Ecosystem Restoration

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Assisting ecosystem recovery with a results-oriented approach

We understand ecosystem restoration is all about re-establishing ecological function to damaged or degraded environments through design, management, and monitoring. Our diverse team is here to serve as a trusted technical advisor in helping achieve your restoration goal—at nearly any scale or location. The perfect synthesis of understanding the local environment, deep bench of in-house multidisciplinary staff, and constant focus on innovation and safety is what drives our success.

We analyze natural processes driving ecological functions and incorporate these processes into designs to create self-sustaining ecosystems.

George Athanasakes Vice President, Ecosystem Restoration, Environmental Services

What does ecosystem restoration look like?

Degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems could be anything from mountains after a landslide to streams impacted by urbanization. Ecosystem restoration uses nature-based solutions to recover those areas, improving their natural processes and creating opportunities for resilient planning. Curious to see what an ecosystem restoration project looks like before and after our work? Read More

The decade on ecosystem restoration

Ecosystem restoration is the process of re-establishing ecological function to degraded environments. Our multidisciplinary team is here to serve as a trusted advisor in helping achieve your restoration goal.

Stantec becomes a UN Decade partner

The United Nations (UN) believes it’s time to prioritize ecosystem restoration. With the world’s population growing, we have to provide more food, energy, and clean water to more people. This trend, combined with climate change and biodiversity loss, is driving the critical need for this work—which is why we’re partnering with the UN for the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). Like the UN, we believe healthy ecosystems enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity. Read More

Creating space for life on land: Putting savings in our environmental bank

When an infrastructure project impacts a highly functioning wetland, stream, or critical habitat, state and federal agencies require the lost functionality be replaced by restoring that ecosystem in another nearby geography or by purchasing credits from a private mitigation bank. This helps offset the impact from development while promoting ecosystem services such as improved air and water quality, enhanced habitat, flood, and erosion protection, and higher crop yields. Something future generations will certainly need to cash in on.

Ending hunger and achieving food security are a priority

The worldwide decline of pollinators is posing serious threats to global environments and economies through loss of biodiversity and impacts on food production. Insect pollination is valued at more than $200 billion, yet habitats continue to decline. Our Ecosystem Restoration team strives to demonstrate why this crisis matters. Incorporating proactive thinking and planning into our client’s projects not only supports pollinators and their habitats, it also creates a positive corporate image and sense of community pride.

Greenlight on Orchids

Stantec’s Greenlight fund, part of our Creativity & Innovation Program, supports our people’s great ideas—like Melissa Curran’s. Learn how Melissa is working to restore and conserve North American orchid species.

Through design, management, and monitoring, our Ecosystem Restoration teams are reinvigorating the natural world.
68,630+
Acres
1,130+
Miles
50+
States and Provinces
10+
Disciplines

We’ve worked on more than 68,630 acres of land restoration across the US.
We’ve assessed and restored over 1,130 miles of waterways.
We’ve completed projects in over 50 states and provinces.
We have more than 10 disciplines focused on ecosystem restoration.

Related Services


Assessment & Permitting Using science to meet regulations.
Ecosystems By documenting existing conditions and determining potential impacts, we develop avoidance and mitigation measures that are cost-effective but ensure protection of fish, aquatic invertebrates, and vegetation.
eDNA Management of protected species requires reliable methods for detecting their presence without causing them harm. eDNA allows for sampling the environment for DNA shed by organisms without capturing, handling, or observing the target species.
Land Use Planning We provide responsible planning by creating careful and thoughtful options for right now as well as for the future that take into account site conditions, public input, client needs, and project requirements.
Natural Capital & Natural Resource Economics Natural Capital & Natural Resource Economics works across sectors and business lines to assess, value, and restore natural resources.
Nature-based Solutions Using Nature-based Solutions such as carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reduction, we can mitigate the ongoing effects of climate change.
Remediation & Revitalization We use our expertise to investigate, plan and implement the right solution to your challenges. 
Remote Sensing With technology including unmanned aerial systems (UAS), photogrammetry, LiDAR, underwater acoustics, and satellite imagery, our Remote Sensing team helps you know more about your projects.
Urban Planning & Design Our plans help harness the forces reshaping North American communities. We create places that are authentic, green, walkable, connected and diverse.  
Water Resources We help you to protect and restore sensitive water resources, explore and develop new sources of water, and manage risk resulting from sedimentation and flooding.
Water Services Through the life cycle of capture, use, reuse, and discharge, our team works to optimize every facet of a water system.

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    Work with passionate people who are experts in their field. Our teams love what they do and are driven by how their work makes an impact on the communities they serve.