The City of Portland never ceases to amaze me with it’s fearless innovation to be green! Most of us drove downtown over the last several months and saw the big white Cavalia tents on the waterfront without ever giving a second’s thought to what all of that might be doing to the ground underneath. Few of us thought, “Geez, I wonder how the city will restore the waterfront and the grass.” Likewise, in a few months when this area of the waterfront is a lovely dog park again, few people will ever be aware of the process involved in returning the disturbed and heavily compacted soils to their original beauty.

This remediation project is full of what I love about Portland. This amazing city is not rotting in the prison of the status quo. Portland prides itself on doing what is “greenest” and pays no mind to the norm. Clearly this is why we lead the nation in a myriad of innovative sustainability practices.

Let’s imagine for a moment that this restoration project was accomplished by the minds of men who were locked up in “this is how we’ve always done it” prison. The city would have spent up to 70% more of our dollars purchasing topsoil, would have dug a giant hole elsewhere in the earth to harvest topsoil–which would have disturbed even more soil, and, in the process of relocating all of the topsoil, would have blown tons of pollutants into the air all whilst tying up traffic downtown with dump trucks. So, I’m not saying topsoil is never a good idea, but when there is already plenty of “dirt” on the ground (as there is at the waterfront) topsoil is simply overkill.

The Cavalia show was amazing, but left some pretty compacted and disturbed soils in its wake.

So how can we turn the waterfront into a grassy dog-park without topsoil or compost? The city has had to answer this question before. So, they chose the same method used after the Occupy Portland campers moved out of the downtown parks in December 2012 (PermaMatrix). This soil amending technique simply requires a hydro-seeding truck, water and a crew for a few hours. Since the site needed to be seeded anyway, the soil amendment was hydraulically applied simultaneously with the seed–all in a few hours.

The crew who applied the PermaMatrix to the waterfront site said, “We applied the PermaMatrix to ground that had basically become concrete. We asked for the soils to be broken up prior to our application to allow air penetration, but that never happened so we’ll see. We’ve seen PermaMatrix sprout seed on sand, so this should grow.”

I also learned that native seeds were used on the waterfront. If you are you are unfamiliar with why it is important to use native seeds click here.

Finally, we are finding that Biotic Soil Amendments (BSA’s) are useful for much more than just growing seeds. PermaMatrix has actually been hydraulically applied as an emergency response to an oil drill spray to remediate the environment directly effected by the spray. PermaMatrix has a dual purpose when used as a biotic soil amendment in the oil industry: first as a bio-remediator by releasing hardy, oil-eating oleophilic bacteria that will consume hydrocarbons and mitigate PHC damage caused by oil spills; and second to restore the biological function to the soil so plants can regenerate naturally. This combined approach to contaminant cleanup and plant regeneration is the function of PermaMatrix.  By looking at how natural systems restore the accidents humans create PermaMatrix is the right choice for a sustained and affordable approach to restoration all around.

Incredibly, the seed has already to begun to germinate in the midst of winter!

City crews began the restoration process for two downtown Portland parks damaged during the weeks-long Occupy Portland encampment.
Crews applied environmentally-friendly products to the soil in Chapman and Lownsdale squares instead of bringing in new soil.
Officials said the city decided to use a product with new technology to improve the quality of the existing soil. Both the product and its application method are considered new technology.
Typically, soil amendment products are applied by air, using blowers, but crews used a hose to spray the park soil with a liquid, officials said. It contains PermaMatrix, which is made of organic and recycled materials including coffee grounds from some of Portland’s largest retailers. It also contains a charcoal-type element that will help the soil filter water.
Crews say the substance will also save the city money.
“It’s so much quicker to get on the ground,” said Barry Cook with Northwest Hydro Mulchers. “I can do with a two- to three-man crew in about one hour and 15 minutes what it takes a five-man crew, air applied, half a day.”
Crews also applied seed to the ground.
Copyright KPTV 2011. All rights reserved.

Jeremy Van Dijk, 26, gets raking Chapman Square on Wednesday. The weather has been dry enough for the city to reschedule the mass leaf-raking from last month. Chapman and Lownsdale squares have been closed since police evicted the Occupy Portland encampment Nov. 13. – Photo Credit Anne Saker/The Oregonian

The gates encircling Chapman and Lownsdale squares opened Wednesday morning for dozens of volunteers to rake the bounty of leaves that have collected since police evicted the Occupy Portland camp last month.

A spot of rain forced postponement last month of the leaf rake. As December has been clear and dry, rakers could walk the grounds Wednesday to start the major cleanup of the squares.

