Costa Rican Floating Islands

I was reminded of our floating islands back home when I watched several floating islands moving up the Sierpe River with the incoming tide here in Costa Rica. You can see how to create your own floating island by going to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E15-_4_1kyM
http://www.gogreentube.com/watch.php?mode=edit&v=NTk3OTg1
http://www.biofloatingislands.com

P.S. Floating Islands come in all sizes from large ones like the one in the video to small ones.

New "Green" Product Mimics Nature and Cleans the Water.

Bio Floating Islands is one of the most exciting new concepts in efforts to “Go Green.” These Islands mimic nature in many ways. They are being used to add land mass, provide food for fish, grow vegetables, afford wildlife with a habitat and all the while cleaning the water!

With storm water management being a requirement of new developments, these islands can contribute greatly to the removal of unwanted and overloaded nutrients in ponds and other bodies of water as well as adding beauty and fish habitat.

Ion Exchange Inc. has been a leader in the Green life since its inception with native plants and seeds. They are planning on holding seminars in the late fall on successful techniques in construction and launching of these floating islands. For more information call Ion Exchange Inc. 800-291-2143 or visit their web site. http://www.ionxchange.com/bio_floating_island.htm

Floating Islands

We are very excited to announce the addition of Floating Islands to our on going endeavourers to beautify our natural world. The Floating Islands are not only beautiful they are constructed of recycled materials and they remove pollutants from the water. Here are some interesting facts about the Floating Islands.

Floating Islands is an innovative water stewardship tool… BioHaven floating islands do five things:

1. They remove pollutants from a waterway, including nitrates, phosphates, ammonia and heavy metals

2. They provide critical riparian edge habitat – in fact, new land mass for use by all kinds of creatures, from microbes to humans

3. They sequester carbon and other greenhouse gases

4. They provide wave mitigation and erosion control

5. They beautify a waterscape Made from layers of recycled plastic “matrix” which are bonded together with adhesive foam, BioHavens are planted with sod, garden plants or wetland plants and launched onto a water body.

There the plants are allowed to grow naturally, and, as they develop, their roots grow through the matrix and into the water below. Over time, a natural eco-system evolves. The model for this is Nature herself - BioHavens “bio-mimic” Nature. We are part of a new branch of science, Biomimicry, or Biomimetics.BioHavens provide surface area for microbes to thrive. Microbes remove pollutants.

BioHavens are a concentrated floating wetland – the huge surface area of fibers provides many times more surface area than an equivalent stretch of bare wetland. Surface area is the key factor for microbial activity to take place, and microbes (bacteria) are the key to removing contaminants from the water. Plants and their roots are also important, but more for the extra surface area the roots provide than for any nutrient uptake the plants themselves account for.BioHavens were invented eight years ago, have been successfully trialed for five years and have been on the market since July 2005. They represent a natural, convenient and cost-effective solution for some of the most intractable and expensive problems on the planet:
· “Polishing” wastewater and storm water of nutrients and heavy metals to return it safely to the watershed.
· Sequestering carbon dioxide and methane from effluent ponds to reduce global warming
· Wave mitigation and protection of levees in the event of severe storms
· Extraction of salt

Mining nutrient loads from any waterway and reducing algal blooms
· Restoring wetlands without the need for new land
· Restoring habitat for endangered species such as the trumpeter swan.They can be made in any shape and size and offer some fun uses to balance the more serious side:
· Creating walkways, piers, docks, jetties

Supporting recreational uses, such as picnic tables, floating stages, gazebos….
· Floating vegetable gardens which never need watering!
· Restoring a natural look and balance to any waterway of any size
· New land mass for human habitation.Not only are they natural, aesthetic and functional, they are cost-effective, “green” and virtually maintenance free. Why not add a Floating Island to beautify your world?
Contact Howard at 1 800-291-2143