Some times finding yourself at the wrong table during an event can lead to good things. That's how more than 100 invitation-only attendees with a vested interest in the health of the Chesapeake Bay came together last week to discuss issues, initiatives to prevent bay pollution and innovative technologies developed by Maryland-based companies, according to Jim Poulos, vice president of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) .
"Will Baker, head of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, was sitting next to me, and I knew that this could be an opportunity for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and TEDCO to do something together. We've been exploring the opportunity for a few years and came up with this technology show. We knew we had some small companies that are in the green space and that they're [Chesapeake Bay Foundation] are into cleaning up the Bay. So it was just a matter of connecting the right technologies with water cleanup," he says.
The event, "Technologies that Can Save the Bay: Reducing Nutrient and Sediment Pollution," sponsored by TEDCO and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), highlighted nine technologies from private industry, non-profit associations and research universities that are being developed and deployed to improve water quality and improve the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay by reducing pollution. The event took place at CBF's Phillip Merrill Environmental Center.
"We wanted to show the diversity of institutions, companies and their technologies," says Poulos
The showcase also featured keynote remarks by Tom Horton, noted environmental journalist and Chesapeake Bay expert, and J. Charles "Chuck" Fox, senior advisor on the Chesapeake Bay and Anacostia River to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Poulous along with Allen Hance, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Amanda Bassow, director of Chesapeake programs at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, delivered a special presentation on funding opportunities for entrepreneurs interested in Chesapeake Bay conservation. Attendees and presenters enjoyed a networking, poster, and exhibit session at the end of the event. Closing remarks were made by CBF President Will Baker.
"Environmentalists, business leaders, entrepreneurs and those concerned with the health of the Chesapeake Bay have come from all over the region to learn about these emerging green technologies," says Will Baker, president of CBF. "We are pleased to work with TEDCO to promote the awareness of these technologies and are eager to see more environmentally-focused business models transfer to the marketplace."
Of the nine technologie included in the event, several are either commercially avaialble or will soon be available. They were broken down into three areas: direct water cleaning solutions, urban solutions, and solutions used in the Bay.
Poulos hopes to host another showcase next year that will include representatives from the federal level, Deleware, New York, Virginia and West Virginia, states that are also affected directly by the Bay or the its watershed.
Companies that presented technologies included:
•Porous Asphalt, Kent Hansen, National Asphalt Pavement Association -- Porous asphalt is an environmentally friendly tool for storm water management. It can conserve water, reduce runoff and promote infiltration which cleanses stormwater, replenishes aquifers and protects streams.
•Creating Green Stormwater with Bioretension, Allen Davis, University of Maryland College Park -- Bioretention, a soil and plant-based stormwater management practice , is used to filter runoff from developed communities. Also known as a rain garden, a bioretention facility consists of a porous soil covered with a thin layer of mulch and is designed to mimic natural vegetated areas and filter pollutants from water.
•Regenerative Stormwater Conveyance and Floating Wetlands, Keith Bowers, Biohabitats, Inc. � Biohabitats, a conservation and ecological restoration company, is developing floating artificial wetlands. These wetlands are composed of recycled plastic bottles wrapped in biodegradable fiber mats in the entrances to the Bay such as the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. These wetlands act not only as filters but as regenerated wetlands.
•SkyGarden: Green Roof Media, Emlyn Stancill, Stancills, Inc. -- SkyGarden specializes in engineered soils and mineral formulations for the greenroof industry. A green roof system is an extension of the existing roof which involves a high quality water proofing and root repellant system, a drainage system, filter cloth, a lightweight growing medium and plants.
•Smartslope: Living Retaining Walls, Michael Furbish, The Furbish Company � The Furbish Company designs, sells, installs and maintains plant-based building systems. "Living Walls" enable building owners and occupants to benefit from improved comfort and health, lower utility bills, increase asset value and help to restore the environment.
•Reclamation of Water and Prevention of Animal Waste Runoff, Carol Collins, Spiralcat � Spiralcat, a women-owned corporation that harvests water, energy and biofuel from diverse waste sources in order to transform waste into valuable energy and water resources. The company's technologies support local food economies, provide clean water, create usable resources, manage nutrients for soil fertility and deliver energy in an affordable manner.
•Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the Selective Capture of Environmental Phosphate, Tracy Terry, JHU Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) � Phosphorus and nitrogen are major pollutants that enter water via runoff from sewage plants and farmland. Currently, there are no filtering systems that can selectively remove these two elements. APL is working on a system that has the potential to reduce contaminant concentrations of phosphorous and nitrogen to any arbitrary level through staging.
•Slow Release Fertilizer, Wayne Swann, NutriGrown, LLC � NutriGrown, LLC is developing a line of matrix-based soil nutrient products designed to reduce nutrient leaching while enhancing plant growth. Greenz™ technology is exclusively licensed from the USDA/ARS and is based on a formulated matrix of natural organic and inorganic compounds with high ionic exchange capacity. The matrix components bind and retain nutrients for both short and long term plant utilization.
•Pelletizing Seeds for Habitat Restoration, Robert Murphy, EcoSystem Solutions Inc. � Ecosystem Solutions, Inc., a small, privately owned, environmental consulting firm based in West Warwick, RI, specializes in wetland science, ecological solutions and soil science. They work with pelletized seeds to increase the success rate of habitat restoration. Pelletizing seeds are seeds wrapped in a clay pellet, which is a simple technique for hiding and protecting the seed until it can germinate.
Source: Jim Poulos, TEDCO
Writer: Walaika Haskins