>> MANDI: CLOSE YOUR EYES AND
PICTURE SUDBURY, ONTARIO, WHAT
WOULD YOU SAY ? IF YOU WERE BORN IN THE 1970S OR EARLIER THE
CHANCES ARE YOU MIGHT PICTURE A
BARREN LANDSCAPE, PERHAPS SUITED TO MARS OR THE MOON AND TO
NORTHERN ONTARIO. SUDBURY DID LOOK LIKE THAT FOR
MUCH OF THE 20th CENTURY AFTER
YEARS OF INDUSTRY IS EXPLODING THIS LAND. BUT THINGS HAVE CHANGED. GREEN IS COMING BACK TO THE
HILLS ALL THANKS TO THE HARD
WORK OF BRILLIANT THINKERS AND EVERYDAY PEOPLE LIKE... BUT THEY'RE STILL WORK TO BE
DONE. IN FACT IN SOME PLACES,
INDUSTRIAL DAMAGE IS HARMING
MARGINALIZED PEOPLE TO THIS DAY. WELCOME TO SUDBURY, ONTARIO. >> PETER: THE AREA NOW CALLED
SUDBURY IT WAS ONCE A DENSE
FOREST. THIS IS CALLED THE
--SUDBURY'S NAME IS MEANING THE
THREE TRAILS BE OF THESE LANDS ARE PART OF THE 1850 HURON
TREATY WHICH SET UP THE RESERVES
THAT WE KNOW TODAY, WE HAVE MORE ON THAT LITTLE LATER IN THE
VIDEO. THE FIRST SETTLERS CAME TO THIS
AREA AND THE 1880S WITH THE
BUILDING OF THE CANADIAN SPECIFIC RAILWAY PAIR THAT WAS
THE FIRST MAJOR
--THE RAILWAY NEEDED A LOT OF WOOD AND AS A RESULT, MASSIVE
SECTIONS OF THE FOREST WERE
CLEAR-CUT. THIS IS A TIME BEFORE PEOPLE
REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT SUSTAINABLE
PRACTICES. BUT THAT WASN'T THE ONLY
INDUSTRY THAT RAILWAY BROUGHT TO
TOWN. WHILE BUILDING THAT LINE IN
1883, A BLACKSMITH NOTICED
COPPER ORE IN ONE OF THE BLASTED ROCK CUTS. OF COURSE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE HAD
KNOWN ABOUT THE AREAS METALS
SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL. THERE'S EVIDENCE IN NORTHEASTERN
ONTARIO OF COPPER TOOLS DATING
BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS. BUT THIS DISCOVERY SET OFF A
COPPER MINING RUSH AMONG
SETTLERS. SOON THEY WOULD TAKE OVER IN THE
MOST PRIZED MINERAL. A KEY PART TO FINDING IS PULLING
THE METALS OUT FROM THE GROUND. I TOLD UNTIL THE 1930S, ONE OF
THE STEPS IN THAT PROCESS WAS
OPEN BED ROASTING. THEY WOULD PUT DOWN A LAYER OF
LOGS THEN THE OR, THEN LIGHT THE
WHOLE THING ON FIRE. IT WAS A MASSIVE DAMAGING
PROCESS, WITH THE CLEAR CUTTING
REQUIRING TO GET ALL THEIR FUEL LOGS BUT ALSO TO THE TOXIC FUMES
IT CREATED. CLOUDS OF POLLUTION COVERED THE
AREA AND THEY KILLED PLANT LIFE
AND PEOPLE AROUND SUDBURY. THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE
20th CENTURY, THE HILLS AROUND
SUDBURY BECOME --BECAME MORE AND MORE BARREN. TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS BROUGHT
DOWN EMISSIONS QUITE A BIT BUT
THERE WERE STILL I MAY BE HER PROBLEM. THEN WITH SO MANY AREAS HAVING
BEEN CLEAR-CUT, THERE WERE
PROBLEMS HOLDING SOILS IN PLACE AND THEY BEGAN TO WASH AWAY. IN MANY PLACES EXPOSED ROCK IS
ALL THAT REMAINED. AND THEN EMISSIONS FROM THE
SMELTERS CAUSED ACID RAIN AND
ITS TAINT OF THOSE ROCKS BLACK. THE INTERNATIONAL NICKEL COMPANY
MADE NEEDED TO FIX THOSE
PROBLEMS, IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW MAJOR MINING COMPANIES LEFT HERE
AFTER YEARS OF MERGERS. IT'S ANSWERED STILL STANDS WITH
