The Location‍

📍 Sawle Lake & McMillan Complex, Alberta, Canada

Alberta’s vast boreal forests cover 60% of the province and store over 500 million tonnes of carbon. These ecosystems provide essential habitat for more than 200 bird species, support regional biodiversity, and play a vital role in Canada’s climate resilience.

In 2019, the McMillan Complex wildfire scorched large swaths of crown land—including previously harvested cutblocks with no current reforestation liability. Without intervention, these forests would be left to regenerate naturally, which often results in slow, patchy recovery and reduced biodiversity.

This project, led by Shakti Reforestation Ltd. in partnership with Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries (Alpac), is a pilot initiative to explore scalable, third-party reforestation solutions that align with federal and provincial regulations. If successful, it could pave the way for larger future plantings across Alberta’s public lands.

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The Problem‍

Wildfires and deforestation have left parts of Alberta’s forested landscape degraded and vulnerable. Key challenges include:

• Incomplete or delayed natural regeneration after wildfire
• Soil degradation and biodiversity loss
• Increased wildfire risk due to sparse tree cover
• Gaps in forest health data in remote regions

The need for proactive restoration, informed by real-time data and smart systems, is urgent—and foundational to preserving Alberta’s ecological future.

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The Solution‍

Enter Sawle Lake Smart Forest 2.0—a groundbreaking reforestation project combining traditional planting with cutting-edge tech. This "smart forest" is equipped with ROOT (Real-Time Observation of Trees) sensors to monitor forest health continuously and remotely.

Restoration strategy includes:

• Planting White Spruce and Blue Spruce, resilient native conifer species
• Deploying bioacoustic, soil, and climate sensors to monitor wildlife activity, forest stress, and fire risk
• Using Starlink connectivity to transmit live data, reducing the need for on-site visits
• Testing scalable third-party restoration models on public crown land

It’s a new frontier in forest restoration—where ecological regeneration meets advanced observation tools.

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Partners

Shakti Reforestation Ltd., Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries (Alpac)

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What is Terrestrial Reforestation?‍

Terrestrial reforestation involves restoring degraded land through native tree planting and long-term forest management. In Alberta, reforestation is not just about carbon sequestration—it’s about rebuilding climate resilience, habitat integrity, and fire resistance.

This project introduces real-time monitoring to traditional restoration, giving foresters the tools to track changes in:

• Soil composition
• Moisture levels
• Bird and wildlife populations
• Fire risk indicators

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Bioacoustic sensors "listen" to bird calls—nature’s health signals—and machine learning algorithms help detect population shifts. This makes forest recovery more measurable, adaptive, and accountable.

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The Impact

• 0.55 tonnes of CO₂ sequestered per tree
• Forest data collected in real time through ROOT system
• Enhanced wildfire risk prevention via climate sensors
• Bird populations tracked through bioacoustic monitoring
• Wildlife supported includes Black Bear, Moose, White-Tailed Deer, and Hare

Fun Fact: Birds are powerful indicators of forest health. Our “eavesdropping” sensors analyze their songs and calls using global species databases, providing insights into local biodiversity and ecosystem shifts.

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Tree Species‍

🌲 White Spruce
🌲 Blue Spruce

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Planting Timeline‍

🌱 Varies by site—dependent on wildfire recovery and seasonal access

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Sustainable Development Goals Supported‍

🌍 Climate Action
🌲 Life on Land
⛑️ Good Health and Wellbeing

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How You Can Help‍

Ecodrive allows your business to support forward-thinking forest restoration projects—like this smart reforestation initiative in Alberta.

Connect customer purchases or business milestones to real environmental impact, and showcase your commitment to sustainability backed by data, transparency, and innovation.

With Ecodrive, you get seamless integration into your Shopify or e-commerce store, live tracking dashboards, marketing support, and verified reporting—so your customers know their impact is real, measurable, and helping protect some of Canada’s most important forests.

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