An information night about the history of Tatawa Park is coming up on Friday here in Moose Jaw. They will be speaking on the history of the park, both cultural and natural, as well as future plans and goals.

Kimberley Epp, President of the Moose Jaw Nature Society, said it will be an informative night with two speakers who both have unique angles to present.

Rich Pickering, who used to be a zoo keeper at the wild animal park, has since been involved in conservation efforts with the park. Epp said that he has been "trying to prevent the park from being zoned into condos or what have you. He's in charge of Bisonfest and all sorts of things. He's going to talk about the natural history of the park."

They formed a group called Common Ground, in the last 15 years or so, with efforts to try and protect the park. "Rich is going to be leading a lot of those efforts", added Epp. "Bisonfest is in August, he'll be talking about some of the species out there. How the bison used to manage the grasslands, and how you really need to have a large animal like cattle or buffalo, because it prevents a lot of species from living there."

The other speaker will be Kayleigh Olson, who will be talking about the parks cultural and indigenous history. Keyleigh Olson was also on the renaming committee, she's going to speak about the indigenous history and she did a lot of research about the park, it's history, and spoke to elders about the park.

"We're going to have a BioBlitz this summer, to see what kinds of species are out there" added Epp. "Which is important for future conservation if it's going to be made into a park, say like Wanuskewin. See what kind of species need to be protected."

The meeting is free for the public, at St Mark's Presbyterian Church - 80 High Street East at 6:30 pm. Head to the side Door, goes down to the basement.

For more information on The Moose Jaw Nature Society, the upcoming meeting, or to join, head to their Facebook page.