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Sustainable rehabilitation of land disturbed by mining and industry will be the subject of a free public lecture at The University of Western Australia next week.

The lecture will be delivered by Professor Martin Fey, Professorial Fellow in UWA's School of Earth and Environment.

According to Professor Fey, large areas of land around the world, including Western Australia, had been drastically disturbed by mining and industry.  To achieve sustainable rehabilitation, soil needs to be recreated from piles of waste so that new ecosystems are functionally stable, he says.

"Real soil is full of life and to achieve this state may require as much chemistry as is involved in the process that produced the waste initially."

This lecture is the second in a series of lectures showcasing the Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Science's commitment to excellence and introducing the Faculty's recently appointed professors.

Professor Fey has worked closely with South African agricultural, industrial and mining companies and consulted on soil problems with maize production in the Congo.  He has also visited Kenya regularly to advise on soil problems in the tea industry and investigated bauxite deposits in Guyana.

WHAT:               Free public lecture

WHEN:               6.15pm, Thursday, 1st October, 2009

WHERE:             University Club, The University of Western Australia,
(Hackett Drive, Entrance 1, Carpark 3)

Light refreshments provided, bookings essential.  RSVP [email protected] or 6488 1141.  For more details visit https://www.fnas.uwa.edu.au/research/lectures

Media references

Chris Hale (Natural and Agricultural Sciences)  (+61 8)  6488 1141
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716