Five finalists, including two women, have been announced for this year’s Quarry Life Award (QLA) competition organised by  Ghacem Ltd.

At a ceremony held in Accra QLA National Coordinator, Kwabena Larbi Addo and Quarry Managers from Ghacem’s Beposo and Yongwa quarries, it was announced the five would be given an amount of £ 500 each to start work on their projects immediately.

The finalists are Reuben Danso Mintah (from the University of Mines and Technology – UMAT), Kwasi Boadu Ntiamoah (UMAT), Bridget Akpably (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Cape Coast), Dr. Jonathan Hogarh (Department of Environmental Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – KNUST) and Millicent Amekugbe (Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science, University of Ghana).

They were selected from a shortlist of 35 applicants who submitted proposals for consideration into this year’s competition.

The QLA is an annual competition organised by the Heidelberg Cement (HC) Group and its subsidiaries across the globe, including Ghacem Company of Ghana, to source ideas towards the effective regeneration and management of biodiversity in its mining sites across the world.

The awards reward the most effective ideas on  ways to reclaim lands in areas where the HC Group operates globally.

The top 5 projects from each country are selected to compete at the international level.

The QLA Communications Coordinator, Mr. Solomon Ayiah urged the contestants to confront their projects with the seriousness, calling them to also turn to the competition’s jury and National Executives for advice when needed.

Sharing their views on the proposals, members of the jury noted that this year's competition produced some of the most competitive and innovative ideas.

Dr. Erasmus Owusu, a Conservative Biologist, described the five selected projects as “innovative and educative, and have great linkage with biodiversity.”

He, thus, expressed optimism that Ghana will put up a good showing on the international stage with the three top national winners.

Mr. Daniel Fordjour Agyemang, a geologist from the West Africa Quarries Limited,(a subsidiary of Ghacem)  observed that, “all the 35 shortlisted proposals were good, so it was not an easy task for us settling on the finalists.”

He urged the finalists to submit themselves to coaching, to be able to realise the best out of their projects.

Mr. Yaw Kwakye, of the Climate Change Unit of the Forestry Commission, touted the selected proposals as “very promising” with the potential to guarantee the country a good showing at the international level.

“This time, we are targeting the top stop,” he added, in apparent reference to last year’s global competition where Ghana, represented by Mr. Paul K. Nsiah, from the KNUST in Kumasi, emerged second.

Project titles

The finalists have the following as the title of the projects: R. D. Mintah (Protecting Communities from Quarry Dust using pennisetum purpureum as a dust barrier to promote Biodiversity in a Mining Site); K.B. Ntiamoah (The use of vermicompost from organic food waste as a potential treat for topsoil in restoring Biodiversity at quarry site reclamation); Bridget Akpably (Regreening of degraded landscapes, the role of alchonea cordifolia as a tool for sustainable ecological and socio-economic development); Dr. J. Hogarh (Composting for quarry site rehabilitation) and Millicent Amekugbe (Implications of Edge Effects as a tool in assisting ecological succession).