Ecosystem Restoration

  • Deer Grove Forest Preserve Wetland Restoration

    Improving wetlands to promote healthy native animal and plant communities

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  • Toll Gate Creek Confluence Channel Improvements

    Natural channel design principles mitigate impacts of densely developed watersheds

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  • Perico Preserve Restoration

    Abandoned farmland restored in Manatee County

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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 multi-disciplinary 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

Ideas

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The decade on ecosystem restoration

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

Why the decade of restoration?

The United Nations (UN) believes there has never been a more urgent time to prioritize ecosystem restoration. In the coming years, we will need to provide food, clean water, and energy to more people with the same amount of natural resources—in some cases, less resources. This, plus a changing climate, is driving the critical need for ecosystem restoration today. The good news? Stantec is already way ahead of the UN—we’ve been successfully practicing and implementing ecosystem restoration for more than 25 years!

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.

Recent Projects

Funding & Ecosystem Restoration to Enhance Lake Michigan Coastline Habitat

Various Locations, Wisconsin

VDOT Statewide Open-End Environmental Contracts

Statewide, Virginia

Filsinger Park Stream Naturalization

Kitchener, Ontario

Katy Prairie Stream Restoration

Harris County, Texas

Idlewood Creek Dam Removal and Stream Restoration

Kitchener, Ontario

ComEd Pollinator Habitat Restoration

Various Locations, Illinois

Hatchery Creek Stream Restoration

Russell County, Kentucky

York River Mitigation Bank

King William County, Virginia

Big Thompson River Restoration

Larimer County, Colorado

Upper Qu’Appelle Channel Feasibility Study

Regina, Saskatchewan

Debris Flow and Debris Flood Hazard Assessment for Three Watersheds

British Columbia

Through design, management, and monitoring, our Ecosystem Restoration teams are reinvigorating the natural world.
40,000+
Acres Restored
1,000+
Miles of Streams and Rivers
50+
States and Provinces
10+
Disciplines
We’ve worked on more than 40,000 acres of land restoration across the US.
We’ve restored over 1,000 miles of waterways.
We’ve completed projects in over 50 states and provinces.
We have more than 10 disciplines focused on ecosystem restoration.

Expert Spotlight

Related Services

  • Assessment & Permitting

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  • Ecosystems

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  • eDNA

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  • Land Use Planning

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  • Natural Resource Valuation

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  • Remediation & Revitalization

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  • Remote Sensing

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  • Urban Planning & Design

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  • Water Resources

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  • Water Services

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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 Resource Valuation Working with nature to unlock the hidden value of your assets, minimize liability, and achieve your Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability goals.
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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