Seine is city's 'hidden treasure'
The Winnipeg Free Press
Sunday, October 12th, 2003
By Aldo Santin

ADVENTURER and traveller Don Starkell joined members of the nvironmental group Save Our Seine on a leisurely canoe trip down the Seine River yesterday, and he was happy with what he saw.

"I've been canoeing here since 1948 and the river's never been in better condition," said Starkell, who manages to return for trips down the Seine between canoe expeditions in the Arctic and on the Amazon River.

Members of Save Our Seine said there is a lot of vegetation along the shoreline, which provides riverbank stability, and more wildlife than could be seen in recent years.

"This is Winnipeg's hidden treasure... it's such an amazing river," said David Danyluk, Save Our Seine's co-ordinator.

As the group paddled down the river - they were conducting a wildlife inventory yesterday - Starkell kept the others entertained with stories of his clashes with Sandinista soldiers in Nicaragua, exchanges with river boat captains along the Mississippi River, and frigid adventures in the Arctic.

The eight-hour expedition began in the morning darkness amid drizzle at a spot where the Seine flows north past the Perimeter Highway and ended in late afternoon in brilliant sunshine at Whittier Park, where the Seine flows into the Red River. The trip took the six canoeists into the city's rural outskirts, snaked behind the condominium suburbs of south St. Vital, and through three golf courses and the residential streets of Old St. Boniface.

The trip was primarily to identify potential beaver problem areas, Danyluk said. Next summer, a team of teens will return to the river and wrap chicken wire around trees likely to be targeted by beavers.

The Save Our Seine River Environment Inc. is a non-profit community-based organization and registered charity with over 600 members whose mandate is to protect, preserve and promote the Seine River within Winnipeg.

Danyluk said the Seine, with all its twists and turns, is 27 kilometres long - longer through the city than the Assiniboine River.

Constance Menzies, an SOS volunteer who was marking the beaver spots on a map, and who grew up in south St. Boniface, said there's been a dramatic turnaround in the river.

"My sister and I used to come here all the time when we were kids but back then we called it the "Insane River" - it was all spooky and full of junk," Menzies said.

In addition to seeing beavers and a large deer, the group pulled a small cart out from underneath the John Bruce footbridge, encountered a great deal of construction insulation and retrieved a large number of beer bottles and cans.

Danyluk said SOS wants to encourage more recreational use of the river, which he believes is ideal for the beginner or novice canoeist.

"It's one of the safest rivers, because if you capsize, you can just stand up and walk to the shoreline," Danyluk said.

The canoes and life jackets for the trip were provided by Paul Gossen, co-owner of Northern Soul, a wilderness adventure operation. Danyluk said SOS will partner with Northern Soul next summer for paddling excursions down the river.

Next Saturday afternoon, SOS is hosting a free barbecue and tour of the 100-year-old Oak Forest, at the end of John Bruce Road, where volunteers will guide visitors through the Oxbow wetlands and White Aspen Grove.

Danyluk said SOS's long-term goals include paddling trips for the blind, women, seniors and scouts.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
photo:Ken Gigiliotti
© 2003 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved.

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