Soil Bioengineering Course

• Start Date: October 10, 2007
• End Date: October 11, 2007
• City: Cranbrook, BC
• Instructor: David Polster

The BC Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration and the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology co-hosted this course.

The two day course was taught by David Polster of Polster Environmental Services, to 32 participants. David discussed soil bioengineering techniques and options involved in restoration and reclamation of damaged ecosystems, using a combination of structural materials, vegetative cuttings, and other specialized techniques. Soil bioengineering is an applied science that uses live plant materials to perform an engineering function such as slope stabilization, soil erosion control, or seepage control.

Topics covered included:

• Factors involved in successful restoration
• Successional reclamation
• Soil bioengineering techniques
• Regional differences in climate, soils, hydrology, plant types, and growing seasons
• Maintenance and monitoring.

Day One: A classroom session was held at the Prestige Inn, Cranbrook, from 9:00 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m.

Day Two: A field session at Joseph Creek in Cranbrook gave the participants hands-on experience with a restoration project.