Alum finds firm footing in reclamation

Emerson Taylor knew what he wanted to study when he first came to Lakeland.

Inspired by a childhood spent outdoors with the sea cadets, an affinity for science, and his father’s career on the service rigs, Taylor decided to pursue reclamation and environmental sciences. He chose Lakeland because it was close to his hometown of Wainwright, Alta.

“Lakeland offers a nice, hands-on program that was able to give me the technical skills that I could use right away,” Taylor explains. “That was a really big draw for me.”

At Lakeland, Taylor started off with a two-year environmental sciences diploma, majoring in environmental conservation and reclamation (ECR).

“I loved my experience at Lakeland,” he says. “I like the hands-on approach. I like that the instructors are all very open and have so much field experience themselves so they can relate to us as students. So many of the skills we learned are what we actually use in the field instead of technical things learned out of a textbook.”

After he completed the diploma program in 2014, Taylor enrolled in Lakeland’s bachelor of applied science: environmental management program, graduating in 2016.

“With the diploma, you can be a field technician and you can go out and make a really good living,” he explains. “But the applied degree helped me develop project management skills and a more well-rounded understanding of the entire reclamation process.”

Now, Taylor works for Golder Associates Ltd. doing detailed site assessments. He spends the summer months at reclaimed well sites, performing soils and vegetation assessments. Then in the winter, Taylor takes the data he compiled and puts together a report, deciding whether reclamation at the site meets the requirements to pass assessment.

His Lakeland education helped Taylor develop the specific technical skills he needs each day on the job.

“We took an entire course on detailed site assessments,” he says. “It was hands-on and focused a lot on what the reclamation criteria is. The botany and soils courses I took gave me those field skills. I can go to any site now and I know what weeds to look for and how to look for horizons in the soil.”

Strong in soils

At Lakeland, ECR students take four unique courses in soils specifically, including introductory soil science, soil classification and landforms, soil conservation and soil fertility. Students have access to hands-on opportunities to study forested, grassland and wetland soils in over 17 soil pits, 10 of which are located right on Lakeland College property.

“We believe that these opportunities provide our students with the skills employers are looking for in new graduates,” Cassandra Gnyra, environmental sciences instructor, says. “Our courses all have significant lab components that further strengthen our graduates’ ability to succeed in their careers and make them valuable to their future employers. Lakeland is proud to be one of the few post-secondary institutes to offer soil classification in the field when many institutes have changed it to a lecture-only format.”
Lakeland’s hands-on approach to environmental sciences and soil classifications helped set Taylor up to succeed in his line of work.

“I don’t think learning the theory of looking for horizons in the soil from a textbook would have really taught me what it actually looks like,” Taylor says. “It’s directly related to what I do. Reclamation is our end-of-the-line activity.”

Photos: Top - Emerson Taylor. Gallery - Students participating in soil classification labs at Lakeland. Some photos taken pre-COVID-19.