04/10/2026
Last week’s workshop was a success for both floating wetlands and the community!
In conjunction with and , I hosted our first major training workshop focused on what floating wetlands are, why they matter, and how to actually deploy them. We started with an opening lecture with myself and Sea Grant Extension Agent Ana Zangroniz, covering nutrient pollution, watershed health, and the role these systems can play.
From there, we got into the water and deployed 2 islands into a stormwater pond at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. These floating wetlands will help pretreat water entering the lake, which we have observed to be elevated in nitrogen, before it flows out directly toward Biscayne Bay.
These islands are planted with brackish species, including both red and black mangroves. Over the next year, we’ll be watching closely to see how nursing these saplings on floating systems supports their establishment once they are eventually planted along shorelines.
With over 20 attendees including MDC Parks, DERM, Little River Conservancy, local farmers, and others, we are slowly building a network of people ready to carry this work forward. Like mangrove propagules, the goal is for this effort to drift outward and help establish new wetlands across the region.
Thank you to everyone who showed up and brought the energy!!!
Amazing photos snapped by FIU IoE's one and only
