University of Alberta (U of A), Canada
The collaboration between members of the IGS and the University of Alberta started in 2007 and has developed steadily since that time. Milestones for the collaboration were the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) and the 
U of A (MOU) as well as the agreement between Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for early career researcher support signed in February 2011.
Based on the MOU students from the U of A and the BTU work closely together in the Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative ( HAI) interdisciplinary graduate school in research area 6: Mine Site Reclamation and Landscape Development.
To complement the activities at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) and BTU in research Area 6, the U of A established a Land Reclamation International Graduate School ( LRIGS). The LRIGS is financed by NSERC as part of the Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) programme (July 2011 to June 2017).
To intensify the collaboration with the U of A and to perpetuate the IGS we intend to set up an international research training group (IRTG) called “Reclamation of Drastically Disturbed Landscapes: Development, Sustainability and Land Use Options in Different Geographical Settings” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The preparations for the proposal are in process.
Activities
09/2010 Organization of the 4th Meeting of Young Researchers in Earth Science
( MYRES) at BTU
11/2010 1 day workshop on the IRTG preparation at BTU Cottbus
01.-02.03.2011 2 day workshop on IRTG preparation at BTU Cottbus
03.-04.03.2011 2nd HAI Annual Meeting in Potsdam (Germany)
09/2011 10 day visit of German delegation to U of A (HAI Research Day)
09.-11.05.2012 3rd HAI Annual Meeting in Edmonton (Canada)
HAI Land Reclamation Student Tour within the HAI Research Day (9/2011)
To give German and U of A participants the opportunity to meet each other, share ideas on land reclamation in different countries and cultures and get exposure to very different reclamation research projects at various locations in Alberta, a HAI Land Reclamation Student Tour was organized by members of the U of A (Anne Naeth, Heather Archibald, Katryna Forsch)
The tour began with a day trip to Agrium Redwater Fertilizer Operations and Agrium Fort Saskatchewan. The focus of the tour was on reclamation of the massive phosphogypsum stacks created as a by-product of phosphate fertilizer production. Further destinations were the Athabasca Oil Sands near Fort McMurray, the Genesee coal mine and different reserach sites in the Jasper National Park.
(Source: Newsletter for the Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative Theme 6, January 2012, Volume 1)
Joined Publications
Naeth, M.A., Chanasyk, D.S. and Burgers, T.D. (2010): Vegetation and soil water interactions on a tailings sand storage facility in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta Canada. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, 36(1-4). Pp. 19-30. Special Issue edited by Holländer, H.M., Biemelt, D., Raab, T. and Schoenheinz, D.
Krümmelbein J., Bens, O., Raab, T. and Naeth, M.A. (2012): A history of lignite coal mining and reclamation practices in Lusatia, Eastern Germany. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 92:53-66.