpt from the Aga Khan’s address to the Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, 2014.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers display the roots of an invasive plant they removed from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
An Ismaili Civic Day volunteer display the roots of a huge invansive plant he removed from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers take a short break from their task of removing invasive plants from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park, September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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Ismaili Civic Day volunteers, men and women alike, take on the task of removing a deeply rooted invasive plant located alongside a tree, from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
A photograph of the numerous tools that were in play to remove a deeply rooted invasive plant from a section of the Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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An Ismaili Civic Day volunteer displays the roots of a huge invasive plant he and his collegues removed from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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A young Ismaili Civic Day volunteer joins his seniors to help remove a deeply rooted invasive plant from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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An Ismaili Civic Day volunteer carries aloft an invasive plant that was removed from a section of Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
Younger volunteers then went around and removed the orange tags from the uprooted plants that had been hung on tree branches. Dylann counted 115 in total. What a day of accomplishment!.
We then set off for the parking lot where we had started but not before being surprisingly offered timbits and coffee that the Praires Aga Khan Council member, Alisha, had brought with her. A group photo with the stunning fall trees in the background was taken, before we walked back to the parking lot, energized by the timbits.
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A young Ismaili Civic Day volunteer goes around removing tags from uprooted invasive plants. The final tally of invasive plants removed was 115; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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An Ismaili event is incomplete without refreshments and Ismaili Civic Day volunteers were thoughtfully offered coffee and timbits at the location where invasive plants were removed; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
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A group photo of the Ismaili Civic Day volunteers who remained at the Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park until the end of the highly successful Civic Day event. The volunteers worked harmoniously to remove 115 invasive plants; September 24, 2023. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.
Thank you Dylann, Alisha of the Prairies Aga Khan Council and all the dynamic Ismaili Civic Day volunteers for making this a memorable event and being part of the worldwide Ismaili community’s efforts to enrich communities in their respective countries in unique ways. The Calgary Ismaili Civic Day volunteers contributed to making an important park in the city better and healthier.
Date posted: September 25, 2023.
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