PROJECT 21-06a
Willowlee Sod Ltd. hydroseeding site following the completion of the site grading plan.
Video Provided by Willowlee Sod. Ltd.
Improving rehabilitation strategies that address challenging sites that lack organics, promote ecosystem restoration faster and more completely, and are sustainable with minimal maintenance is essential to eliminating legacy sites in the province.
The MAAP program has been collaborating with academic and industrial partners to broaden our body of knowledge and acquire tools that will improve the rehabilitation strategies for end- of- life aggregate pits and quarries.
In the fall of 2021, the MAAP program rehabilitated legacy aggregate pits in Peterborough County and the City of Kawartha Lakes. Prior to construction test pitting was completed on the sites to determine the quantity, and quality of topsoil at the sites. Unfortunately, many of these sites were 40-70 years old and had little to no topsoil stored on site and surrounding native land had only a thin veneer so sharing would be undesirable. Remember, legacy sites predate the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) and were never licenced under ARA.
The MAAP team has been working with local industry to determine best practices when faced with these challenges, including the use of biotic soil medias. This fall, MAAP hydroseeded the legacy sites requiring additional ‘soil’ with a product that controls erosion, increases vegetation establishment, and provides beneficial microbes and mycorrhizae fungi to aid in nutrient uptake and root establishment. Early result show that the product is working, and we look forward to reporting on its efficacy to aid in soil development in sequential years.
PROJECT 21-06a Photographs
