Elevated Wetlands | Part 1

I’m Noel Harding. I’m the artist who created the Elevated Wetlands. And it’s a hydroponic system that allows plants to grow in the water. So within the work itself is wanting to hold up a slice of land like one makes a painting. The water is, in fact, taken in at the river, Don River, and you should understand the Don River is actually a mixture of pollutants and quite intense, especially after rainfall, so the colour and the clouding shifts all the time. The plants themselves target the toxins that are in the river. And that’s called phytoremediation, the ability of plants to ingest toxins. And I would suggest to you that as the plants take in those toxins, if they turn to the point that they’re dying, you have a weather beacon, so to speak, you have an understanding that severe, severe action should take place. But in the meantime it’s a normal habit of wetlands plants and marsh plants to ingest. And so, we utilize that kind of plant vegetation with the water movement through it.

So, you’ll look around and you’ll see solar panels. One of the beauties of the system is utilizing solar pumps, so when the sun hits the solar panels, the water moves. Well, that coordinates with plants, in fact, because plants ingest their food, not 100%, but in a large part, because of the photosynthesis at the point of the leaves. So actually the water is pumping when the plants actually are feeding, you might say. That’s really rather efficient and it’s off the grid and it has this symbiotic relationship.

Want to hear more? Check out Part 2.

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