Update on the Floating Island concept
In the last few years I have noticed a
number of beaver rat traps on the lake where my boat was moored. I even met a
hunter who was checking these traps, but that was three years ago now. After
the floods this winter I found two of these traps overturned on the lake side.
One was located near what looks like a beaver’s lodge located on a small
island. I am not sure if the beaver rats have been eradicated from the area,
but it seems clear that a number of beavers are now busy eating their way
through the willow trees!
Recently I have been working on a project
with Mosa Pura to catch plastic waste, which flows
down the Maas during winter flooding. I have built a number of different models
using willow and alder branches in the hope of copying the effect of riverbank
trees, which get covered in wastes and cause an unsightly less every year. The
solutions involve building floating islands of branches that theoretically
catch the wastes and can then be easily removed after the floods, which should
avoid the problem of waste getting caught up in the trees. They also provide
ideal nesting spots for ducks and I hope will address a number of other
river-related problems using natural materials.
The
problem I discovered is that the beavers love my floating islands of willows
branches and have eaten most of them! Obviously I have to rethink my plans. My improved island must be enclosed by netting in order to deter the beavers!
