1 August 2023. By Xueqi Peng
In July 2022, through the Revitalising Estuaries Programme, Newcastle Quayside installed the world’s first ‘eco-floating island’ capable of coping with 5m tidal fluctuations, which mimics the wetland substrate of a natural estuarine environment, including clay, silt and woody debris. The wetland system includes a variety of native aquatic plant species. The installation was designed by Biomatrix Water and is approximately 1,000 square feet in size. The total cost was approximately £120,000.
The nature island will be monitored by Groundwork NE & Cumbria and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and Trinity College Dublin, who will collaborate to support ongoing monitoring, including ecological, social and economic impact assessments.
Image Source: Xueqi Peng
Image Source: Hellen Hornby
We spoke to Hellen Hornby, Groundwork’s project manager, to find out how the first ‘floating island’ on the Tyne will bring biodiversity back to the city.
Image Source: Ellen Spurge
Ellen Spurge, Operations Manager from Biomatrix Water. She explained to us what kind of races would be affected by this ecological floating island.
“the climax floating ecosystem is already having an impact on the local ecology, with terrestrial insects and pollinators/aquatic invertebrates/macroplants (plants)/birds/amphibians/mycelium and fungi being the main beneficiaries, while algae will also decrease over time.”
image Source: Xueqi Peng
Miss Ellen said “We design the anchoring (fixing) system to be able to rise and fall with the level of the tide – usually this is with a series of chains, eye bolts and shackles but in the case of the installation at Newcastle we had to design “tide guides” which are the large steel posts you see there and the island is fixed to them with nylon rollers to be able to rise and fall. ” This structure allows the floating island to adapt perfectly to the five-meter tides, which makes this eco-floating island unique.
We can see that the eco-floating islands have indeed played a role in the local ecosystem, so for the future, are there more plans to build more floating islands? Or are there other plans to redeem our ecosystem? Ms Hellen replied “We have other installations at the Royal Marina and Killingworth Lake. We have also installed others at the Royal Quay and Lake Killingworth and due to Newcastle Water’s recent Innovation Festival at Newcastle Racecourse a new island will be installed soon. The final location for the installation has not yet been finalised, but it is likely to be in one of the city’s parks. “
While there are still many green organisations that want to bring about a change for the better in our ecosystem, the issue of finance is not enough to support them in taking the next step.
In addition to the ecological and climate benefits it could bring, the project could provide more green jobs and environmentally friendly careers.
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