A COPPER SMELTER, SUPER STACK. THIS CHIMNEY CAME INTO FULL
OPERATION IN 1972. AT THAT TIME, IT WAS THE TALLEST
SMOKESTACK IN THE WORLD. TODAY IT'S THAT SECOND TALLEST
FREESTANDING STRUCTURE ASIDE
FROM THE CN TOWER. NOW IT'S ONLY A PARTIAL STICK,
THIS MELTING PROCESS GOT CLEANER
BUT IS STILL PRODUCED TOXIC GASES. IT EFFECTIVELY SPREAD THAT OUT
OVER OUR WIDER AREA OUTRIGHT
INSTEAD OF OVER SUDBURY. LATER UNTIL RECENT YEARS IT
WOULD BRING DOWN EMISSIONS
FURTHER AND BY THAT TOOK THE 20 TENS, THE SUPER STACK WAS
OBSOLETE. BACK TO THE EARLY 70s, NOW THE
POLLUTION OUTPUT HAS GONE DOWN,
THEY FACED A NEW CHALLENGE HOW COULD THEY REVERSE YEARS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE AND BRING
ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE BACK TO THE ROOM ? AFTER YEARS OF PLANNING
AND REJOINING COMMITTEE WAS
BOWING --BORN. >> SPEAKER: WITH THE COMMITTEE
WHICH IS THE ADVISABLE TANNERY
--IT WAS A MIXTURE OF LOCAL SYSTEMS FROM SUDBURY, GOVERNMEN
GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY AND
ACADEMIC ALL WORKING TOGETHER. IT WAS ONE OF THE EARLIEST ONES
TO START TO TAKE A WHOLE
DEVASTATING LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFYING THE AREA. AND ALSO IMPROVING THE WHOLE
ENVIRONMENT IN SUDBURY. >> PETER: RESEARCHERS FOUND THE
SOILS WERE SO ACIDIC ONLY A FEW
TYPES OF PLANTS GREW. THEY ALSO FOUND A LEVELS OF
METAL BECAUSE OF ALL THE
MISSIONS. IT ISN'T AS SIMPLE AS THROWING A
HANDFUL OF PINE CONES OUT AND
HOPING FOR THE BEST, IT'S A SENSITIVE PROCESS THAT HAS TO BE
BUILT UP. HERE'S A BASIC VERSION OF WHAT
HAD TO BE DONE. >> SPEAKER: ACTUALLY WE CALLED
IT THE BASIC SUDBURY RECIPE. AND IT'S A MIX OF APPLYING
LIMESTONE WHICH HELPS REDUCE
ACIDITY, A LITTLE LATER HE WOULD ADD LIGHTER AND THEN SOME GRASS
SEED WHICH GIVES US INITIAL
COVER AND THEN INTO THAT WE PLANT A WHOLE POST WITH TREES
AND SHRUBS USING 8 SPECIES OF
-- >> PETER: THAT WAS THE
RE-CREATING THEORY AT LEAST, AND
I SHOULD I LARGE PART OF THIS WAS DONE BY VOLUNTEERS AND
WORKERS. BUT THIS IS THE FIRST PLACE THIS
HAS BEEN TRIED AT THE SCALE
BEFORE AND IT WAS HARD TO KNOW HOW IT WOULD TURN OUT. AS I RECORD THIS VIDEO, IT'S
BEEN ABOUT 45 YEARS SINCE
RE-CREATING WORK BEGAN IN SUDBURY AND THE RESULT SPEAKS
FOR THEMSELVES. WHERE I WAS STANDING HAS A
BARREN HILL TOP, THIS FOREST HAD
THE FULL TREATMENT. THIS LAND ON MY LEFT HAS HAD
NOTHING DONE TO IT AT ALL. JUST TO SEE WHAT NATURE COULD DO
ON ITS OWN AROUND OTHER AREAS. WHERE I USED TO STAND RIGHT NOW
USED TO LOOK LIKE THIS. THERE'S COUNTLESS EXAMPLES LIKE
THIS ALL OVER THE CITY. THERE ARE SOME AREAS IN THE CITY
THAT HAVEN'T HAD THE FULL ARRAY
GREENING A TREATMENT OR ANY TREATMENT AT ALL. THESE ARE MEANT TO BEAT CONTROL
SITES SHOWING WHAT NATURE CAN DO
ON ITS OWN. THE HILL I'M STANDING ON IS A
PARTIAL SITE, ACCORDING TO THE
CITY'S WEBSITE CRUISE ALIGNED, HATED AND FERTILIZE THIS VERY
HILL IN 1997 BUT THEY NEVER
PLANTED ANY TREES. A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY THE MAP AS
THIS AREA BEHIND ME HAS BEEN