Simon Travis of Northeast Portland, who had camped briefly during the 38-day demonstration in the squares, said Wednesday he felt compelled to return to contribute to reclaiming the squares.

“This is an easy thing for me to do,” said the computer programmer, 36. “I’m a person of privilege. I’m by no means part of the one percent, but I do fine. I’m able to do this. It’s something that I can do to contribute.”

Portland company Sunmark Environmental Services has sold to the city at a reduced price 3 tons of a soil additive called PermaMatrix, which is, as the news release says, “made up of 100 percent organic and recycled products (that) incorporates the garbage from some of Portland’s largest coffee retailers.”

Mark Ross, spokesman for Portland Parks & Recreation, said the Oregon Seed Council has donated the grass seed that will be applied to the squares in the spring.

Terry Schrunk Plaza, to the south of the squares, has also been closed since mid-November. The federal government owns that property, and it plans to reopen the park Thursday.

In celebration, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon has invited the public to join its members at noon in Schrunk Plaza’s amphitheater for a reading of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, which were ratified 220 years ago Thursday.

As many as 500 people violated the city’s anti-camping ordinance from Oct. 6 until Nov. 13 with a tent city, political activity and a working kitchen that fed as many as 1,000 people a day.

The encampment aimed to make a statement about economic inequality, that one percent of Americans hold 40 percent of the nation’s wealth. The city tolerated the demonstration until a camper was charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail at the World Trade Center two blocks away.

The city has since issued an estimate that at least $85,850 is needed to restore Chapman and Lownsdale squares to their green, lush state before the encampment. Occupy demonstrators dispute that figure, saying the city is trying to tack on deferred maintenance to the Occupy bill.

A fund has been established for donations to pay for the renewal.

– Anne Saker, Twitter @dwtnPDXreporter

The City of Portland’s restoration effort to restore downtown parks to their original condition is one of the tasks stemming from the Occupy Portland movement.  Over the past several months, high foot traffic has compacted the soils and plant life in many of Portland’s parks, rendering the soil in need of a little help. Portland Parks & Recreation was very clear about not pointing fingers and expressed that the restoration is simply something that must be done.

In the restoration process, the city of Portland wants to take a step in the  “green” direction. Their main goals for this project are to restore the compacted areas without causing further contamination to the environment, and to save taxpayers’ money. They also want to insure that the Parks’ natural balance is restored and possibly even enhanced to benefit future generations.

In order to do this, City officials have taken an innovative new approach. To ensure the Restoration Project will be carried out using the most sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, they sought the help of a new soil amendment product called PermaMatrix. The local engineers of PermaMatrix have scientifically created a biotic soil treatment product made up of 100% organic and recycled products which incorporates the garbage from some of Portland’s largest coffee retailers.

In the past, using traditional methods to restore this many acres of disturbed land would require contractors to haul in dozens of truckloads of topsoil, hire crews to spread the dirt and then hope for the plants to grow. The cost as well as the carbon footprint left by all of this soil relocation is significant.

So, in lieu of days of labor costs and the pollution associated with relocating truckloads of soil, PermaMatrix will be hydraulically applied to the grounds at Lownsdale Park and Chapman Squares on December 19^th. In a matter of hours, these biotic additives can be sprayed directly onto the ground to enhance the existing soils, thus eliminating the toxic carbon imprint left by large dump trucks.

By thinking outside of the box, the city is not only saving thousands of taxpayers’ dollars, but also creating an organically sustainable downtown environment.  PermaMatrix is a completely different approach to soil restoration that significantly reduces carbon emissions and produces lush, fertile soils at fraction of the cost.

Perhaps the best benefit of all is that PermaMatrix contains a charcoal-like substance called Biochar. Biochar, much like Britta filters, works in combination with a strategically designed suite of microbes to turn the park’s soil into a giant water filtration system, thus reducing further pollution from the rainwater run off.

The scientists who engineered PermaMatrix say, “It’s pretty simple. PermaMatrix was created by scientifically understanding the biotic make-up of earth’s most fertile soils, and mimicking that wisdom. We’ve intentionally duplicated nature’s own biotic recipe for growing plants and filtering water.”

Sunmark Environmental, the parent company of PermaMatrix is a 30-year-old Portland based company that specializes in native seeds as well as organic, sustainable restoration of disturbed soils, waters and other environments.

PermaMatrix™ is a blend of pure organics and recycled materials for use in all created wetlands and biofiltration swales to improve the performance of the native plant communities without fear of contamination of sensitive waterways!

