As of July 24th, the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance’s very first floating island has been officially installed! We would like to once again thank all of the volunteers who came out to help with the planting of the island, as well as Loriella Farm for providing the plants for the island and RBC for funding the project and making this all possible.
Photo courtesy of Victoria Walton CBC
One week after the public event hosted to install plants on the island, our PWA team returned to the park with new protective equipment to install the island safely during the cyanobacteria bloom which had previously delayed the island’s launch. Once in the water, the island was dragged around 1 km by boat to its installation point at the Irishtown Nature Park bridge to drop anchor.
Since its installation at the park, the island has been growing strong with PWA staff coming out to the park regularly to maintain and water the island so that the roots can have time to properly establish themselves. Now that the roots have grown through the bottom of the float, the island has become fully self-sufficient and will continue to grow throughout the summer months to establish itself and grow its roots into the water to further reduce excess nutrients within the park.
With the added care from our staff, the island’s flowers are now in full bloom, and PWA staff have even noticedd the park’s resident family of ducks enjoying the island as a resting spot from the summer heat.
We look forward to watching the island as it blooms and grows this summer to help fight algal blooms.