Photo credit: Katherine Hafner/WHRO News
Floating Wetlands At The Botanical Gardens
Next time you’re at the Norfolk Botanical Garden, check out the NATO pond! Visitors will see three islands rich with native species providing a habitat for animals above the water and deep roots that create a habitat below the water through providing oxygen and filtration. These “floating wetlands", made from recycled plastics, is the work of five students from the City of Virginia Beach Environmental Studies Program, who are Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional-Associates (CBLP-A) certified through Wetlands Watch’s partnership with the school. These five students put their CBLP knowledge to use and created a project that is having a direct benefit in their community. This type of informed community impact is what we hope to see as a result of increasing CBLP course opportunities and offerings. CBLP-A graduates are landing internships, jobs, and opportunities, which is the goal of this Wetlands Watch program. We hope this program will build a workforce for the future and keep young people in coastal Virginia, working on solutions to our greatest challenge - living with more water.
The outcome of “Floating Futures” goes beyond creating lush habitats above and below the water in Norfolk’s backyard. It shows the power of giving our region’s youth the tools and the opportunity to get creative and be a part of building a healthier, more climate resilient community. Wetlands Watch sees the passion the next generation has in protecting the environment, and through initiatives like the CBLP-A program, we want to give them the opportunity and knowledge to literally build their future.
