Growing Forward Together: Soil Restoration at Colliery Lands Park

In the fall, a community tree-planting event at Colliery Lands Park in New Waterford brought together 26 enthusiastic participants from ACAP Cape Breton, Cape Breton University and the local community. Together, the volunteers worked to plant a total of 502 trees, a remarkable milestone in the ongoing initiative, Growing Forward Together.

One of the primary goals of the tree planting project is to mitigate erosion along the streambanks of Irish Brook, the watercourse that flows from Waterford Lake to the ocean at the Barrachois. This waterway also passes through Colliery Lands Park, a public area sitting on the former sites of Cape Breton’s No. 12 and No. 16 collieries, coal mines that operated over the 20th century.

The soil throughout the park reflects its industrial past, including potash, brick fragments and other introduced fill. This poses unique challenges for restoration, especially in areas where restoring soil health is crucial to allowing native hardwoods like red oak and sugar maple to thrive. Only a few planting sites in the Growing Forward Together project require this level of soil restoration.

The soil restoration process at Colliery Lands Park focuses on reintroducing natural microbial relationships to support tree growth in the disturbed soil. ACAP has selected early succession tree species that are already inclined to recolonize post-industrial sites, mixed with longer living species that would be expected to grow in this area. The team gathered soil from the forest surrounding Waterford Lake, which supplies the drinking water for nearby communities. The soil is mixed with compost and worm castings, then brewed into a microbial tea to water the newly planted trees. Given the depleted soil, extra nutrients such as spent brewery grains are added to provide additional organic matter to help these microbes establish.

The project aligns with the ongoing commitments to sustainability and environmental education of both CBU and ACAP. Many CBU students who participated in the event are studying areas related to sustainability, environmental sciences and public health, and the event offered them practical, hands-on experience in ecological restoration. They saw firsthand how community efforts can support larger environmental goals while connecting with local history and heritage.

As the Growing Forward Together project continues, community members look forward to the lasting benefits of a revitalized landscape and healthier ecosystems. The partnership between ACAP Cape Breton and CBU reflects a shared vision for sustainable practices, which will benefit both the environment and future generations.

Learn more about Soil Restoration through ACAP Cape Breton’s resources.

To stay up to date on the 50th celebration, visit cbu.ca/50.