A local nonprofit sports organization is unveiling a soccer field in St. Paul on Saturday featuring an artificial turf system that’s the first of its kind in Minnesota.

Joy of the People is revealing the Campinho Project, a 30-by-40 yard field that utilizes coconut husks and cork rather than rubber pellet infill usually used with turf, at South St. Anthony Park.

“In order to put in the field we had to use a lot of innovations,” said Ted Kroeten, Joy of the People founder and artistic director.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

Ninety eight percent of the field, by weight, is from locally produced, recycled materials, according to the project’s landscape architect Stephen Mastey.

This includes tire derived aggregate, recycled concrete and reuse of soil throughout the project.

“We would have ordinarily had to pay to get the dirt shipped off,” Kroeten said. “The dirt was then re-purposed around the facility, making a hill where an observation-deck like structure will be.”

Mastey said the area underneath the turf will hold, filtrate and remove phosphorus from storm water.

“Using these innovations is actually cheaper because (we’re) using materials and methods that no one else has before,” Kroeten said.

JOTP has rented out South St. Anthony Park from St. Paul Parks and Recreation since 2010. The new field is built upon public land but utilizes private money — grants and partnerships provided adequate funding for the project.

The water retention system, for example, was partly funded by the Capitol Region Watershed District, which granted $14,000, according to Kroeten.

Additional partners in the project include St. Anthony Park Community Foundation, the University of Minnesota Good Neighbor Fund through the St. Anthony Park Community Council, and the Minnesota Vikings, among others.

SAFETY OF MATERIALS

Besides the environmental implications, health and safety also factor into why JOTP opted to use coconut and cork infill instead of the rubber infill of traditional artificial turf.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published an article last year that echoed concerns that the rubber infill pellets made up of ground tires, contain mercury, benzene and arsenic.

Speculations that this crumb rubber causes cancer cannot be confirmed by scientists. JOTP is using coconut infill as a safety precaution, however.

“We’re very concerned about crumb rubber,” Kroeten said. “We couldn’t build a field that wasn’t totally safe in our minds.”

INNOVATIVE MODEL

Safety, but also functionality for the field, which is aimed at 9 to 14-year-olds, was thought of in its design, organizers said.

Smaller than a regulation soccer field, it’s meant to be more inviting for JOTP members.

The organization, which promotes unstructured free play as a method for youth education and development, has recently garnered attention for its deviation from the current culture of elite sports.

Kroeten was featured on a UK podcast last month and has since received recognition internationally for his organization’s advancement of youth soccer.

“I’ve been getting emails from clubs all over the world,” Kroeten said. “From the UK, Sweden, Poland, Angora, all over Canada. I had no idea it would blow up like this.”

JOTP’s event will be from 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday and will feature live music and food.