The RM of Rockwood's quarries could look very different in the near future. Reeve Jim Campbell says they were approached by University of Manitoba's Landscape Architecture class, who hope to create innovative plans for quarry rehabilitation. He notes they have a quarry advisory committee in place, that is consistently looking at ways to rehabilitate the quarry locations once the mining activities are complete. Campbell says these students could come up with ways to reinvent the quarries, providing a more attractive option than simply filling in the mined area.

"They might come out and come up with an idea for the area, instead of levelling the mud, to put a park there, or terrace the landscape and make a garden. The sky's the limit, it's their imagination. We have a rehab fund that's managed by the province, so that could help fund it."

He notes they have one dormant quarry near the town of Stony Mountain that would probably mark a good starting place for planning. While students will be coming up with the plans, Campbell says the final decision on what's to be done with the area will likely be up to those living in the area.

"It's not that they're going to be doing a whole section of a quarry -- probably just a little jewel in a corner of a quarry, or put it along a walking path. We have a real old quarry next to the community of Stony Mountain, and I believe this is where it's going to start. We'll working with community groups there as to what they might envision along a walking path, and maybe the students could come up with three or four ideas and we can pick one and go with it."

Campbell's excited about this partnership, noting many citizens often ask what's going to happen with quarries once they're out of commission.

"It's huge. We get a lot of public pressure as far as what's going to be done when the quarry operators are out of here. Rehab reduces dust, it reduces threat to the aquifer and it just makes the land more visually appealing, rather than just having a bare open hole. To me it's very exciting."

He says it sounds like quarry rehabilitation could become a regular part of the curriculum, meaning more than one quarry may see beautification measures take place.