Dufferin Aggregates receives special industry awards

Dufferin Aggregates' Milton Quarry has received the prestigious Dr Edward M. Watkin Award from the Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) at the 31st annual CLRA meeting held recently in Ottawa.

The meeting was attended by delegates from across Canada and from Australia and Chile. A national organization of industry, government and researchers, CLRA was founded in Guelph in 1975 to foster land reclamation across Canada, in all sectors where land has been disturbed by human or natural influences. The Award is named after a researcher at the University of Guelph who pioneered the field of land reclamation in the mining industry in Canada in the 1970s.

Sarah Lowe, Resource Development Manager and Ken Zimmerman Lands Manager received the award from Dr Peter Beckett of Laurentian University.

"This is a terrific honour for Dufferin" said Lowe. "We are thrilled that this national body representing such a wide range of accomplishments has recognized the work by an aggregate company in Southern Ontario".

In introducing the award Dr Beckett emphasized the high quality of rehabilitation back to nature at Dufferin's Milton quarry, located near the Niagara escarpment, a World Biosphere Reserve.

Dufferin has been documenting the results of its rehabilitation since 1978.

"We are committed to rehabilitating our sites as we go along" said Ken Zimmerman". We already have developing wetland, woodland and cliff ecosystems teaming with wildlife".

Dufferin's plan is that the wetlands, lakes and forests at the Milton quarry will be owned and enjoyed by the public. However, this depends on the outcome of the current application to extend the quarry which is still to be decided by the Provincial government.

Lowe, Dufferin Aggregates Resource Development Manager, received a Special Award acknowledging her contributions to the Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) and for aggregate pit and quarry rehabilitation in Ontario.

"This Special Award from the Canadian Land Reclamation Association is a great honour. Being actively involved with other enthusiasts in the Association has been such a pleasure over the past 30 years, ever since the Association was founded. I am fortunate to be working in the fascinating field of rehabilitating pits and quarries and am glad if I have made a positive contribution", said Lowe.

During the 30 years that Lowe has been involved in the aggregates industry she has made many contributions to the environmental progress of the industry. She has worked to promote good environmental stewardship and resources management best practices. In 1985 she received the Noranda Land Reclamation Award from the CLRA in recognition of her outstanding record in reclamation. It is the most prestigious rehabilitation award in Canada. To be considered for this award an individual has made an outstanding contribution to advances in land reclamation through professional practice, teaching, research, or regulating authority and has been widely recognized for contributions to the field of land reclamation spanning a significant portion of their career.

In addition to more than 100 industry advancement awards, Dufferin Aggregates and Sarah have been recognized with the Conservation Halton Ralph Sherwood Conservation Award in 1998, the Ontario Heritage Foundation Award in 1999, and most recently the 2006 Conservation Halton Stewardship Conservation Award.

Dufferin Aggregates, a business unit of St. Lawrence Cement, a Company of the Holcim Group, is a major supplier of construction aggregates across the Greater Toronto area. Based in Concord, the company operates six quarries, 13 sand and gravel pits and three distribution yards, located within the Greater Toronto area or adjacent municipalities.