Farmer wins award for converting gravel pit back to farmland in North Dumfries

Ten years ago John Edworthy made the difficult decision to turn his farm in North Dumfries into a gravel pit. This week he won a Judges' Choice Award by the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association for the work he's done at converting a large part of it back to farmland. 

 "I feel good about it, yes," Edworthy told CBC News at the award ceremony Wednesday on his property. 

"I hope other people join in and maybe they can win the award," he said with a laugh. 

Edworthy said that so far, 40 per cent of the gravel pit has been rehabilitated back to its original state. He's been farming on it again for over five years, but his hope is to rehabilitate the entire pit.

"We're happy the way it's turned out," he said. 

The Ontario Aggregate Resources Act makes it mandatory for aggregate pits to undergo "progressive rehabilitation"  as companies extract raw materials. That means farmland needs to be restored back to a farmland, and companies must do it as they go along versus waiting until all the aggregate has been extracted.

According to Ontario's interactive pits and quarry map, there are over 80 aggregate pits in Waterloo region. The majority of them are in North Dumfries — the township has over 40. 

Sharon Armstrong, the Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association vice president of communications, said that the award has been given out for seven years, and they usually select a winner from a group of 20 sites. 

"The self-sustaining vegetation is a big part of it," Armstrong said, explaining what makes an award-winning site. "The ability to use all kinds of innovative materials, biodiversity, making sure that they're looking at how they can be as innovative as possible in creating natural environments and creating productive farmland, are some of the things that we look for."

"These awards are really designed to really show people, in progress, how these sites are transformed and how they go back to a useful use, whether it's a farm, back to nature, sometimes it's development or recreational uses such as golf courses for example."

North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton was at the award ceremony for Edworthy on Wednesday at his gravel pit. She offered insight into what has made his rehabilitated site successful. 

"This is because they're diligent and they followed the site plans and they did what they were supposed to do and they rehabbed it," she said. "And this is a success story, but I don't have a lot of success stories. I want more."