Susan Thompson
Express Staff
NAIT’s Centre for Boreal Research in Peace River held a public tour of their labs and greenhouse on May 14.
Scientists and students at the Centre research how to grow boreal plants that will help them reclaim and reforest industrially-disturbed sites.
They are not only trying to replant trees, but other native species of shrubs, wildflowers and more as well to return the land to as close to its original state as possible.
Tour participants view seeds of native species of wildflowers, trees and shrubs in a second lab at the research centre. 
Dr. Jean-Marie Sobze talks about another research project that is attempting to use plants to draw water out of tailings from Fort McMurray. 
Dr. Jean-Marie Sobze talks about the research being done in the 3 bay greenhouse. One project is testing how to grow plants in high saline soil as a way to reclaim land after a produced water spill, since produced water has a high salt content. 
Low bush cranberry plants grow in the greenhouse, a success story for the centre after a couple of years of other unsuccessful attempts to germinate them from seed. One single plant is white due to a possible genetic variation.