Travelling the world through his Lilly business, Pieter Hoff began to think about the amount of land degradation and water shortages facing the regions he visited. Hoff deliberated over issues brought forth by his horticulturist clientele, such as concerns with the ability to reach a declining water table brought on by deforestation and the urban sprawl, or standard drip irrigation’s shortcomings as an increasingly costly expenditure. Hoff wanted to address these contemporary issues in both an economic and ecological capacity.
Waterboxxes will be provided free of charge.
The Holland native set out to create a “socially active and environmentally friendly enterprise” to provide solutions for some of humankind’s most pertinent 21st century problems. In 2003, after Hoff had sold his Lilly business, he founded Groasis. Groasis’ mission includes, but is not limited to resolving issues surrounding “erosion, deforestation, desertification, poverty, climate change, and water scarcity.” Not long after the founding of Groasis, Hoff began to develop what is now the Waterboxx© plant cocoon. Designed to encourage water retention, the Waterboxx© allows various leafy-plants, shrubs, and hardwoods to grow in conditions that would otherwise inhibit natural propagation and growth. “After learning about the program from Gabby Zawacki and Elizabeth Rosser (EPCAMR’s original Inquiring Systems Inc. Waterboxx© grant recipients), I was enthused at the prospect of creating more partnerships within the anthracite region. Also, I am eager to observe in-box seedling success rates, particularly when compared to their control.” says Gavin Pellitteri, EPCAMR Watershed Outreach Specialist and current grant implementer. Pellitteri adds, “If we can continue to attract organizations to take on a few boxes and report monthly data, I think it will provide us with some pretty valuable information concerning seedling success on abandoned mine land sites and other areas within the region. We can then report our results to Inquiring Systems (the grantors), so that they may upload our findings to their national database.”
If you are a part of, or know an organization that is interested in participating in this year’s phase of the Inquiring Systems Inc. Waterboxx© program, please contact Gavin Pellitteri at gpellitteri@epcamr.org or contact the EPCAMR office at 570-371-3522 by May 4th 2017. EPCAMR requires that participating partners provide regular monthly data reports that contain seedling and control (seedling out of box) growth, type of seedling, soil & air temperature, weather conditions, and date monitored. EPCAMR will provide the appropriate chart for data recordings. While EPCAMR encourages implementation of waterboxxes on abandoned mine lands, they DO NOT have to be planted on AML sites. Community gardens, parks, school grounds, etc. are suitable sites for Waterboxx© implementation as well. The distribution of waterboxxes is on a first come- first serve basis. Multiple may be taken.
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