Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

NAIT has been in the business of providing highly trained forestry, petroleum engineering and other highdemand trainees to industry for over 30 years. novaNAIT Boreal Research Institute is a satellite campus ofNAIT located 500 km northwest of Edmonton. Our program called Field Technologies for Boreal Reclamationbuilds upon the Institute's commitment to applied research and technology transfer.Industrial growth is putting pressure on Alberta's boreal forest with a growing backlog of almost 50,000abandoned oil and gas well sites in forested areas. Land reclamation is the process of restoring industrial sitesto a state similar to their original condition. New Alberta reclamation criteria require that these industrial sitesbe reclaimed using native boreal plants. The novaNAIT Boreal Research Institute contributes forest ecologicalknowledge through a network of oil and gas companies, reclamation companies, government, First Nations andMétis partners. Small and medium-sized enterprises carry out the majority of reclamation work and bringforward the innovation required to serve their clientele.This program introduces technologies to address the unique requirements of boreal seed supply in northwestAlberta. The program identifies innovative soil management and solutions needed to re-vegetate oil and gaswell sites. The program is a forum to develop social and economic ties with aboriginal and Métis communitiesand incorporate aboriginal ecological knowledge into reclamation practices. NAIT's information technologyand forestry expertise is an asset to establish best practices and software applications for field operators in thereclamation industry. Nurseries, reclamation contractors, operators, and aboriginal enterprises will benefit byadopting these new technologies. Advancing reclamation will have a positive impact on the health of the borealforest and the economic outlook for communities in the Alberta's northwest boreal region.