PermaMatrix™ stems from two words- permaculture and matrix. Permaculture, or permanent agriculture, is an approach to designing perennial agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies.  Matrix, a group of things that create another, refers to a biological material where specialized structures are formed or embedded.  Today there is a belief that humans must give plants nutrients for them to prosper. In reality, plants are designed to feed themselves through the recycling of their own biomass. With the optimum rhizosphere no artificial fertilization is necessary.

PermaMatrix™ Biotic Soil Amendment
Combines carbon based fiber, superior organics, micro-organisms, beneficial fungi, water holding materials, and many other soil-like components together to create a growing medium that is not only optimal for plant growth but creates a permanent and healthy growing environment for plants. It is also excellent for poor soils that need an organic additive and for slopes and channels where you need to dramatically boost the organic content of your subsoil.

What Does PermaMatrix™ do?
PermaMatrix replaces the biological function needed for the establishment of vegetation to disturbed or depleted soils at 1/5th the cost of traditional topsoil/compost.

What is PermaMatrix™ made of?
PermaMatrix is comprised of histolic soil, recycled natural fibers, biochar, water holding organics, and a microbiological living component or “matrix.”

How does PermaMatrix™ work?
A complex matrix of microbes, fungus, organics and structure provide soil with everything needed to sustain life. PermaMatrix restores this “Matrix,” enhancing disturbed or depleted ecologies!

How is PermaMatrix™ applied?
The most common application is hydraulically, using existing equipment called a hydro-seeder. PermaMatrix is easily and effectively sprayed onto soils.

What is the application rate of PermaMatrix™?
PermaMatrix is applied at a rate of 4000 lbs. per acre, or 100 lbs. per 1,000 square feet. Metric rates would be 4500 kilograms per hectare, or 15 kilograms per 100 square meters.

How is PermaMatrix™ packaged?
PermaMatrix comes in 50 pound, 22.5 kilogram all weather bags.

Will PermaMatrix™ work on sandy or high clay content soils?
Yes, PermaMatrix restores biological function by replacing organics, micro-nutrients and carbon structure to disturbed or depleted soils.

Is PermaMatrix™ a fertilizer?
No, PermaMatrix is designed with the concept of nutrient recycling. As in nature, everything needed to sustain vegetative life is in soil. When these soils are disturbed, by natural or man made events, the ability for soil to support vegetation is reduced or eliminated. PermaMatrix addresses the biological function so soils can recycle nutrients on their own.

Will PermaMatrix™ work with fertilizer?
Yes, fertilizer is comprised of N-P-K, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). These are macro-nutrients and will give plants an immediate food source. PermaMatrix will enhance the application of macro-nutrients and sustain them longer.

Will PermaMatrix™ provide my erosion control?
No, PermaMatrix is a biotic soil amendment that addresses the issue of poor soils. Erosion control mulch is recommended to keep the seed in place and provide protection of erodible areas.

Does PermaMatrix™ need to be incorporated into the soil?
No, PermaMatrix is applied hydraulically to the top layer of soil. This top layer is where the seed needs to be to germinate. As the seed develops and grows, the micro-nutrients in PermaMatrix develop with the root systems.

Can PermaMatrix™ be applied dry?
Yes, an application of PermaMatrix can be completed with a peat moss roller, or by a blower truck. PermaMatrix will need an erosion control measure to insure that it is kept in place.

Will PermaMatrix™ work on my turf grass lawn?
Yes, PermaMatrix will increase the biological function of your soil and build a healthier stand of turfgrass. We would recommend the use of organic fertilizer for this application.

Can PermaMatrix™ be injected into the soil to improve the root zone of trees?
Yes, PermaMatrix™ can be injected with a water-jet stinger into the root zone of trees, or vineyards. Injecting PermaMatrix™ into the root zone under pressure helps aerate and provide much needed oxygen to the root system. This improves the oxygen content, microbial activity, and nutrient levels within the soil, leading to improved environmental conditions around and within the root zone of these species.

What is Biochar in PermaMatrix, and what does it do?
Biochar is pyrolized biomass, or biomass that has been burned in the absence of oxygen. This process creates a highly porous structure that provides the optimum host for soil microbes. Biochar also holds 50% of the biomass’s carbon and when applied to soil, sequesters that carbon for centuries, reducing the overall amount of atmospheric CO2 by removing it from the active cycle. Biochar also enhances plant growth which absorbs more CO2 from the atmosphere. Overall, these benefits make the biochar process carbon negative.

What do the microbes in PermaMatrix™ do?
Ecobiotics are a group or suite of microbes that aid in germination, provide nitrogen fixation, decompose hydrocarbons and petrol chemical residues, and breakdown biomass which creates humus.  This process is called Pedogensis or the formation of topsoil.

