Fake Plastic Island - If We Build It, It Will Float

Maybe it’s because I’m a curmudgeonly old misanthrope (no, no don’t protest, it’s true) but I’ve always fancied the idea of living on an island.

The only thing stopping me is a slight lack of cash, because unless I fancy a midge infested rock in some Canadian great lake, then the more salubrious islands are way out of my meagre financial reach.

They’re just over the horizon - taunting me with their swaying palm trees and coconuts and monkeys and parrots and pirates and treasure and … (drifts off into childhood Treasure Island daydream)

(Some time later …) However lack of money isn’t an issue if you follow the example of Richie Sowa. You may have already heard of him, or at least his ‘Spiral Island‘ project.

In the late nineties he built himself a floating island off the coast of Mexico with loads of plastic bottles, buckets of sand and a bunch of mangroves to help hold the whole thing together.

(Now the cynics amongst you may argue that this isn’t strictly an island, it’s a raft with pot plants. For shame! If the man wants to call it an island, let him call it an island.)

Unfortunately in 2005 the island got into a fight with a hurricane and lost, ending up washed on a beach like so much flotsam.

But did that deter our derring-do eco islander? No sir it did not! Like so many great British eccentrics he dusted himself off and got right on with building another bigger, better island (with a little help from like-minded volunteers).

And so Spiral Island II was born and sits (bobs?) pretty, sticking two fingers up to passing hurricanes and providing a shining example of what you can achieve with a crazy dream, some string and a shedload of plastic bottles. Just look at it! It’s amazing!

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So I’m going to do it too. In best Blue Peter stylee, armed with nothing more than double sided sticky tape, washing up liquid bottles and a few spider plants I’m going to build my own island in the local duckpond*.

Admittedly it’s hardly the azure waters of Mexico, but at least I won’t have to worry about hurricanes - just the odd abusive drunk - plus the Co-op is just round the corner for essential supplies.

(*Note: this will never happen)

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