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Restorative work

October 28, 2024

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GREAT LAKES DESIGN 89Restorative workText: R.J. WeickStantec is a global design and delivery firm known for its work in sustainable engi-neering, architecture, and environmental consulting. Headquartered in Edmonton, Al-berta, with office locations across the world, Stantec has worked on projects across indus-tries, designing solutions at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships to redefine what’s possible. Over the years, the firm has been recognized for its award-win-ning work and global initiatives, one of which is quietly redefining the reciprocal relationship between people and nature, and the built envi-ronment and natural systems.Dynamic, complex, and often painstak-ingly long-term, Stantec’s ecosystem resto-ration initiative seeks to enhance human, ecological, and infrastructure resilience through natured-based solutions. Its holistic and results-oriented approach plays the long game, so to speak, informed by a passionate, multidisciplinary team dedicated to re-estab-lishing ecological function to damaged or de-graded environments that ultimately benefit habitats, people, and future generations.“Simply put, humans rely on healthy nature for our survival. We are part of the ecosystem and must interact with it in a sustainable man-ner,” said Amy Flansburg, ecologist and project manager; Aaron Feggestad, senior ecologist; and James Melledy, senior project manager with Stantec’s Ecosystem Restoration team in Madi-son, Wisconsin, and Illinois, respectively.To date, the Stantec Ecosystem Restoration team is backed by more than 10 disciplines and has worked on roughly 68,630 acres of land res-toration across the United States, assessed and restored more than 1,130 miles of waterways, and completed projects in over 50 states and provinces. Feggestad said the societal benefits of a healthy ecosystem and ecological function really can’t be understated, from hydrological and carbon cycling processes to flood protec-tion, water quality, and the well-documented physical and mental health benefits. He also noted his own connection to the land stems from spending his formative years in a rural area being outside every day, which has under-TRAVELPHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF STANTECT | PICTURED: OPENLANDS LAKESHORE PRESERVE,STANTEC EMPLOYEES COMPLETING HERBICIDE APPLICATION TO CONTROL INVASIVE SPECIES AT A RESTORED COASTAL PRAIRIELuxury Organized Living Solutions Residential | CommercialDesign + Build bespoke_closetsburkemillwork.com | 734.679.2141 Bespoke Closets & Organized Spaces is a division of
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Amy Flansburg, Aaron Feggestad, and James Melledy tell Great Lakes By Design about ecosystem restoration and its impact on habitat, people, and more

Dynamic, complex, and often painstakingly long-term, Stantec’s ecosystem restoration initiative seeks to enhance human, ecological, and infrastructure resilience through natured-based solutions. The company takes a holistic and results-oriented approach aimed at the long game and informed by a passionate, multidisciplinary team dedicated to re-establishing ecological function to damaged or degraded environments that ultimately benefit habitats, people, and future generations.

Three projects exemplify this approach. They are the Openlands Lakeshore Preserve in Highland Park, Illinois; Chicago Park District in Chicago; and ComEd Pollinator Habitat Restoration in various locations in the Midwest. All three projects represent the complexity, nuance, and time often required in the restoration, rehabilitation, and ongoing adaptive management strategies dedicated to self-sustaining ecosystems.

However, all three projects were informed by goals like the protection and stewardship of remaining high-quality natural communities, such as the last vestiges of prairies, and the strategic restoration of natural communities from scratch in areas where they are not present due to historic land use.

  • Aaron Feggestad

    Aaron is a senior ecologist who focuses on ecosystem restoration, delivering site-specific and practical solutions based on conservation and regulatory-driven goals in natural and built environments.

    Contact Aaron
  • Amy Flansburg

    Amy offers clients, such as utilities and solar farms, advice on ecology, wildlife biology and environmental permitting, pollinator restoration, and regulations relating to terrestrial invertebrates, to help them be more sustainable.

    Contact Amy
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