Do It Green (DIG) is a social enterprise officially launched in August 2013, in part to help manage all the waste at the Alberta Flood Aid benefit concert. Specializing in creating zero-waste events, DIG has helped its clients including the Calgary Stampede, Comic Expo and others divert more than 10 metric tons of waste away from the landfill and reached more than two million people through public education programs. DIG’s …
Circle T Consulting
Prior to the mid-1990s, reclamation guidelines for agricultural zones were used to reclaim upland forested well-sites, resulting in open meadow instead of closed forest. Until recently, well-sites in peat-lands were reclaimed to upland forests, leaving islands of forest within wetlands. In response, Circle T Consulting initiated large-scale upland and wetland experiments in 2003 and 2007, resulting in science-based recommendations for industry and government, and improved planning, construction and reclamation best-practices …
Sandhill Fen Technical Advisory Committee
Reclamation research is integral to Syncrude fulfilling its commitment to return land disturbed by mining to a productive, biologically self-sustaining ecosystem. In 2008, Syncrude launched the Sandhill Fen Watershed Research Project to learn how to design and incorporate peat-forming wetlands into operational scale reclamation. The Sandhill Fen is the largest reclaimed wetland in the oil sands and the first ever landform constructed on a foundation of oil sands tailings. The …
Suncor Nikanotee Fen
In 2013, Suncor achieved the extraordinary: the construction of the most common wetland type in the northern boreal forest region – the fen. The Nikanotee Fen program advances reclamation and sustainability practices in the oil sands and the world by enhancing the ability to reclaim the diversity of wetland landscapes, thereby increasing the similarity of the reclaimed landscape to pre-disturbance conditions. Knowledge gained throughout the design, construction and monitoring phases …
Mammoet Canada Western Ltd
When it comes to environmental stewardship, Mammoet Canada Western Ltd leads by example. Through their Triple Bottom Line approach to sustainability, which focuses on People, Planet, and Profit, the heavy-lifting and transport company is committed to reducing their global footprint through responsible resource management. Auxiliary Power Pack Units and GPS devices have been installed on all heavy equipment to significantly reduce idling time during harsh Alberta winters. Customized reports provide …
Montane Elk Project
The Montane Elk Program is committed to research ensuring the environmentally sound development of Alberta’s energy resources. With a particular focus on mitigating the effects of energy development on elk in southwest Alberta, the project has become the world’s largest radiotelemetry study on elk. Mitigating the ecological effects of energy development is achieved by sharing roads with the ranching and timber-harvesting industries and by gating and reclaiming roads to natural …
Landscape Ecological Assessment and Planning (LEAP) and the Algar Restoration Pilot Project
Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) is an alliance of oil sands producers focused on accelerating the pace of improvement in environmental performance in Canada’s oil sands through collaborative action and innovation. The COSIA companies share a common commitment to environmental stewardship and have invested significant resources into innovative approaches to restore footprint and improve woodland caribou habitat. The Landscape Ecological Assessment and Planning (LEAP) process was employed to first …
Stewardship of Alberta’s Native Rangelands
Jalen Hulit is an inspiring youth growing up on his Family’s ranch along the north slopes of the Sweet Grass Hills. For the past three years, Jalen has participated in the Southern Alberta Youth Range Days (YRD) program – a summer camp that provides an opportunity for aspiring young adults interested in Native Rangelands, Ranching, Watersheds and Wildlife related topics to learn about management and receive mentoring from professionals working …
Environmental Education
Derek is a true environmental leader and active member of the SLISE program (Student Led Initiatives for Sustainable Education). While maintaining honours grades, he tirelessly devotes his time to making the world a healthier place. Despite his busy academic life, he has spear-headed humanitarian and environmental initiatives of fundraising to purchase water filtration devices to help with the cholera outbreak in Haiti. No matter what challenges come before him, Derek …
Mycoremediation of the Oil Sands
Since the age of 15, Kelcie has been pursuing her own research in an effort to create a method of remediation to combat the tailing ponds created by one of Alberta’s leading industries – the Alberta Oil Sands. Developing a novel method of remediation that utilizes oyster mushrooms, her research showed a substantial reduction of petroleum hydrocarbons, naphthenic acids and pH levels and an enhanced sodium absorption ratio of both …