Police Point Park sits just past Ranchlands, and for several years it has been a test site for invasive weeds. In 2023, volunteers pulled about 2,050 common buckthorn plants from several city parks, and Police Point was one of them. City crews have sprayed it. Goats grazed it. In 2025 the City released flea beetles into test plots to eat leafy spurge.
This October, the Nature Centre's calendar lines up with that work. The current display covers invasive plants. One workshop teaches you to grow native prairie plants from seed. A guided walk follows the birds moving through the valley. Each one teaches you to recognize what belongs in the river valley and what doesn't, and that's the skill the park's weed control depends on.
The October dates, in order
As of October 5, 2026, here is what's still ahead at the park.
| Date | What | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Now through Nov. 8 | "Space Invaders: The Story of Invasive Plants" display | Police Point Park Nature Centre, opened Sept. 15 |
| Thu., Oct. 15 | "Birds on the Move" migration walk | 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., free, info at 403-529-6225 |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | Great Pumpkin Run registration closes | Noon Pacific time |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | The Great Pumpkin Run 2026 | 10K starts 10:30 a.m., 5K at 11 a.m., costumes optional |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | "Propagating Prairie Plants" seed-saving workshop | 1 to 3 p.m., $5 per person, registration required |
The MH Interpretive Program runs the display, the walk and the workshop from the Nature Centre. Union Races organizes the Pumpkin Run. The registration page doesn't list an entry fee, so check it before you sign up. The display runs about five more weeks, which gives you time to see it before the workshop and again after.
The display makes more sense once you know the park's two problem weeds
The MHIP describes "Space Invaders" as a look at invasive plants from the Victorian era to today, with a focus on how people can slow their spread and help native species recover. Two plants it covers are growing just past the Ranchlands fence line, and Alberta treats them very differently.
Alberta updated its regulated weed list effective January 28, 2026. The provincial Weed Control Act sorts regulated weeds into two tiers.
- Prohibited noxious weeds must be destroyed. Common buckthorn and flowering rush are on this list.
- Noxious weeds must be controlled. Leafy spurge, Canada thistle and common baby's-breath fall here.
Grasslands Naturalists has recorded common buckthorn at Police Point Park, along with hound's-tongue. The City has described leafy spurge as established and increasing in the park. One weed has to go entirely. The other has dug in too far for that, so the goal is to hold it back. The park is dealing with both at once, and each one called for a different approach.
Why the City sent beetles after the spurge
The City's July 2025 newsletter said hand-pulling and mowing don't control established leafy spurge well. Spurge spreads underground, so cutting the top barely slows it. The City first brought in goats at Police Point Park and then moved to a biological control, copper leafy spurge flea beetles.
By July 2025, more than 2,000 flea beetles from the Alberta Invasive Species Council had been released into test plots in the park. The Medicine Hat News reported that City staff planned weed counts that fall and the following year to see whether the trial was working. The research behind this post didn't turn up those results, so the beetle trial is best described as something the City started in 2025.
Before that, in May 2025, the MHIP ran a public Invasive Plant Survey at Police Point focused on leafy spurge. Volunteers identified plants, removed them and logged sightings in EDDMapS, the reporting system the Alberta Invasive Species Council uses.
The City's description of its integrated pest management lays out the approach. Crews spot-spray target plants, hand-pick where no herbicide is approved for the weed and use biological controls such as the beetles. The City also says native plants have come back where invasive species were cut back or removed. That recovery is why the Oct. 24 workshop fits so well.
Buckthorn comes down to who can spot it
Spurge got beetles. Buckthorn has mostly come down to people pulling it. In 2023, Grasslands Naturalists volunteers estimated they removed about 2,050 common buckthorn plants across Police Point Park, Kin Coulee and the West Ajax Trail, SE Hill and Connaught Pond. City staff sprayed buckthorn trees at Police Point, SE Hill and Kin Coulee/West Ajax that fall.
By August 2024, the Medicine Hat News described common buckthorn as a serious problem at Police Point Park. The MHIP and Grasslands Naturalists held a public pull there. A big part of it was learning to tell buckthorn from native chokecherry before doing any hands-on control. The two shrubs are easy to confuse, and pulling the wrong one does real damage.
That's where the October calendar comes in. The display teaches you what to remove, and the seed-saving workshop teaches you what to grow in its place. The Grasslands Naturalists report also names plants that worry local volunteers but have no provincial status. Russian olive is one of them. The group calls it non-regulated, and it isn't on Alberta's current list. The same report lists German statice, absinthe wormwood and bittersweet nightshade as growing concerns that either fall outside provincial rules or need more guidance. For plants like these, the law doesn't require removal, so control depends on people being able to recognize them.
The walk on Oct. 15 covers the valley's other visitors
"Birds on the Move" is a free, hour-long walk in Police Point Park on Thursday, Oct. 15, starting at 3:30 p.m. The plants the display covers arrived and stayed. The birds on this walk are passing through the valley.
Older Grasslands Naturalists reports show what fall in the park can turn up. In its October 2019 newsletter, the group noted Yellow-rumped Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and sparrows still around the region into October. Observers that year saw a Harris's Sparrow feeding with White-crowned Sparrows beside a road in Police Point Park on Oct. 4 and a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk in the park on Sept. 21. Those sightings are from one year and can't predict what will show up on Oct. 15. They do show that mid-October is still active in the cottonwoods.
The walk also starts late enough on a weekday that you can head over from Ranchlands after work or school pickup. If you have a dog along, the City's new leash rules took effect September 8, 2026. Parks and trails are on-leash by default now, and the City's designated off-leash areas include an unfenced section along the Ranchlands and Parkview neighborhoods.
The same idea at Palliser Park
The thinking behind the Police Point work also shows up inside Ranchlands. In summer 2025, Palliser Park in Ranchlands finished an upgrade with alternative landscaping and a more efficient irrigation system. A City parks representative described the result to CHAT News Today:
"That looks absolutely fantastic. It had some new alternative landscaping and a new, more efficient irrigation system put in."
Palliser Park, at 47 Palliser Way NE, is also on the City's outdoor rink list. The City says outdoor rinks usually open from December to March, weather permitting, and depend on Adopt-a-Rink volunteers. Palliser Crescent Rink is on the list of rinks that need them. If you'd like to help keep the neighborhood rink going this winter, the Adopt-a-Rink page is the place to start. Most of the October programs at Police Point run on volunteers in the same way.
Want to know how parks like Police Point and Palliser shape day-to-day life in Ranchlands? Bob Ruzicka is happy to talk it through, whether you're thinking about your next move or just curious what your home is worth. Let's connect for exclusive listings and a free home valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
