NSAC alumnus and graduate student Brent Jackson works to "green" a retired mine site

Imagine doing research that could help companies make a smaller ecological footprint. For Brent Jackson, a graduate student at Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC), that is a reality. As his graduate studies project, Brent is looking at ways to re-establish the natural vegetation on a retired section of a mine site.

Brent’s graduate research program is funded by the Graduate Research Training Initiative Scholarship Program (GRTI). The GRTI program is an initiative under the federal-provincial-territorial Agricultural Policy Framework (2003-2008), funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture.

The purpose of this initiative is to provide financial support to graduate students at the NSAC whose research will benefit the Nova Scotia agriculture and agri-food industry. This initiative is intended to encourage qualified students to undertake graduate studies, thus building a professional capacity to meet the future needs of Nova Scotia's agri-food industry.

This exciting project began when Brent’s supervisor, Dr. Nancy McLean, a Plant Breeder at NSAC was approached by Lafarge Canada Inc. to evaluate native trees and shrubs along a constructed stream bank on a retired section of their limestone quarry in Brookfield, Nova Scotia. In order for the mine to continue operation, a stream had to be re-routed along the retired section of the mine.

While there are strict environmental regulations in place to ensure minimal disruption to natural vegetation, re-establishing native plant populations is important to maintain wildlife and fish habitats on constructed sites. One of the problems with this stream bank is that due to poor soil quality and limited nutrients, re-establishing trees and shrubs can be difficult and costly.

Photo Caption:
The foreground contains cuttings of willow stakes planted directly adjacent to the stream. In the background all the white tubes contain the trees used in the experiment. These tubes are called Tree Protectors and were necessary to keep the local deer population from browsing the trees and shrubs.

This is where Brent’s research comes in. His task is to re-establish the natural vegetation along the constructed stream bank. In order to determine which plants can grow in these soil conditions, Brent did a soil analysis on the area. Based on the results, he selected suitable species and planted a total of 500 different native trees and shrubs along the stream bank. He’ll measure their suitability by their survival, growth and susceptibility to predators such as insects and herbivores.

Photo Caption:
Aronia melanocarpa (Black Chokeberry) is pictured inside a tree protector with the stream in the back ground and the active mine behind the stream.

Brent also is looking at different amendments such as compost and mulch to determine which amendments will allow the trees and shrubs to perform best along the stream bank.

Although this research is in its preliminary stages, so far Brent has determined that the brush blanket mulch (a plastic mulch that is bio-degradable) provides better growth for the faster growing Willows and Dogwoods that are planted along the stream bank. He’ll continue to chart progress throughout the summer of 2008.

Brent came to NSAC as an undergraduate student interested in agriculture and the Environmental Science program. After working with Dr. McLean for a few summers, she approached him about this project and he enrolled in the M.Sc. program.

In addition to providing the foundation for the research project, Lafarge Canada Inc. provided financial support for travel and provided all the items used in the project, including plant material and soil amendments.

Brent only has good things to say about his experiences as a graduate student. “Definitely pick a project that you’re interested in,” says Brent. “This experience has given me a good link with industry (LaFarge), and I was also able to go to a Shelterbelt conference.”

In addition to full time studies, Brent holds the position of Vice-President Communications on the NSAC Association of Graduate Students Council and is Assistant Coach for the Woodsmen team.

His approach for success: “Definitely keep busy; the busier you are the easier it is to balance everything.”