From Waste to Resource: How Nutrien’s Reforestation Initiative Supports Biodiversity at their Fort Saskatchewan Site
An innovative reclamation process piloted at Nutrien’s Fort Saskatchewan facility uses phosphogypsum – a gypsum byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry – to create thriving forests.
Phosphogypsum is a powdery gypsum byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer production process. Huge piles of the material, known as gypstacks, are found at phosphate sites worldwide, including Nutrien’s. While Nutrien doesn’t make phosphate fertilizer at their Fort Saskatchewan site, a previous owner of the location did – so Nutrien took responsibility for the remediation of the gypstacks.
Typically, gypstack reclamation involves contouring the piles, covering them with soil and seeding them to a grass mixture. Nutrien environmental scientist, Dr. Connie Nichol, wondered about taking reclamation one step further and planting trees instead.
In 2005, Nichol began partnering with scientists at the University of Alberta to explore better ways to close and reclaim the gypstacks. She started by growing grass, which is standard practice – but in 2014, Tim Keddy, Wood Fibre Development Specialist with the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, visited the site and had an idea: Why not grow trees instead? Trees are just as good at preventing erosion and seepage, require less maintenance, sequester more carbon and at the end of their life cycle, can be harvested for biomass or wood chips.
“After twenty years, we discovered the best way to reclaim these stacks was to mix in a little soil into the gypsum and create a deep seed bed and you can pretty much grow whatever you want,” described Connie.
Nutrien’s Fort Saskatchewan Nitrogen Facility has already planted 44,000 trees on 20 hectares of phosphogypsum. The trees are now thriving, some having already reached heights of more than nine metres tall. In June 2023, in partnership with Project Forest and Trees for Life, the site began expanding on this project, planting an additional 26,000 hybrid poplar trees over 17 hectares. Nutrien’s Fort Saskatchewan site expects the trees will grow from 1.5 to two meters a year. The tree plantations are not only aesthetically pleasing, they also bring environmental benefits to the area, including new wildlife habitat, a stronger local ecosystem, and carbon sequestration capturing an estimate of 1,000 tonnes a year of carbon dioxide.
Connie has also established a 22,000-square-foot garden on the site, where she grows a variety of vegetables, flowers and berries. The project has also been nominated for provincial- and federal level environmental awards, and been featured in numerous publications, including Fertilizer International magazine and the Canadian Forest Service newsletter.
The Beaver Baffler: A Damn Good Solution
Early on in NWR Sturgeon Refinery’s construction, the company realized they needed a solution to mitigate the serious flooding and water management issues that were a result of the beavers damming the nearby creek. In order to maintain the wildlife corridor around their fence line, which serves as an important conduit for various species so they can move across the agricultural and industrial zone safely, a Beaver Baffler was initiated.
A Beaver Baffler is like the overflow drain in your bathtub—it’s a safeguard to keep the water where it’s intended. At NWR Sturgeon Refinery, the Beaver Baffler ensures the water in the nearby creek doesn’t flood the surrounding area.
A Beaver Baffler is made up of a series of plastic pipes and a wire cage that’s put at one end of the beaver dam, at the desired height of the pond, to help stop the beavers from clogging the pipes with debris. Water flows freely through the dam without disturbing the beavers, helping to lower the creek’s water levels and preventing flooding. This has a domino effect, preserving and enhancing this movement corridor and promoting the overall well-being of the local environment. The Beaver Baffler is just one example of NWR’s dedication to responsible environmental practices and sustainable development.
A new take on biodiversity impact at Shell Scotford
As a trusted voice of industry in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, the Northeast Capital Industrial Association (NCIA) supports their member companies in protecting air, land and water, but also helps foster value alignment and positive company cultures that make the co-existence of biodiversity in and around industry operations a priority. In recent years, member company Shell Scotford has undertaken an inclusive approach to reduce their impact on local biodiversity, making the birds and bees an essential part of their operations.
Along the banks of the North Saskatchewan river, the Scotford complex is home to a wide range of wildlife, including birds, mammals and bees. While the company uses deterrents to reduce safety risks to wildlife around some industry operations, they have also engaged in new ways to reduce disruption to the natural rhythms of the ecosystem. Scotford’s Powering Progress Strategy includes integrating better timing of certain activities, avoiding certain areas of the site, as well as paying close attention to operations design. It also includes investing in conversation and taking steps to safeguard, and where possible, enhance local environments.
One of their most successful programs has been the Peregrine Falcon nesting box. Peregrines are considered an at-risk species in Canada, with approximately 60-75 breeding pairs in Alberta. The first falcons chose Scotford as home in 2017. Following that, the company partnered with the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) to erect a nesting box for the falcon pair and their young to nest safely on the site in Spring 2022. A falcon web cam has been a huge source of interest, allowing anyone to monitor the raptors’ activity. Being able to watch the birds in action has also been key in building awareness and involving the workforce in a growing company-wide culture built on environmental stewardship. Biodiversity is not seen as a “nuisance” but as a gift that is essential to the well-being of the ecosystem, as well as the ongoing operations of the company.
A new sense of collective responsibility has also grown with the honeybee projects. Local beekeepers who work at Scotford manage the hives and harvest the honey, which was sold locally in 2022, with proceeds donated to United Way. The trickle-down effect of getting creative with symbiotic relationships has also invited in external organizations and expertise, such as the ACA and Alberta Environment & Protected Areas. This multi-disciplinary approach to the ongoing operations at Scotford is not only about co-existence with wildlife, but also contributes to research and education of these important migratory birds, and other species.
Sherritt Enhances Habitat at Fort Saskatchewan Site
As a member of the Mining Association of Canada (MAC), Sherritt International Corporation (Sherritt) is committed to implementing MACs ‘Towards Sustainable Mining’, which includes a protocol for the promotion, monitoring and management of biodiversity. During the development of the Biodiversity Conservation Management Plan at Sherritt’s Fort Saskatchewan facility in 2022, undeveloped natural areas and aquatic ecosystems were identified as significant biodiversity aspects with high value-added potential. In response, a Streambank Riparian Enhancement Plan was formed and rolled out in Q2 2023.
Over one thousand native plants including live willow stakes, potted shrubs and tree seedlings were installed by LandSaga Biogeographical Incorporated along Josephburg Creek, which overlaps with the southern reach of the Fort Saskatchewan site. This habitat enhancement project will improve habitat connectivity for terrestrial wildlife and add additional vegetative buffers to Josephburg Creek for watershed protection. A site-wide volunteer tree planting event held on June 21, 2023 as part of this work represented a successful close-out the project and celebrated Sherritt’s long-standing commitment to community and environmental stewardship.
