A B.C Indigenous company is trailblazing a new kind of science to help reclaim former industrialized sites with native plants.
Nupqu Resource Limited Partnership, based out of Cranbrook B.C, recently launched the largest Indigenous-owned plant nursery in Canada, focused on growing native plants to help repopulate former mine sites and produce that can be distributed to non-profits.
Nupqu unveiled the project on Oct. 1, and invited the public to view the space, located on Aq'am First Nation, just outside Cranbrook. There are currently eight greenhouses on the property housing various species of plants, grasses and shrubs that are native to the East Kootenay region of B.C., including fireweed, cottonwood, balsamroot, and sitka alder.
The facility has the capacity to grow up to 700,000 seedlings per year.
President Aaron Higgs said seedlings will play an important role in land reclamation, helping restore areas touched by development and industry to its natural state.
Nupqu has provided plants to Elk Valley Resources mine sites, the TC Energy West pipeline extension near Fernie, and the Kicking Horse Canyon road project. Higgs said Elk Valley Resources ordered 2.5 million seedlings in the past year.
"We're going out on the land and collecting the seed, cleaning it, ensuring that genetics is local to the area," said Higgs.
Another component of the project is growing produce that the local First Nation can use. Nupqu has established a hydroponic greenhouse that will grow lettuce, leafy greens and herbs, that will be distributed to Aq'am First Nation's Trading Post, St. Eugene Resort and Health Centre.
Native plant reclamation is a complex process, as it involves replicating natural plant growth conditions precisely. Greenhouse site manager Melanie Redman said factors like temperature, tray size, watering requirements, depth of growth, and even elevation above sea level, can impact whether plants are able to successfully survive when placed on the land. The greenhouse is experimenting with growing plants that have been historically difficult to reproduce, like sulphur buckwheat and arrowleaf balsamroot.
Nupqu remains motivated to use research on plants to help fill a gap in research. While restoration of former logging areas is fairly commonplace, Higgs said projects that revolve around reclamation of non-conifer plants is under-researched
"There's very little funding for research development in plants. We have a bigger seed bank than the Seed Bank of Canada, because it's just not there yet for an industry," said Higgs.
"We just don't know much about these plants. There is a lot of opportunity to better understand them, how they can fit better in the reclamation space, which is currently filled by non-native plants," he added.
While the project remains focused on building partnerships with Indigenous groups and local industry, the company has a goal of growing the project into a province-wide collective — a collection of businesses that can support native plant reclamation and research, akin to the support agricultural and forestry sectors get from government lobby groups.
Nupqu has already started to network. Earlier this year, it hosted a Gather and Grow Indigenous training program in partnership with a native plant nursery based out of Langley. The company is planning on running additional educational workshops in Merritt and Cranbrook.
A handful of First Nations will be visiting Nupqu's greenhouses, who have expressed interest in getting involved.
"Restoring ecosystems to the way they used to be, that doesn't happen within 10-20 years. Those are 300 year things, but just kind of bringing that mindset to the reclamation space, I think will change the dynamic of the inclusion of native plants, and how we build on those systems from the start," said Higgs.
