{"id":2279,"date":"2024-03-06T16:38:01","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T16:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/landformdesign.com\/?page_id=2279"},"modified":"2024-03-06T16:38:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T16:38:01","slug":"ldq-winter-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/landformdesign.com\/index.php\/ldq-winter-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"LDQ Winter 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2193 Download a PDF of this issue<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The art of a DBM: A new online short course<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By James Hrynyshyn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the design basis memorandum (DBM) has been around for decades in other fields, it\u2019s probably a safe bet that few mine closure engineers have been asked to write one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As part of the LDI\u2019s efforts to make DBMs commonplace in landform design, the Institute is now offering a new online \u201cshort course\u201d on how to create one. The course includes eight video lectures recorded by the Institute\u2019s founder, Gord McKenna. Each lecture and its accompanying exercises cover one element of the process, from crafting an appropriate vision and writing the actual document to implementing the measures it contains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course provides direction on assembling a design team comprising specialists who can develop a vision and a master table of goals, objectives, and criteria. It sets out instructions on the governance of the design process, including collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and offers a community forum to discuss course material with other practitioners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students complete three exercises that will be evaluated by a landform design expert within 14 days. Those who complete the course will receive a DBM certificate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to McKenna, the expectations of mining companies, regulators, and local communities regarding the design, construction, and performance of reclaimed lands are frequently misaligned, but without direction, addressing this problem is nearly impossible. \u201cAn effective DBM ensures all stakeholders are working together toward shared goals and objectives,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat this course does is give engineers the ability to create one.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fee for the course is $399 for nonmembers of the LDI. Members enjoy a 20% discount, which makes the cost $319 for each student, individual member, or members employed by a corporate member. Registrants can take advantage of the discount by registering as LDI members for $90 as individual members or $10 for students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The core text for the course, the recently released how-to guide Developing a Design Basis Memorandum for Landform Design, is available at no charge here<\/a>. Members have access to supplementary information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Hrynyshyn is a writer and editor with West Hawk Associates<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Season 3 of Getting Closure now streaming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The third season of Getting Closure, a podcast produced by the LDI, wraps up this winter with an exploration of the myriad possible uses for an abandoned mine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peter Whitbread-Abrutat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the latest episode, host and LDI Director Mike O\u2019Kane talks with Peter Whitbread-Abrutrat<\/strong>, the co-author of 102 Things to Do With a Hole in the Ground and a leading proponent of progressive and sustainable mine closure. From his home in Cornwall, UK, Whitbread-Abrutat leads Future Terrains, a team of reclamation specialists and landscape architects tasked with reclaiming degraded lands by enhancing environmental and social performance and promoting landscape restoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their conversation also extracts some of the lessons from the Eden Project, which, with Whitbread-Abrutat\u2019s scientific guidance, turned what used to be a china-clay pit into the world\u2019s largest indoor rainforest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other episodes this season, O\u2019kane sat down (literally or through the Internet) with: <\/p>\n\n\n\n