Migrating toads get a helping hand
The construction of the Ryder Lake Toad crossing is complete thanks to the hard work by GVA employees. A very big thank you to Brian Spear, Joe DeMelo, Dan Grauman, Brandon Bier, and Jeff Ralph!
Lafarge Constructs Two Nesting Beaches in the Nicomen Slough
Today Lafarge partnered with the Western Painted Turtle Project team, Lequamel First Nations and Nicomen Island Improvement District to construct two nesting beaches in the Nicomen Slough.
Coastal populations of Western Painted Turtles are federally endangered and provincially red-listed. They are also the only remaining native freshwater turtle in the province. We constructed these beaches in hopes of sustaining their population indefinitely.
NFTRA Proudly receives support from Lafarge for Outdoor Arena Project
The North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association (NFTRA) is extremely grateful for the support of Lafarge through their donation of materials to complete our Outdoor Riding Arena Project in December 2014. We have over 90 riders receiving therapy each week from our 9 Equine Therapists. The lessons are conducted by certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors using the time and talents of over 85 volunteers per week. Lessons at our facility run 6 days a week in the Indoor Riding Arena and now we will be able to expand our programming in 2015 with the New Outdoor Arena.
Our lesson fees only cover about 30% of our annual budget of $290,000. For 2015 we are aiming to create a more financially sustainable organization by expanding our programming beyond riding. Now that we have more space we can create new income streams from boarding horses, meditation with horses/wellness programs and youth at risk empowerment programs.
Thank-you Lafarge for your generous donation of a truck and transfer of arena footing material, along with a donation of tonnage base costs. It is through your support and Murray Giffen’s guidance that we were able to bring this project to life and continue to keep our riders in the saddle!
The North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association (NFTRA) is a non-profit, charitable organization that provides safe, professional therapeutic equine activities enriching the lives of physically, emotionally and developmentally challenged individuals through social, recreational and national competitive riding programs.
For more information on our programs please visit www.nftra.ca or call 604-462-7786
Sharolyn Wandzura – General Manager manager@nftra.ca
New Pitt Meadows Quarry/Gravel Pit Notice
Located in the Pitt Poldler area of Pitt meadows, BC Pitt River Quarries is a quarry owned by Lafarge Canada Inc. The quarry has been in operation since the mid 1960’s and was acquired by Lafarge in 2000 with the Warren merger. The existing mine is 54.7 hectares of land with a further 15.8 hectares permitted in December of 2010.
The site is served by both road and water access with roughly 50% by road and 50% by water. The quarry is a major employer in the area with more than 40 employees during peak construction throughout the year. The operation has one of the best safety records in the industry and prides itself on being an industry leader.
The quarry produces very high quality asphalt, ready mix and construction aggregates for the local and Pacific Northwest market places.
The Lafarge has been contributor of the Mossom Creek fish hatchery rebuild, Ryder Lake amphibian crossing and many employee volunteer hours within the Lower Mainland.
Recent News:
There is a new application for a Pitt Meadows quarry on Sheridan Hill in the Pitt Polder area near the Lafarge Pitt River Quarries operation. This application is in no way associated with Lafarge Canada Inc or affiliated companies. Any inquiries about the new Pitt Meadows gravel pit application should not be directed to Lafarge.
Green Timbers Park Volunteer Day July 15, 2014
Location
14600 Block of 100 Avenue, Surrey BC
When |
Contacts |
Food Provided/Attire |
| July 15th at 8am-4pm | Jennifer Wong & Liana Taliadouros | Yes – Casual/Comfortable (Physical work involved) |
Tasks we will be involved in Helping out
- Place clean sand at specific locations on the north and east sides of the lake.
- Placing gravel at specific locations along the north and south shorelines. These are in locations with high fishing activity resulting in the shoreline becoming very muddy.
- Placing gravel along sections of the vehicle access trail on the east side of the lake (willow trail). There is a long stretch of potholes.
- Placing gravel around the picnic table and bench pads around the lake.
- Litter pick around the north, east and south shorelines of the lake.
- Litter pick trails throughout the park.
- Blackberry removal from scattered areas along the trails and larger areas along the forest edge on the east side of the meadow.
- Depending on the timing, cottonwood and alder tree sapling removals in the southern section of the meadow.
About Green Timbers Urban Forest
Green Timbers Urban Forest is one of the City’s largest parks, offering over 183 hectares (452 acres) of wetlands, lakes, a fishing dock, grassland meadows and nature trails all nestled within a second growth forest.In the heart of the park you’ll find Green Timbers Lake, stocked with rainbow trout. Fishing in Green Timbers is available year round.
The Green Timbers Greenway cuts through the park under the power lines just south of 96 Avenue. This greenway will take you across the City on bicycle or foot in either direction, connecting to Tynehead Regional Park in the east and Surrey Memorial Hospital in the west. The nature trail around Green Timbers Urban Forest is around 5 kilometres long. Allow around 2 hours for this walk.
