The Athabasca Oil Sands is an extraction industry with many complexities that require reclamation practices following their closure. What could be the future uses of oil extraction mining sites? An opportunity presents itself for landscape architecture in generating adaptations to climate change for the future of this region. Can landscape architecture aid in planning for the resilience of future ecologies and success of these landscapes of avulsion?

The past and present uses of this area have contributed to a wealth of information that is beneficial in determining goals of a renewed ecological function. This research and design practicum proposes a set of ecological strategies for a site known as Tar Island, near Fort McMurray, Alberta. These strategies can be implemented as a framework for similar sites as the industry continues their presence in the Oil Sands with the plans and excavations which leave behind an altered landscape.