A trio of graduate students from the University of Alberta are conducting world-class experiments at the Redwater and Fort Saskatchewan Wholesale Agrium Wholesale facilities.

In October 2011, Lenore Turner, Andre Christensen and Kelly Kneteman attended the Soil Science Society of America conference in San Antonio. The grad students’ Master of Science research projects at Agrium Wholesale facilities were of great interest to the society dedicated to fostering the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils.

“These students study research topics as diverse as using plants to remediate excess fertilizer in soils and groundwater to investigating the optimum conditions for phosphogypsum stack closure,” explains Connie Nichol, Fort Saskatchewan Nitrogen Operations Environmental Scientist, who has been involved with supervising the students’ work.

As part of our Growing Together Culture, Agrium Wholesale provides technical and financial support for the students to earn their graduate degrees in Environmental Sciences and Land Reclamation. In return, the company obtains valuable data that is essential for assessing remediation options and long-term closure.

“This is a great partnership with the local schools,” explains Connie. “Not only are we supporting some great minds, but we’re making great strides in our soil and reclamation research that is getting international attention.”