Parks Sparks Program at Lafarge Lake
On Thursday, October 9th, a group of 12 enthusiastic volunteers went to Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam, BC, to help the City of Coquitlam with their Parks Sparks Program. The program is designed to work with interested community members (businesses, individuals, schools or organizations ) who would like to contribute their resources to enhancing Coquitlam park spaces for the benefit of the community.
The Volunteers enhanced the waterfront of Lafarge Lake with colourful and unique plants, providing a beautiful backdrop and scenery for those visiting the lake. The process will involved digging planting holes for small shrubs and perennials, and lifting and placing plants into the holes.
Lafarge Lake is a five-hectare man-made lake, located in Town Centre Park in central Coquitlam, British Columbia.
The area was originally a quarry owned by Lafarge, but in the 1970s the land was transferred to the City of Coquitlam, and a successful reclamation project ensued.
The lake is home to many species of waterfowl, as well as beavers, common carp, brown bullhead, bluegill, and is stocked with rainbow trout in the spring and fall.
Aggregates Team Helps Make the Sharing Farm Safer
The Sharing Farm Society is a community farm in Richmond BC dedicated to growing food for the local food bank. They have a commitment to sound, organic, and sustainable environmental practices. Approximately 75% of the food at the farm is given to the food bank while certain crop such as garlic are sold and the money donated to the food bank. The farm relies on dedicated volunteers from the community and local businesses; Lafarge employees volunteered to harvest their garlic crop in 2013!
Recently, the farm approached Lafarge for help with some of the safety upgrades in their greenhouse. A group of seniors work regularly in the greenhouse to harvest basil and after some discussion it was decided that adding crushed gravel to the floor would do the trick!
Thanks to the generous donation by the Aggregates division in GVA the seniors and other volunteers now have a safer workplace at the farm. With the help of some local firefighters the gravel was in place quickly and their good work continued!
2014 Lafarge Lake
On Tuesday, July 1st Lafarge Western Canada was out Building Better Communities in Coquitlam BC by hosting this year’s patio and information booth at the Lafarge Lake Canada Day Celebration. The day was filled with music, cake, ethnic & regional food, and fireworks to end the night.
Thanks to the Lafarge Environment BC Regional team for hosting the information booth, which featured displays of the upcoming Mossom Creek Hatchery rebuilding project and the history of Lafarge Lake. Did you know, back in the 1970’s, when Lafarge mined the site, they extracted materials leaving a five hectare void which is now Lafarge Lake. The lake’s maximum depth is 26 ft and is stocked annually with lake whitefish, brown bullhead, cutthroat trout and rainbow trout for the fishing enthusiast.
300 red and white potted begonia plants were handed out, and gone within an hour and a half, not surprisingly. Other giveaways included Rocky balloons, magnets, colouring books and puzzles. Kids were quite excited to see Rocky make a guest appearance and Rocky was equally as happy to pose for pictures and wave on the crowds!
If you would you like to check out Lafarge Lake and Town Centre Park yourself? You can find more information about visiting Lafarge Lake at the City of Coquitlam’s website:
http://www.coquitlam.ca/parks-recreation-and-culture/parks-and-trails/park-finder/Town_Centre_Park.aspx
Richmond Celebrates Earth Day 2014 by cleaning up and planting in the local community
On Earth Day this year, the employees at the Richmond Cement Plant worked together to cleanup two local parks and the shoreline on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C. They also helped create a patio garden at the local Hamilton community centre with 20 preschoolers.
The park cleanup was very successful, everyone worked together and was able to remove almost 2 truck loads of garbage from the parks! Some of the more interesting finds were tires, laminate flooring and paint cans.
The shoreline cleanup was organized with the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. Shoreline litter is a global environmental issue with long term impacts on ecosystems, wildlife and people. Helping to remove some litter makes the ecosystem healthier for everyone.
After cleanup, everyone headed over to the Hamilton Community Centre with Rocky where they spent the next few hours teaching preschoolers how to plants grow by creating an herb and flower garden. The kids were also able to plant their own flowers to take home and watch them grow.
For more information on shoreline cleanup please visit http://www.shorelinecleanup.ca
Central Aggregates Hosts the Provincial Heavy Equipment Operator Apprenticeship Program for Grade 12 Students
April 10, 2014
Since 2008 the Abbotsford School District has offered interested Grade 12 students a unique opportunity to become certified heavy equipment operators as part of their annual curriculum. Students are offered a semester of combined classroom and field experience that result in apprenticeship certification as a heavy equipment operator. Lafarge has proudly hosted this program during the two-week practical component.
This year Central Aggregates hosted the 15-student class at its site and Inland Kenworth generously donated 10 pieces of equipment for the student training including
excavators, dozers, loaders, skidsteers, and a rock truck.
On the second-to-last day of the practical component of the program, the students had the opportunity to showcase their new-found skills as heavy equipment operators. Parents, teachers, members of the Abbotsford School Board, and city representatives were shuttled to a safe viewing area to see the students at work. Representatives of the BC Road Builders were also on site providing information and answering questions. We would like to thank all participants for a successful program and we wish the students all the best in their future endeavors upon graduation!
Thank you letter from Cindy Schafer from the Board of Education.