Training

SYNCRUDE PROJECT

Location: Fort Mc Murray, Alberta.

Client: Fort McKay Environmental Services Ltd.

Objective: To train and supervise a local crew in the installation of erosion control blankets in conjunction with live cuttings and grass seeding.

In late July of 2003, Terra Erosion Control Ltd. was requested to provide training and supervision to a local crew from Fort Mc Kay Environmental Services Ltd. The project took place within a drainage swale of the Southwest Sands Storage Area at Syncrude Canada in Fort McMurray, AB. It consisted of identifying and collecting various native species for use in live staking, installation of erosion control blankets and broadcast seeding.

Originally, this swale was drained via an underground piping system that eventually failed and had to be removed. Upon removal of the underground pipe, the excavated area was filled with a layer of reclamation material composed of locally collected peat from muskeg. The area was seeded with a Syncrude approved seed mix and erosion control blankets were installed over the reclamation material to stabilize the soil until vegetation developed. The blankets were anchored to the substrate using a combination of biodegradable blanket staples and live stakes. The live stakes were cuttings of willow, balsam poplar and red osier dogwood, three species that will grow from cuttings when placed within the vadose zone, in contact with soil and moisture, during a late summer application.