Reclaiming disturbed land with site-specific native plants

Sound reclamation starts with a conversation

By Haley Argen, NATS Nursery Ltd.

In the 31 years that NATS Nursery has been growing plants, we have seen an evolution of practices surrounding good reclamation of disturbed places. Each site is different, the goals of projects vary, and the people involved have opinions and experiences that play a part in developing each plan and process.

It is a similar story within our nursery as we grow and strive to best serve our customers. The people that work at NATS have in common a passion for growing native plants, and recognize the values that they offer for improving the world in which we all live and depend. The services we provide to the land reclamation industry have grown and evolved over the years, informed by research, trial and error, and working closely with various stakeholders within it.

High-quality reclamation is increasingly important to support damaged ecosystems, especially those negatively impacted by human activity, and as our world becomes more challenged by climate change, invasive species and extinctions of native species.

Growing native plants is scientific, but it’s not rocket science – it’s a biological system, so it’s even more complicated than that! It has taken NATS Nursery many years to become proficient at growing hundreds of species of native plants from a wide range of areas and habitats. NATS is the largest native plant nursery in B.C. with knowledgeable and highly trained employees and a state-of-theart facility. We love to collaborate with our customers and their teams to help them achieve success in all of their projects. This often involves working with First Nations communities on whose traditional territory the project is located, and we can assist them in becoming an integral part of the project in a manner that is most beneficial. The process often takes longer than many people initially understand, and it’s our job to assist with information to develop a plan that leads to receiving high-quality plants on the revegetative site when needed and in a manner which will provide the best chance for success. Working with a trusted nursery partner from the beginning is an integral and important aspect of most successful reclamation projects.

It all starts with a conversation. We invite you to talk with one of our team members about your projects and encourage you to allow plenty of time for planning and implementation. Together we are stronger and can better help the natural world recover from degradation.