Grant: Applied Research Tools and Instruments Grants

novaNAIT Boreal Research Institute is a satellite campus of NAIT located 500 km northwest of Edmonton. Industrial growth is putting pressure on Alberta's boreal forest with a growing backlog of almost 50,000 abandoned oil and gas well sites in forested areas. Land reclamation is the process of restoring industrial sites to a state similar to their original condition. New Alberta reclamation criteria require that these industrial sites be reclaimed using native boreal plants. Our proposal called Field Technologies for Boreal Reclamation received funding from CCI NSERC in November 2010 to work with local companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and develop seed collection and seedling production approaches for select native species. Native seeds and propagules used for reclamation most likely will need to be registered, which will require information on germination and dormancy. We are requesting two germination chambers to support preliminary stages of a long term project on re-vegetating areas disturbed by the oil and gas industry in north western Alberta. Germinators allow for very high temperature, humidity and lighting control and uniformity. They are essential instruments not only to determine germination percentages of a seed lot, but also to help break some forms of seed dormancy to insure that viable seeds will germinate. NAIT has been in the business of providing highly trained forestry, petroleum engineering and other high demand trainees to industry for over 30 years, and offers land reclamation education within five core programs. A large number of students need to be familiar with reclamation regulations and practices in Alberta, which will include the process of harvesting, and processing native seeds for use in reclamation projects. Considering the interest of the provincial government and industry in native plant and seed propagation, the training of highly qualified personnel in the area would meet future needs.