b'NEIGHBOUR RELATIONSLove thy neighbourBy Kelly ParkerTaking a proactive approach to developing good relations with nearby residents is essential and reaps multiple rewardsTree Planting Day at Miller Aggregates Carden Quarry northeast of Brechin, OntarioG enerally speaking, laypersonsaPart of your plan for every site is yourcommunitieswiththeirtraditional have a good grasp on thefinal rehab plan, explains Cindy McCarthy,knowledge of the land, which comes in temporaryinconveniencesmanager of transportation and compliancehandy with quarry rehabilitation plans. At andnoiseinvolvedinthefor Miller Aggregates. A lot of those sitesone point when the quarry is mined out, expansionofhousinginare turned back to agriculture, or becomeyou want to return it to nature, and [you their neighbourhood, or in the constructionwater feature like a small lake, and mightwant to have] somebody who understands of a building. But the notion of a pit or quarryeventuallybesurroundedbyresidentialthat land, who understands the features of nearby tends to bring out the NIMBY inhomes. If were here for 50 or 100 years, Ithe land, what grows well, what are the peoplethe Not in My Backyard mindset.know it feels like a long-term use, but yourtrulynativecrops,andhowthewildlife children or grandchildren might be buying alikes to interact with that land. Thats an Thats why working on good neighbourhouse on a little Miller Lake. areathatsabsolutelycriticaltonotjust and community relations can go such a longWalker, but our industry in general.way toward ensuring the smooth operationCOMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTof an aggregate site. Its about maintainingAlso important at the outset is engagementNeighbours rightly have concerns about positiverelationswhilesimultaneouslywith Indigenous communities, stresses Chrishowthedailyoperationsofaquarry countering misconceptions, educating thoseBreen,vicepresidentofgovernmentandwillaffectthem,bothaestheticallyand who are leery, and enhancing a companyscommunity relations at Walker Aggregates.practically. Those reasonable issues can be reputation as an asset to the community. Breen notes that his firm will reach out andaddressed in a number of ways. McCarthy set up agreements with Indigenous groups tonotesthatMillersurroundsitsquarries For many, the first image that comes tofund their participation. Onsite, theyll walkwithearthenbermsandtreeblindsto mind when learning that a quarry will bethe land together and set up an archaeologicalconcealoperationsasmuchaspossible. operating nearby is a big, ugly hole forevermonitoring program to determine if there isUnfortunately,however,therecanbe replacingthepresentbeautifulwilderness.anything that is culturally significant on thatadownsidetothisapproach.People Ofcourse,thatsunavoidablygoingtobeland, and in turn that process may help inthen get an idea that were trying to hide the case for a short time, but it needs to betheir efforts to trace their history.somethingbehindourberms,shesays. communicated that it is just one part of anSo we open the gate and invite people in evolving process that ends with a completeWith an eye to the future, notes Breen,to come on in to see whats going on, and site rehabilitation.wegainalotofhelpfrom(Indigenous)well explain our processes.WINTER 2024AVENUES 25'