Ontario Mining Association member Xstrata Nickel is supporting the efforts of College Boreal in Sudbury to step up regional re-greening efforts and create a local tree and shrub seed bank. The Xstrata Nickel Biodiversity Applied Research Centre at College Boreal is a 5,000 ft² greenhouse complex, which is the springboard for a local biodiversity program.  This involves the company, students and community representatives including the Sudbury Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee (VETAC).

“This is an innovative program for a number of reasons,” said Eva Carissimi, Xstrata Nickel Director of the Sudbury Smelter.  “We are creating a venue at which we can learn a lot about biodiversity, while providing students from the college with an opportunity to build a sustainable northern forest.” In the past, re-greening efforts in the Sudbury basin have relied heavily upon tree and plant seeds sourced from Southern Ontario.  The goal is to use local seeds that grow into plants, which are better adapted to thrive in the climate of Northern Ontario.

“Xstrata Nickel has planted more than 60,000 trees annually for the past five years and hundreds of thousands of trees over the last two decades,” added Carissimi.  “This program takes us to the next level by focusing on the creation of sustainable, northern, diverse forests. We are working closely with community members to achieve this.  It is also consistent with the Biodiversity Action Plan for Greater Sudbury, which we fully support.”

The company and the college have been working together to pin down the location for the planned sustainable forest that will be managed by students.  The selection is expected to be completed by early 2011.  College Boreal was created in 1995.  It is a French language training and post-secondary institution, which is one of 24 colleges of applied arts and technology in Ontario.