Floating reed beds add splash of greenery
MORE than 1300 aquatic plants will be adding a wildlife-friendly splash of greenery to Reading with the installation of five floating reed beds on the Kennet & Avon Canal.
The Canal & River Trust, together with The Oracle Centre and Reading Abbey Quarter BID, have been planting reeds and flowering plants on special pontoons. Quick to establish, the floating beds will soon be attracting birds and insects and giving shelter for the fish in the canal.
They will also help to soften the edges of the canal walls and give the waterway a more natural feel – bringing more life into this part of the city and offering a tranquil, attractive landscape for canalside visitors and boaters alike.
Local businesses and schools have been helping the trust to plant the five floating beds, totalling 94sq m. They include a variety of reeds and sedges with added colour from yellow flag irises, purple loosestrife and other flowering plants.
CRT Wales & South West regional director Mark Evans explained: “We have seen how successful these floating reed beds have been on other parts of our canal network and were keen to bring them to Reading.
“It is especially important as the Kennet & Avon Canal gives people living, working and shopping here a place to escape city life and enjoy a breath of fresh air.”
The floating eco-system follows Reading’s greening of the town with its rewilding project which has seen enhanced wildflower turf laid at several locations around the centre.
The reed beds are made from 100% recyclable, non-toxic, environmentally friendly materials by Scottish firm Biomatrix Water.
Trust volunteers have also been planting dozens of aquatic plants in a floating pocket-sized reed bed that will add a wildlife-friendly splash of greenery in the Barge Arm of Gloucester Docks.
Meanwhile a new Seabin will be hard at work round the clock sucking up plastic and litter as it floats in the corner of Victoria Basin. Invented in Australia and usually found in oceans, Seabins act as a floating rubbish bin, skimming the surface of the water and intercepting floating debris, macro and micro plastics and even micro fibres. It is also able to clean the water of the contaminated organic material that is not normally possible to retrieve from the canals.
The Gloucester Seabin is the first on CRT’s network and is already earning its keep – in just one month it has collected more than 80kg of plastic and other detritus, saving the charity around £700 in manually collecting litter that has blown into the docks.
Volunteers are keeping the Seabin afloat and regularly emptying it.
The trust is also partnering with Young Gloucestershire, which supports young people who are facing difficult times, to analyse data from the Seabin which it is hoped will show that the Seabin is having a positive impact on the water quality around the area.