CLEARWATER COLLECTIVE BY BRAINPLATE GROWS
A floating island for cleaner water.
Built by Clearwater Collective, a DBA of Brainplate Grows, Madison’s pilot floating island creates open-water habitat while its long plant roots are being studied for their ability to capture nutrients from the lake.
Watch the launch
Floating Islands Madison
Follow Clearwater Collective and community volunteers as they plant and launch Madison’s 2026 floating-island pilot at Tenney Park Lagoon.
HOW THE PILOT WORKS
Plants above. A living root zone below.
1 · Float
A planted Biohaven platform is anchored in open water at Tenney Park Lagoon.
2 · Grow
Native wetland plants grow without soil while their roots extend roughly three feet into the water.
3 · Shelter
The underwater root network is designed to create habitat for fish and aquatic life.
4 · Measure
The team plans to harvest plant biomass and study the phosphorus and nitrogen captured by the system.
THE PROJECT, IN PUBLIC
Built together. Measured over time.
May 2025 · Approved
The Madison Board of Park Commissioners approved WI Clearwater Collective’s Biohaven pilot.
June 2026 · Launched
Volunteers planted the island, built anchors, and helped install it at Tenney Park Lagoon.
Next · Monitor
Citizen-science monitoring and harvested-biomass analysis are intended to track performance over time.
Project leads
Elliott Gilfillan, Brainplate Grows · Aaron Cutler, Clearwater Collective
Questions? Please use our contact form.