A frog’s-eye view on reclamation in the energy sector

Alberta Order of Excellence-nominated artist displays reclamation site art at SAIT

Krishi Yadav and Shannon Carla King in front of “What the Frogs Saw” in SAIT’s Johnson-Cobbe Energy Centre.

Travelling around Alberta, you can find many scenes of energy development: cul-de-sacs built around pumpjacks, flare stacks winking on the horizon and mining sites rising into the sky. But the frogs at Syncrude’s Sandhill Fen see it differently.

Yes, we said frogs.

Shannon Carla King grew up with energy development practically in her backyard near Drayton Valley, AB. With 30 years of experience working in the industry, she is a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematic) professional who now focuses full time on her art. Each piece she creates is a celebration of the oil-and-gas sector’s conservation and reclamation efforts, meant to educate and inspire — like “What the Frogs Saw,” now on display at SAIT.

Dale Hansen, Dean of Energy, SAIT, recalls of his first impression of King’s art at the World Petroleum Congress in 2023. “It was the story that drew me in,” he says. “Shannon’s art celebrated the beautiful things that come from reclamation.”

“What the Frogs Saw” creates a narrative in the viewer's imagination of what might have happened during the construction of the reclamation site: Syncrude Sandhill Fen. Many of these reconstructed wetlands offer a safe haven for frogs, who were helicoptered (helicoptered!) in as part of relocation and habitat and biodiversity monitoring plans.

But, a few short decades before this frog’s-eye view was captured, this land was used for mining.

Until 2000, before it became Sandhill Fen, Syncrude’s site in northern Alberta was a fully operational oilsands mining operation. After mining was completed, Syncrude set to work reclaiming the land — a process that includes removing equipment, cleaning up contamination, replacing soil and revegetating the area, as is required of all oil-and-gas operations in Alberta.

“What the Frogs Saw” was unveiled (along with another King original “Hungry Syncrude Dudes,” featuring wood bison grazing on reclaimed land) in SAIT’s Johnson-Cobbe Energy Centre to MacPhail School of Energy students, who study reclamation and conservation in their curriculum.

Hansen hopes learners will come away understanding that Alberta’s energy abundance coexists with water-and-land stewardship. “We can do the things we need to do to meet energy demands and still be good and responsible corporate citizens.”

He also wants them to feel pride in the energy industry. “There is always land disturbance from energy development, but companies are about returning things to the way they were or better. That’s really important, how they demonstrate responsibility in operations while also making the sector more diverse and sustainable.”

King herself echoes this: “In the reclamation profession, talented people show up every day, everyone from heavy equipment operators to biologists and researchers who help remove infrastructure and support these new ecosystems. To me, they’re the unsung heroes of our environmental accomplishments. We really should be talking about them more, and saying thank you.”

One Applied Petroleum Technology student in attendance, Krishi Yadav, felt strongly moved by the piece and King’s experience. As a photographer himself, he reflects on how an artistic perspective can make complex topics accessible: “Shannon used to work full time in oil and gas, and now she’s a full-time artist using her background to inform audiences. It’s all about telling a story.”

Yadav, learning about energy regulation in his classes, says, “I’m very passionate about the energy industry and how it provides essentials we need every day, but I don’t want us taking Mother Nature for granted.” He adds, “We have a personal responsibility to clean up the land.”

You can view King’s art in the Johnson-Cobbe Energy Centre. “Hungry Syncrude Dudes” is located on the first floor in the hallway leading to the escalators and main elevator, and “What the Frogs Saw” is on the third floor by the escalators.