Agriculture, Agri-food Canada, Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives co-hosted a workshop at the SmartPark Event Centre to bring interested parties together to discuss the potential for using biomass for energy production and managing water and nutrients in Manitoba. Hank Venema and David Lobb set the scene for discussions with background to current ideas and policy matters on this topic that are being researched and developed.
There is a lot of activity on this topic currently. Manitoba Government is implementing a bio-products strategy, which includes using bio-crops for a range of applications. Eric Liu told us there is particular interest in moving away from a reliance on coal for energy production, especially amongst Hutterite colonies and Jeremy Langner from Manitoba Hydro told us about a number of schemes to support the use of biomass for energy generation.
We heard about the Netley-Libau nutrient bioenergy project from Richard Grosshans,which is primarily focused on the use of cattails to remove nutrients from water and sediments around the entry point to Lake Winnipeg. This project sits alongside a range of projects at University of Manitoba, steered by Nazin Cicek, looking at the use of a range of biomass products for energy production - what form is the most efficient; generating new products such as bioplastics, and using bioenergy generation to manage wastes such as food waste and livestock manure and harvest gases as fuel. Through a federal tool BIMAT Lawrence Townley Smith told us that we have a good idea where crops are currently being grown.
Pascal Badiou brought the focus back to watersheds and the value of wetlands with a description of Ducks Unlimited work in Broughton's Creek.
Then our facilitator Sheldon McCleod got us all split into groups to identify the current strengths and gaps in knowledge about energy, nutrients and water. We broke for a fantastic lunch from Edna's Cafe and then considered current gaps in policy and programs, knowledge and Feasibility, economics and practicality and we tried to identify the appropriate actions and those responsible for taking things forward. When we reconvened to feedback to the whole group, it was clear that everyone had risen to the challenge and been thinking hard. I know on my table we became quite philosophical and tried to analyze why people act in the way they do - without a social scientist amongst us!
We certainly provided the organizing committee with plenty of food for thought and I am sure there will be lots more on this topic in the future.
Selena Randall
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