From May to September, our plant filter islands on the Oder ‘had various adventures’. After successful acclimatisation, the plants undertook intensive growth and filled the free spaces within the raft. However, at the beginning of July 2024, the filter islands suddenly sank and some of the plants were destroyed, but thanks to the presence of mooring lines it was possible to fish them out. After this successful intervention and the islands being brought to the surface, there was a regeneration of the plants and a much slower re-growth than in the initial period after the launch.
The next most serious danger came in September, a few days before the islands were scheduled to be harvested from the river. They were scheduled to be fished out on Tuesday, September 17. However, the approaching surge on the Oder River and warnings from PGW’s Polish Water Management staff, accelerated their removal. On Sunday, September 15, in difficult weather conditions, we managed to ‘rescue’ the islands and bring them safely ashore, although in an emergency, and transport them to the laboratory. We were thus able to collect the plants, examine them, analyse the results and prepare a summary report.
Thank you for trusting the GlobalGiving Organization and recognizing the efforts of H2O SciTech – Water Institute in socio-educational activities for environmental protection.
We would like to thank our Partners, the 3M Company and the National Water Management ‘Wody Polskie’ for their help and care in the implementation of the project. We would also like to thank for the participation of all the inhabitants of Wrocław who got involved in the activities aimed at improving the condition of rivers and reservoirs, in particular the youth, children, teachers, directors of the 5th and 14th High School and Primary School No. 7 in Wrocław.
The excellent cooperation of all project participants, their commitment, creativity and sharing of experiences contributed to the realisation of the project – testing the effectiveness of water purification by plant filter islands. The joint action proved the importance of bottom-up social initiatives and contributed to an increase in environmental knowledge and awareness.
We hope that the second phase of the project, will bring equally good cooperation and results, encourage involvement and care for the water environment.
We invite you to read the content of the Final Report ‘Plant Filter Islands’!
