The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
In the 1920s and '30s, when the Flin Flon area and its smelting complex were first established, many trees succumbed to forest fires or were chopped down for fuel, lumber and to make fire breaks. As mine production rose, so too did the levels of sulphur dioxide smoke, which effectively poisoned the soil and left the forest unable to recover. As plants died, the valuable layer of topsoil washed away. For decades, Mother Nature was unable to undo this damage. Then came a method of vegetative healing as simple as it is impressive. A team of researchers in Sudbury, Ontario _ also a smelting community _ discovered that crushed limestone had the power to treat acidic soils with high metal content so that plants could once again thrive. A key researcher among them, the late Keith Winterhalder, introduced the concept to Flin Flon in 1999. The following year, what is known as the Green Project was born. Since then, teams of volunteers have spread pails of the white rock on land throughout Flin Flon-Creighton. And the results in some areas have been nothing short of stellar. The Reminder discussed the Green Project with Dave Price, co-coordinator along with Heather Acres. See 'Green...' on pg. Continued from pg. REMINDER: When did this year's greening begin and end, how many students were involved, what were the areas and what was the combined size of the areas treated? PRICE: We started May 29 _ a bit later than usual because of the cool conditions earlier. Our last school session was June 21. We may have a few additional school sessions in the fall _ there will be a session at the end of July with the City's Summer in the Parks program. If there are any community groups out there who would like to be a part of this great program, they should contact me and we'll be happy to put them to work! All local schools were involved this season _ from kindergartners to grade 10. In total, we had 507 workers spreading limestone in 26 sessions _ this would include staff as well as students. In total _ since the program started in 2000 _ the total of school students and staff who have been out Greening comes to 7,994! Of course, many of the kids have been out several times over the years, so the number here includes a lot of duplicates. This year we worked in two areas towards the south end of the Phantom Lake road, an area above the rock cut on the Perimetre _ north of the 777 head frame, and a small area north of the Creighton Freeway. The area covered so far this season is 1.75 hectares _ for a total since the Green Project started of 53.7 hectares. REMINDER: Is the Green Project treating less land than prior years? If so, why and by how much? PRICE: We have generally aimed to treat five hectares per season. This year we had a late start, and our workers were predominantly little guys in the lower grades _ so we have covered a bit less ground than usual. REMINDER: What grades are involved? Are students intrigued by how this works? Do you give them an explanation? What typical questions do they ask? PRICE: All local schools were involved this season _ from kindergartners to Grade 10. The children and staff very much enjoy being out there _ particularly if it's a pleasant summer day. We are less concerned with covering large areas with limestone than we are with opening the students' eyes to environmental issues _ and to make them aware that where there is a problem that we _ and they _ can sometimes do something about it. Over the years, I have been invited to give presentations at the schools _ this year I gave slide shows to two classes. The students have generally been very engaged _ asking questions and making comments. They have been particularly impressed with the 'before and after' pictures. All work sessions start with a bit of talking, and depending on the location, I like to show the students areas that were treated in earlier years and compare these with the barren areas we are presently working on. A local lady recently told me what her young grandchild had told her about his Greening experience _ I was very gratified to learn that he'd taken in all he'd been told! REMINDER: The Green Project won't continue into the summer. Why? How many years has it been summer-less? PRICE: We have traditionally had Community Greening sessions Wednesday evenings through the summer months. Because of low turnouts the past two summers, we are not planning any Community Greening sessions this year. Also, because we are running out of suitable areas, we'd rather keep what's left for our students. REMINDER: What do you think when you see the progress the project has made since beginning? PRICE: Blows my mind! On our web site _ www.greenproject.ca _ you'll see some 'before and after' pictures. Last fall there were aspen and birch between four to five metres high in some areas that had been totally barren when we treated them in the early years. It's because the project has been so successful that we will keep going as long as we can. REMINDER: Is the project reaching the end of its mandate? How much longer before you treat all the areas you want to treat? PRICE: The areas we treat need to be easy for our workers to get to _ we also need to be able to get the limestone in there. Another consideration is that we want our workers _ and members of the public generally _ to see the results of our work. Although there are maybe 10,000 hectares or so around here that could probably benefit from the limestone treatment, most of these areas are inaccessible. There is still some accessible ground we can treat in the Phantom and a few other areas. We will plan to continue with our Greening next year _ but that may be about it.
