End of 2010

With Christmas 2010 approaching, we are able to look back on a busy year of consolidation and growth.

Under Evan Howard’s management, our Perth office has expanded rapidly, and now includes a functional and busy erosion research laboratory to process samples from WA sites.  To help manage increasing workloads, Cam Vacher transferred to Perth in September, and Peter Berghofer has joined the Perth office to provide technical support.

Perth Laboratory

The Toowoomba office saw Matt Deegan commence work in our technical services group early in the year, with Dr Jerry Maroulis starting in July. Jerry is a Fluvial Geomorphologist with a long history of involvement in erosion research.

As always, the broad scope of Landloch’s projects has been remarkable.  Landloch staff have worked on projects across Australia and overseas, dealing with a wide range of environmental issues affecting virtually every industry that disturbs or manages land.  We have successfully completed a major research project dealing with landform design for waste dumps specifically considering sites in the Hunter Valley (ACARP Project No. C18024), presented papers at a number of workshops, and lectured at various industry training courses.  Equipment for automatic dosing of flocculant into building site runoff has been developed and commercialised.

Lab Rainfall Simulator Installation

We aim to continually improve company skills and performance, and Landloch staff have been involved in a range of training courses during the year.  Col Schiller and Helen Squires have largely completed requirements for CPESC (Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control) accreditation, ensuring that we have staff with either (or both)  CPESC and CPSS (Certified Professional Soil Scientist) accreditation to meet commitments in the expanding work area of erosion and sediment control planning and supervision.  As we anticipate that larger numbers of staff will be involved in monitoring minesite rehabilitation, we recently held a very enjoyable EFA (Ecosystem Function Analysis) training session with David Tongway.

Throughout the years, one constant applies – it has been extremely rewarding to work with so many different and committed people, who share our passion for practical outcomes from quality science. For all those associated with Landloch, we thank you for your support in 2010, and wish you a joyful Christmas and a successful and happy New Year .