What is a BioHaven® Floating Island?

Based on the concept of Biomimetics, the idea for BioHaven® Floating Islands was born. The islands were inspired by nature, in particular, floating peat bogs in Northern Wisconsin. Lakes in this area have been associated with clean water and great fishing, primarily because of these natural floating islands. Natural floating islands are found around the world and provide a living mechanism to improve water quality and buffer habitats against surges in nutrients and pollution. BioHaven Floating Islands are modeled after the natural islands and can be introduced into any water system.

More reading:   Biomimicry - Nature Knows Best

A BioHaven® Floating Island is a buoyant mat that is planted and launched into a water body. It is created by bonding together layers of nonwoven plastic matrix with an inert marine foam. The foam provides adhesion and also adds buoyancy. The matrix layers are made from 100% polyester fibers, sourced from recycled PET drink bottles.

Because of the fine fibers that make up the matrix, BioHaven® Floating Islands provide an enormous amount of surface area. In fact, a single square foot of 8 inch thick island provides 198 square feet of surface area. Expanded, a 266 square foot island is equivalent to 1 acre of actual surface area. The result is that our islands create a “concentrated wetland effect” without taking up any existing land.

Surface area is extremely important because microbes need a surface to proliferate on. Think of a bottle you throw into the water – it doesn't take long before it's covered in green slime! The slime is a biofilm that is made up of microbes. These microbes are the key to removing pollution from a water body. For example, nutrients that appear in a water column via fertilizers are harmful to our water because they allow algae to grow. The microbes associated with BioHaven® Floating Islands are able to use the nutrients for their on growth before algae can use them. Thus, BioHavens® because of the microbes keep the water clear of algae.

  Schematic courtesy of NIWA

Plants are also an important component of BioHaven® Floating Islands. Plants require nutrients for growth and have to obtain those nutrients from the water body. As plant roots grow through the island into the water column, they access nutrients and pollutants in the water column that the plants need for growth. In addition, the plant roots provide an increasing amount of extra surface area for additional microbial growth.

BioHaven® Floating Islands can be launched into any body of water…a pond, lake, stream, bayou. They can be made in any shape or size. Large islands and walkways are constructed using a modular system, reinforced for extra buoyancy, yet flexible enough to move with the water. The islands are usually anchored in place, but can also be allowed to move about freely. Any waterway will benefit from a floating island.