Our Team
OSRIN was a small team dedicated to documenting what we know about oil sands reclamation from scientific studies, observational studies and measurement activities. While OSRIN supported some research activities, these are more often focused on seeking to consolidate and explain what we know, or identifying gaps in knowledge and identifying one or more approaches to filling the gaps.
We also sought to link what we know to policy development, regulation and the research investment community, both within Government and in the private sector. Our focus: making a difference to reclamation through evidence-based knowledge.Chris Powter
The team was headed by Chris Powter (pictured right). Chris came to OSRIN following 29 years with Alberta Environment, primarily in the field of land reclamation research, legislation and policy development. From 2007 to 2010 Chris managed the province’s environmental assessment program.
OSRIN thanks Dr. Stephen Moran, the first Executive Director, for getting OSRIN up and running. OSRIN also thanks Caroline Simpson for her work supporting Dr. Moran in 2009 and 2010, Doug Leong for his work supporting Chris Powter in 2010 and Barbara LeFort for her support from 2011 to 2013. OSRIN also thanks Devraj Hansdah and Paul Cheruvathur, MBA students in the School of Business, who worked on the Innovation Asset Database and also worked on several research papers for us in 2009 and 2010.
Our Logo
OSRIN LogoOur logo tells OSRIN’s story. The oil drop fades from black to green, signifying our role in greening the development of the oil sands. The puzzle pieces in the oil drop signify our role in piecing together various sources of information to form a coherent story. The puzzle piece colours signify the progressive reclamation of the oil sands from black (oil sands) to browns (soil layers replaced) to greens (vegetation canopy layers) and blue (water). Finally the tree signifies the overall goal of oil sands reclamation which is the return of a productive boreal forest ecosystem.
The logo was designed by Devraj Hansdah. OSRIN thanks the many individuals who reviewed the original logo drafts and provided us with valuable feedback.
Research Note #6
Protecting forest floor in place rather than stripping it off is a better strategy to regenerated temporary drilling pads
Research led by: Victor Lieffers and Simon Landhäusser
You can access the research note here