G.O.A.L. (The Greenbelt Overhaul Alliance of Levittown) is a non-profit organization, founded in 2009 by Dale Frazier, in Levittown, Pennsylvania. GOAL is dedicated to cleaning Levittown, PENN greenways and tributaries of debris; elimination of waterway damming by debris; removal of undesirable plant species with replacement by desirable species; and the ongoing maintenance of these remediated areas through education, participation of the public, other interested parties.Over the past 2 years, G.O.A.L. has applied EM•1® Microbial Inoculant in the planting of local riparian buffers in the Levittown, Penn, USA area in order to remediate the local green zones and stream banks. Leaves and other debris have accumulated in drainage ditches causing odors and pest problems. Fertilizers and road runoff from the surrounding area run into these ditches as well. The ditches were so plugged they would often flood. As water sat in the plugged ditch it would go stagnant. This water eventually flowed (trickled really) into Silver Lake, bringing with it any pollutants that had accumulated in the water.G.O.A.L., along with members and volunteers, has removed over 300 cubic yards of trash and invasive plant species, planted over 850 native trees, removed 1,000 tires from the area, and planted native wildflowers within riparian buffers. Robert Nix, President/CEO of B Organix, Co
. Inc, is the acting soil and planting specialist working with G.O.A.L. He has been volunteering his time and donating the EM•1® in these projects. Robert Nix has been using Effective Microorganisms® products for the past 15 years for many uses. Mr. Nix has been a long-time customer of TeraGanix and has worked closely with the company on various applications of EM Technology®, including the G.O.A.L. projects. At a recent watershed management seminar, Dale Frazier announced that they have achieved a 99% success rate for the riparian buffer restoration projects that Robert Nix helped accomplish.
This project first started with taking some soil samples. There was a hardpan about 16 inches below the surface. In the photo on the right, Mr. Nix pulls a chunk of hardpan which would prevent proper drainage around the trees if not cracked through. He found that years of misuse resulted in the lack of soil percolation, low levels of organic matter that needed to be replaced.
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| Mixing Soils For Tree Planting |
Once the soil type was assessed, Mr. Nix determined what would be used in a custom soil mix. The mix included Activated EM•1®, perlite, organic peat, a humate/mychorrizea mix from BioAg
called VAM+ Activator (Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi) and TM7, and a proprietary mix of wild mushroom soil developed by Mr. Nix's company, B OrgaNix. The need for EM•1® Microbial Inoculant in the soil formulations used for the projects was determined in the first soil inspection made by Robert Nix.
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| Water Wagon Spraying AEM•1® & Nutrients |
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Mr. Nix recommended G.O.A.L. continue watering with EM•1® to improve organic breakdown and help control pathogens along with possible toxins from runoff in the area. The improvement of these factors added to EM•1®’s success rate. In order to do the watering, G.O.A.L. made a "water wagon" that had a nutrient solution with Activated EM•1®.A groups of volunteers came and removed all the trash and invasive species. After that the area was mowed and raked clean. Then holes were dug for the native trees to be planted. The soil mix with Activated EM•1® and EM® Bokashi was added to the holes and trees were planted. The trees were then mulched with additional soil mix.
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| Trees Planted By GOAL Volunteers |
A few days after the planting there were no signs of transplant stress. During the week that followed, there was an incidence of vandalism where an ATV was driven, ripping the soil. Several of the trees were pulled out as well. After a little more help, the soil was fixed and the trees re-planted. Even though this was done, there was still a 99% survival rate of the trees that were planted. The last step in the project was to plant wildflowers. All the species of wildflowers are native to the area. Some include sunflowers with a variety of bright colors. This fall they bloomed in a brilliant display of colors along the neighborhood. The project has helped clean the area of debris, treat runoff pollutants, and prevent erosion along the drainage ditch. It has also helped beautify the neighborhood. G.O.A.L., with the help of B OrgaNix, is expanding the use of EM•1® in the community in order to promote environmental education, reduction of food wastes in landfills, natural water quality, and overall environmental health.
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