Lehigh Materials Sechelt Mine – Open House

Each year, Lehigh Materials hosts a public open house which gives the community an opportunity to learn about mining and reclamation activities. The open house consists of a barbecue lunch, activities and games for children and a bus tour through the mine highlighting mining and reclamation activities. The bus tour stops at a reclamation site where SYLVIS presents hands on displays, informational posters, photos documenting the changes since inception, educational games for children and a native plant which is offered for people to take home and plant in their garden.

The annual open house is an excellent opportunity to showcase the beneficial use of biosolids in mine reclamation and to obtain feedback from the community on the program. The public is educated in many topics including biosolids management and applicable regulations, environmental monitoring and monitoring trends, and benefits of biosolids use in mine reclamation. To enhance the experience for those returning from previous years, SYLVIS also includes a secondary theme to each open house. Secondary themes may include: biodiversity, habitat restoration, native species, intensive forestry and soil formation.

Each open house has seen an increase in attendance, up to 900 people in one day. Many attendees are repeat visitors and have expressed a keen interest in the reclamation program and have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback on the reclamation program overall. The reclamation program managed by SYLVIS has received numerous accolades including the Jake McDonald Award in 2010, the first year this recognition has been awarded to an aggregate mine. These awards and regular community events have helped garner community acceptance and support of biosolids use in mine reclamation.