We want to leave restored land that people are proud to see for generations after that.
Name
Steve Gaudet
Title
Manager Environment
Company:
Syncrude Canada Ltd.
Location
Fort McMurray, Alberta
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Restored Land
In an area that used to be a mine, the distant hills have now been reclaimed to a forest. It's really important to us that people hear about the good work that we're doing.
Back about 3 decades ago it was all about trees. Now we've gone from about 4 to 5 types of trees but also adding different types of shrubs and other types of plants.
I see two squirrels chasing each other for a cone. It's pretty exciting that they're returning.
We want to leave restored land that people are proud to see for generations after that.
The Land Matters
A forest should look and feel like a forest. Thirty years ago, reclamation meant planting trees. Today, we create a much more diverse and natural landscape, including wetlands and a variety of trees, shrubs and plants. We want to leave restored land that makes everyone proud.
This 104-hectare site was planted with broadleaf and evergreen trees in 1983 and 25 years later, in 2008, the Alberta government formally certified Gateway Hill as reclaimed – the first such certification in the oil sands industry.Read more
“As soon as a mining area is no longer part of our operation, we start the process of reclaiming the land,” says Steve Gaudet, the Environmental Affairs manager at Syncrude.
Over the last five years, Syncrude has invested about $100 million on oil sands land reclamation. To date, Syncrude has reclaimed over 4,500 hectares and planted over five million tree seedlings.
We are using innovation to help us return the land we use - including reclaiming tailings ponds - to a sustainable landscape that is equal to or better than how we found it.