Is there Mycorrhizae in PermaMatrix™?
Yes, Ecolive is an endo/ecto blend of mycorrhizae.  Mycorrhizae interactions develop a symbiotic relationship between the mycorrhizae spores and plant root nodes, enhancing plant fitness.  This creates better performing vegetation, allowing plants to withstand environmental stresses.

Is PermaMatrix™ approved by any agencies?
Yes, PermaMatrix is currently on the Oregon Department of Transportation Conditional Qualified Products list.  PermaMatrix has also been approved for use on a federal project in Washington State by the Army Corp of Engineers.

As a hydroseeder, do I need any special equipment?
No, PermaMatrix is applied with no modifications to your existing equipment.  In fact, applicators can get 50% more material in their tank than wood fiber erosion control mulch.

How does PermaMatrix™ save 60% – 80% of topsoil replacement?
Topsoil replacement for 6” over 1 acre = 806 cubic yards.  Take an average of $20 per yard for topsoil/compost, 67 truckloads to the site, and the equipment to spread it, you will be close to $30,000 per acre.  PermaMatrix averages $7,500 – $8,200 per acre installed to seed.

The following questions relative to the viability, proposed use, and qualifications of PermaMatrix ™ have been presented for consideration as a BMP under Washington State Department of Ecology’s Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington: Vol. V, BMP T5.13

Please consider the following:

Q:   How does the PermaMatrix™ product provide high rates of water infiltration and retention.
A: PermaMatrix, a 100% organic product, augments water infiltration in a number of ways by incorporating the components listed below. These include the use of (but are not limited to) the following:

Retention

• PermaMatrix is comprised of highly absorbent sedge and rush peat as the basis of the organics.  Peat in its natural setting can hold up to 20 times its dry weight in water.
• In combination with the peat are natural burlap fibers that are up to twice as absorbent as wood shavings, making it an excellent soil amendment and moisture retainer.
• ‘Geo-humus’, a new form of organic absorbent,  is a soil additive with excellent water absorbing and release properties. It is a unique material that combines efficient water absorbing starch based polymer with mineral components. The key benefit of geo-humus is that it provides more plant available water over an extended period of time compared to typical soils without geo-humus.
• Mycorrhizae fungi called EcoLive™ is also a component in PermaMatrix.  EcoLive establishes the mychorrhizal mechanisms of increased absorption that are both physical and chemical. Mycorrhizal mycelia are much smaller in diameter than the smallest root, and thus can explore a greater volume of soil, providing a larger surface area for absorption.
• BioChar, a carbon-rich product derived from pyrolyzed biomass is another significant part of PermaMatrix. Biochar’s water holding capacity is significant due to its microscopic pore space. It is used to improve agriculture and enhance soil productivity and its stability and superior nutrient-retention properties make it an ideal soil amendment to enhance water retention while supporting and sustaining microbial activity in the soil.

Infiltration

• Healthy soils consist of approximately 25% air space. Other than mechanically breaking or tilling soils, one of the most effective means of water infiltration result from the root development of a healthy plant community. PermaMatrix includes mycorrhizal fungi which has been well documented to significantly enhance root development through the beneficial symbiotic relationship between the fungi and the cellular structure of plant roots. Both Ectomycorrhiza and Endomycorrhiza are present in PermaMatrix.
• Ectomycorrhiza fungus envelops a sheath around roots which creates a condition in which hyphae spread through the soil greatly increasing both porosity and thus surface area. The enhanced root mass effectively adds infiltration to soil.
• Mycorrhizal colonies form particularly well in native plants. These native plants develop a mycorrhizae community in the soil that can reach depths of 18 inches to 12 feet.  With a greater root mass and increased root development, soils have far greater porosity and capacity for infiltration and retention.

These key components give PermaMatrix the properties that enable and enhance its ability to filter and retain water. The key differentiation between PermaMatrix and conventional products/methods are not the sum of its parts…but what that sum or “matrix” creates.

Q:   How does PermaMatrix™ help minimize surface water runoff and erosion?
A: PermaMatrix is a combination of organics, fiber, biotic components, biochar and other beneficial trace elements. The product is applied hydraulically with standard hydroseeding equipment and can be used with standard organic BMP-qualified tackifiers or bonded fiber matrix erosion control products.  The fiber and organics creates a mulch-like product that provides an excellent matt cover.  The benefit of this application as opposed to compost is that PermaMatrix can be used in relatively inaccessible locations where the application of topsoil is not possible.

Not only does the fibrous material in PermaMatrix provide both an organic cover and act as a biotic soil amendment that recreates a naturally forming rhizosphere…it also binds the other applied elements to create outstanding erosion resistant application. While water can penetrate the product to reach the seed bank contained within, it simultaneously assists in the erosion protective function of other traditional mulches.

