CLRA National 2020 Dr. Jack Winch Early Career Award Recipient: Samantha McGarry
Congratulation to Samantha McGarry, recipient of the Dr. Jack Winch Early Career Award for her body of work in reclamation. Sam began her fourth-year thesis work with Dr. Graeme Spiers and Dr. Peter Beckett in 2009. Sam’s thesis and later, Master’s work contributed towards a project was entitled the Green Mines Green Energy (GMGE) project and aimed to grow energy crops on mine tailings using organic residuals. The project addressed many challenges present in society with cross-cutting themes related to environmental sustainability and recycling, as well as reclaiming brownfields in a sustainable manner. Sam’s work focused on growing corn, canola, and switchgrass in biosolids applied to mine tailings at Xstrata (now Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, A Glencore Company where Sam currently is the Site Rehabilitation Lead).
As reclamation professionals know, fieldwork in brownfields is unforgiving work. She worked rain or shine, bug infestation to heatwaves, tending crops, and sampling. A constant throughout summers in the field was Sam’s strong work ethic and positivity. Sam showed great leadership skills in these early days encouraging others to meet her standards. Working on mine tailing sites also requires close and constant communication with company representatives. Sam demonstrated very strong communication skills when asked to liaison with Xstrata on project matters. Sam demonstrated her technical abilities in reclamation through preparation and defense of her graduate thesis in 2012. Assessment of the success of the GMGE site required multiple comparisons of several parameters over multiple years to determine any impact to the ecosystem. Complex statistical tools were used adding to the robustness of the conclusions. Many features of the GMGE strategy have been adopted by Glencore for their long-term reclamation strategies, which demonstrates the success of her project. Sam’s recruitment by Glencore is a testament to Sam’s success as a project lead and a reclamation professional. Ten years later, Sam continues to manage her tailings reclamation research project, now using locally produced biosolid amendments to support community waste management.
Sam flourished as the Environmental Coordinator, a role leading in the areas of research innovation, reclamation, mine waste management, wastewater treatment, and water management, as well as biodiversity. Operations depended on her to ensure the sites surpassed environmental compliance and other obligations, all while forming meaningful relationships with regulators, Indigenous partners, researchers, and the community. She led the development of one of the largest mining and milling integrated ISO 14001 Environment Management Systems in Canada, of which Progressive Rehabilitation is a key focus. The system uses risk-based and systematic approaches that consider all phases of the mining life cycle to reduce the potential for land disruption; from exploration to site development, and operations through to final closure.
Sam joined the Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee in 2012, serving as an industry partner and community member on a team dedicated to continuing the advancement of the Greater City of Sudbury regreening program. She is both proud and honoured to collaborate with community leaders to enhance a city renowned for its reclamation story.
Sam was then promoted to Site Rehabilitation Lead. Glencore is an industry leader in reclamation for which Sam is responsible. She is now responsible and accountable for the development and implementation of Closure Plans for Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations and Corporate Closure sites in Sudbury and Timmins. Her multidisciplinary skills lend to a closure portfolio valued at over $100 million. She is a creative problem solver, striving to develop innovative cost-effective solutions to enhance the landscape and ecological function.
Throughout her career at Glencore, Sam has remained focused on promoting research related to reclamation and fostering student success at all levels of education. She has supervised countless students exploring environmental careers, participating on student graduate thesis committees as an industrial partner, and provides dozens of presentations and tours annually for audiences ranging from industry professionals, government, academia, Indigenous partners, and our community. She is currently collaborating in over $10 million of research programs with a dozen universities across Canada. Sam is passionate about giving back to the community and advancing the understanding of reclamation in practice.
On a personal level, Sam is a very kind, inclusive, and compassionate person. She is a proud mother to two daughters who share her love and curiosity for science. Sam is a joy to work with and is an exceptional example of a leader in the reclamation and mining industry.
About the Jack Winch
Early Career Award
This award honours Dr. Jack Winch principal founder and inaugural President of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association/Association Canadienne de Réhabilitation des Sites Dégradés (CLRA/ACRSD).
Subsequent to serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Jack earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Masters of Scientific Agriculture, from the University of Guelph and a PhD. in Agronomy from Cornell University. Jack joined the Crop Science Department of the University of Guelph, where he taught crop and forage production, and plant physiology, to diploma, undergraduate, and graduate students, until his retirement in 1986.
During his career, Jack made significant contributions to research, practice, and extension focusing on the evaluation and introduction of birdsfoot trefoil and crown vetch. The practice of using these plants was adopted broadly and led to the development of a robust trefoil industry in Ontario. His extension work led him across the province, engaging with the farm community and establishing demonstration projects. Jack is credited with developing a new, in vitro method for the evaluation of forage crops and establishing a new forage crop cutting methodology. His work attracted graduate students to the University of Guelph, from Canada and around the world.
Jack served a critical role in the direction of the land reclamation community, acknowledging the need for a professional organization to support the burgeoning, multidisciplinary field. In 1970, he was instrumental to the formation of the Ontario Cover Crops Committee. Recognizing that the land reclamation community would be better served by a formal organization, the Canadian Land Reclamation Association was established in 1975. Jack was elected President, a role in which he would serve for a three-year term. During his tenure, Jack’s leadership and direction were instrumental to the development of the CLRA, including its mandate and membership, and to the establishment of the annual meeting and reclamation-focused periodical, “Canadian Reclamation”. Since that time, the CLRA has continued to grow, having five Chapters across Canada, and members representing government, industry, and academia, from across Canada and around the world.
The award acknowledges the efforts of Early Career Reclamation Professionals. The award is presented annually at the CLRA National Conference to an individual in recognition of their outstanding contribution to reclamation research and practice.