Features Education Event Reports
Ontario Land Reclamation and Rehabilitation Symposium coming to Guelph

May 23, 2017 – The Ontario Land Reclamation and Rehabilitation Symposium and Field Trips will be taking place from June 26 to 28, 2017 at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ont. 

The two-day workshop and field trips are presented by The Ontario Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (OSSGA), Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) and Ontario Mining Association (OMA).

Agenda
Monday, June 26

Founder’s Reception
An event to recognize the founders of CLRA who have made outstanding contributions to rehabilitation within the mining and aggregate industries. Hosted at the Guelph Arboretum which was awarded an OSSGA Bronze Plaque in 1996 for its reclamation of a gravel pit to an outstanding education and research asset to the University and community.

Tuesday, June 27
Day 1 – Symposium presentations

• Reclamation Plenary – Dr. Bev Hale, University of Guelph
• The Use of Habitat Equivalency Analysis to Quantify Reclamation Success Demonstrating Net Gain Biodiversity – Ginny King & Barbara Hard, Arcadis
• Beyond 3:1 and MTO Mix Rehabilitation – Stephen May, CBM Aggregates
• Excess Soil Management Regulations – Speaker TBD, MOECC
• Role of Relative Humidity in Governing Fugitive Dust Concentrations – Cheryl McKenna Neuman, Trent University
• Moving Towards the Integration of Technology into Indigenous Knowledge-Led Site Remediation Solutions – Mary Bowden, Eigth Fire Solutions

Concurrent Session A

• The Recycling of Recycled Materials in Restoration of Mining Sites – Neil Ryan, Englobe
• Integrated Approach to the Rehabilitation of Mine Workings and Tailings Management Areas at a Former Uranium Mine Site – Mike Gunsinger, Golder Associates
• The Influence of Time, Soil Organic Matter, and Leach Rate on Nickel Speciation in Soil and Its Effect on Bioaccessiblity – Bev Hale, University of Guelph
• Evaluating the Ability of Alyssum Mural L. to Extract Nickel from Nickel-Elevated Soils from Port Colborne, Ontario – Kim Zupfer, University of Guelph
• Site Characterization and Cleanup Criteria for Long Lake Gold Mine – Ljiljana Josic, SNC Lavalin
• A Review of Geochemical Interactions of Aggregate and Amendment Types in Mine Reclamation – Jennifer Durocher, Klohn Crippen Berger
• Early Biodiversity in Technosols on Mine Rock in the Boreal Shield – Renate Vanderhorst, Laurentian University
• Tactical Deployment of Hydromulch as a Cost Effective Method to Coal Mine Reclamation in Weedy Environments – Trevor Kloeck, Synermulch Erosion Control Products

Concurrent Session B

• Rapid Ecological Restoration for Aggregate Sites: Mimicking Habitats and Relocating Living Mulch from Hardwood Forests – Paul Richardson, University of Waterloo
• Rehabilitation at the Cannington Pit in Brock Township – Mike Lebreton, CBM Aggregates and Glenn Harrington, Harrington McAvan
• “Just Add Water”: Wetland Restoration in Aggregate Rehabilitation Plans – Mike Williams, Ducks Unlimited Canada
• Erosion Control Solutions for Soil Management and Vegetative Establishment – Cathy Wall, Quality Seeds
• Metal Mixtures in Soil: Testing the Concentration Addition Approash as a Risk Assessment Tool – Pooja Arora, University of Guelph
• Rehabilitaiton of a Quarry to a Vineyard: A Case Study of Walker Aggregates’ Vineland Quarries – Frank Kielbowich, Walker Aggregates
• A Wind Tunnel Evaluation of the Efficacy of Four Commercial Surface Treatments for Dust Suppresion – Colette Preston, Trent University
• Capability and Benefits of Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs or Drones) for Aggregate Rehabilitation – Daniel Metzeg, Enaerica Inc.

Reception and banquet 
Delta Hotels Guelph Conference Centre – 50 Stone Rd. W., Guelph, Ont.
A full schedule will be available upon arrival.

Wednesday, June 28
Day 2 – Tour Agenda

Tour option 1: Aggregate Tour (8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
The Aggregate Tour will feature a tour of brownfield sites and aggregate sites within the Guelph area that have been rehabilitated to a variety of land uses.

Tour stops include:

• Eastview Pollinator Park, a former 45-ha. landfill site that is now home to pollinator habitat.

• Kelso Quarry Park, a rehabilitated quarry within the NEP and Greenbelt, that now contains a lake, beach, boardwalk, shoals for fish habitat and a trail network that connects to the Bruce Trail.

• A naturalized aggregate site which includes a rare fen plant community and is located just north of the Fletcher Creek Ecological Preserve.

• CBM’s McMillan Pit, a former pit converted to an aquaculture facility which is now home to thousands of rainbow trout.

• Capital Paving’s Wellington 5 Pit where the land was returned to agricultural use, and rehabilitation plans include a wildlife corridor.

• Guelph Metalworks, a Canadian Brownsfield Network award winner for reclamation of industrial lands.

Tour option 2: Mining Tour (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
The Mining Tour will include visits to the experimental plots near the city of Port Colborne Ont., the location of Vale Canada’s Ni refinery, which operated until the early 1980s, resulting in elevated soil Ni, Cu and Co concentrations in agricultural fields and woodlots. Remediation strategies being demonstrated on the agricultural fields include deep-till and liming at various rates. The tour will also stop at a woodlot on soil with very high Ni concentrations, for which remediation options are being considered. 

Visits to two other locations are also planned.

For more information or to register, click here.