Q:   How does PermaMatrix ™ help trap sediments, heavy metals and excess nutrients, and biodegrade chemical contaminants?
A: A critical component that makes PermaMatrix unique is the inclusion of BioChar which serves as an ionic exchange media absorbing traces of mineral ions onto the particle surfaces from both the surrounding soils and rain or storm water runoff. BioChar particles then trap and hold the minerals within the charcoal’s molecular structure where it is held until the soil bacteria associated with a root hair of plants secretes the enzymes necessary for it to be released once again. The increased absorption and retention of water through organic absorbents, silicate and milled volcanic rock provides additional hydration to stimulate the ion exchange necessary for increased microbial development.

Trace minerals present in rainwater, or minerals from the soil therefore can enhance nutrient availability needed by the native plants year after year. This “nutrient recycling” happens naturally in healthy vegetated systems, but when sites have been disturbed these natural processes are depleted.  PermaMatrix address this issue and replaces the components needed to reestablish the biological function of disturbed sites.

Q:   How does PermaMatrix™ encourage, promote and sustain the establishment of the vigorous growth of protective vegetative cover.
A: PermaMatrix has been designed as a sustainable growing medium that greatly reduces the impact and costs associated with replacing topsoil and/or importing compost. Each of the components used as the foundation of PermaMatrix have been scientifically proven to individually encourage vegetative cover…but when used collectively as a “matrix”, these components provide plant communities everything needed to sustain themselves while ensuring improved vegetative function in depleted, disturbed or degraded soils.

Q:   How does PermaMatrix™ support beneficial soil ecologies that fight pests and disease while supplying plant nutrients…thereby reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides that may contaminate waterways?
A: Designing perennial ecosystems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies is the concept that was used in developing PermaMatrix. EcoBiotics™ is the natural bacterial component of PermaMatrix wherein bacteria produce enzymes that act on the BioChar to release its mineral ions – making those nutrients bio-available to the root hairs of the plant as nutrients. BioChar provides a host for micro-organisms in its microscopic pores. These pore spaces serve as physical “shelters” for mycorrhizal hyphae and symbiotic fungi and bacteria, protecting them from other microbial predators and hazards. This concept focuses on sustainability, and how we can enhance disturbed sites using natural systems.

Long before synthetic hydrocarbon based fertilizers came to market, nature had already perfected a bio-sustainable way of providing the necessary food for plant communities to thrive. When a plant begins and completes its natural cycle, the resulting organic biomass (humus) is then converted into the elemental nutrients necessary for renewed plant growth.

Through the intervention of microbes and beneficial fungi, this natural growth and degradation cycle provides all the nutrition necessary for sustainable plant development without the addition of artificial fertilizers. In fact, ongoing studies by a team of researchers at the University of Illinois indicate that synthetic nitrogen use, creates a kind of treadmill effect. As organic matter dissipates, the soil’s ability to store organic nitrogen declines. A large amount of nitrogen then leaches away, fouling ground water in the form of nitrates, and entering the atmosphere as nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas.

BioChar, with its enormous relative surface area, provides an additional micro-habitat for micro-organisms within its microscopic pores. These pores serve as physical “shelters” for mycorrhizal hyphae and various symbiotic bacteria, protecting them from microbial predators and hazards.

By incorporating BioChar into PermaMatrix, the product enables designers and regulators to focus on sustainability, and how they can enhance disturbed sites using natural systems.

PermaMatrix is not a fertilizer but a natural, rhizosphere producing matrix of organic materials that sets up and mimics the native ecology necessary for sustainable plant growth. As such, it can be used in all wetlands or biofiltration swales to improve the performance of Native Plants and has none of the deleterious effects of synthetic fertilizers .

Q:   How does PermaMatrix™ reduce the need (or dependence) for synthetic landscape fertilizers, thus reducing pollution through prevention?
A: Simply put…there is no longer a need for synthetic fertilizers when PermaMatrix is used. While PermaMatrix can be augmented with hydraulically applied organic fertilizers, the use of fertilizers is generally not warranted – especially when native plant species are used to revegetate. The risk of secondary contamination from synthetic fertilizers in critical areas and watersheds can be completely eliminated by using PermaMatrix.

PermaMatrix™ is the first Organic Biotic Soil Amendment (OBSA) in the marketplace. We believe that OBSA’s, like PermaMatrix, that promote naturally self-sustaining ecologies and ecosystems should be considered ‘equal to’ existing BMP’s or as a preferred method of soil enhancement when used to recreate naturally occurring bio-systems.