--IT'S A STARK DIFFERENCE COMPARED TO THE CITIES OF THE
RE-GREENING PROGRAM HAS BEEN A
POSITIVE EXAMPLE ON THE WORLD STAGE. USING THE SAME PROGRAMS FROM
THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. >> SPEAKER: WE HAVE TOOLS EVERY
YEAR FOR STUDENTS, SCIENTISTS,
FOR OTHER MUNICIPALITIES. IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT
HAPPENED IN SUDBURY SO THEY
COULD TAKE THE LESSON HOME TO THEIR COMMUNITIES. I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH TRYING
TO ENCOURAGE THE RUSSIANS TO
IMPROVE SOME OF THEIR SMELTING LANDSCAPES AS WELL AS THE
CHINESE. CERTAINLY GOING AROUND THE
WORLD, SPREADING THE SAGE. IF WE CAN DO IT IN SUDBURY, YOU
CAN DO TO. >> PETER: SUDBURY ALSO HAD
SUPPORT FROM CONSERVATIONIST
JANE GOODALL IN HONOUR OF HER. SHE VISITED IN THE SUMMER OF
2022 FOR AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE,
PLANTING THE TENTH MILLIONS TREE. OF COURSE THAT HAD TO HAPPEN AT
THE ONE WEEKEND I WENT OUT OF
TOWN. IN MANY WAYS SUDBURY'S
RE-GREENING PROGRAM LOOKS LIKE A
GREAT SUCCESS BUT THERE'S BEEN SOME PROBLEMS WITH THAT
STATEMENT. FIRST AFTER 45 YEARS BECKETT
SAYS RE-GREENING IS ONLY ABOUT
HALFWAY DONE. AND IT'S NOT SO MUCH A NOUN AS
IT IS A VERB, IT'S AN ONGOING
PROCESS THAT'S GOING TO BE WITH US FOR QUITE SOME TIME. AND MORE THAN THAT IT'S ABOUT A
CHANGE IN MINDSET OF HOW WE
THINK OF OUR ACTIONS NOW AND HOW THEY IMPACT THE FUTURE. THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF
INDUSTRIES WORKING THESE LINES,
AND SOCIETIES ON THE WORLD DEPEND ON TECHNOLOGY MORE AND
MORE, MINING IS ONLY GOING TO
BECOME MORE IMPORTANT. THERE'S A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
FOR EVERY GOVERNMENT, EVERY
COMPANY AND EVERY PERSON, A RESPONSIBILITY TO REMEMBER ONCE
WHAT SUDBURY LOOKED LIKE, AND
HOW IT HOW IT TOOK TO GET IT HALFWAY BACK TO WHAT IT ONCE
WAS. NEAR THE START OF THE VIDEO,
THIS IS HONEST NOW BAIT LAND,
DESPITE THE TRULY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FIRST NATIONS HAVE NEVER
REALLY RECEIVED THEIR FAIR
SHARE. THE ROBINSON HERE JURY INCLUDED
PAYMENTS FOR ACCESSING THAT
RESOURCES, BUT IT NEVER LIVED UP TO THAT ATTEMPT. IN ONE CORNER, ON THE TERRITORY
THERE ARE TOXIC HAILING FROM AN
OLD GOLD MINE CHEMICALS INTO A KIR
--HEAT WATER SOURCE WHILE
THERE'S BEEN TALKING AND PLANNING ON HOW TO CLEAN IT UP
FOR YEARS, IT'S STILL NOT DONE. THIS MIGHT BE SEEN AS TANGENTIAL
TO THE MAIN RE-GREENING PROJECT,
BUT IT'S STILL AN EXAMPLE OF INDUSTRIAL DAMAGE THAT HAS YET
TO BE FIXED. DESPITE ITS FLAWS, SUDBURY'S
RE-GREENING STORY IS IMPORTANT
TO SHARE. HUMANS HAVE HAD A MAJOR IMPACT
ON THE PLANET. OF COURSE NOT ALL PROBLEMS CAN
BE FIXED IN THE SAME WAY BUT THE
SUDBURY STORY IS A REMINDER THAT PEOPLE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO UNDO SOME
OF THE HARMS WE'VE CAUSED EVEN
IF IT DOES TAKE A LOT OF WORK. SUDBURY IS A LESSON THAT THROUGH
INNOVATION AND PERSPIRATION,
POSITIVE CHANGE CAN HAPPEN. BECAUSE OF THAT, A PART OF
CANADA'S LIVING HISTORY.
