THE SECRET FLOATING IN MIAMI’S CANALS
Updated: Aug 13
How an environmental scientist and entrepreneur is fighting water pollution with flowers, community, and innovation
Dr. Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez | Photo by Anthony Sleiman Mora, FIU
In 2020, South Florida experienced one of the largest recorded mass die-offs of aquatic life in the region's history. The event was triggered by years of nutrient pollution from stormwater runoff, and since then Miami-Dade County has been designing preventive measures such as restricting the use of fertilizers and connecting septic tanks to the sewage system.
But what if the secret to stopping the next waterway disaster isn't a multimillion-dollar filtration plant, but a floating bed of marigolds? That's the idea Dr. Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez has spent years trying to turn into reality.
Growing up on the Intracoastal Waterway, Jazmin spent her childhood watching manatees and dolphins cruise past her home’s balcony garden. As she turned to academia years later she noticed a discouraging pattern in her field, a focus on diagnosing ecological destruction with few measures to address it.
Determined to change this dynamic, Jazmin began exploring hydroponic farming techniques and their potential application in Miami’s canals. Through her research at Florida International University (FIU), she experimented with “floating treatment wetlands” — 4-by-6-foot buoyant mats planted with flower seedlings. Their roots extend directly into the water, absorbing excess nitrogen and phosphorus as they grow. When the flowers are harvested, those nutrients are physically removed from the water. Measuring the nutrients captured by the plants makes the treatment’s impact visible and quantifiable, giving communities a clearer picture of what the floating wetlands remove from their waterways.
“Harvesting the plants can be a really important management strategy for these islands... but that can be labor intensive,” Jazmin notes. “I thought that if we could grow something valuable, we can utilize it and sell it, and that would balance the process.”
But cleaner water may not be the only thing these floating islands leave behind. Dr. Jesse R. Blanchard, of FIU’s Department of Earth and Environments, points to another benefit.
“Humans tend to curate our landscapes to fit our sense of aesthetics and usage. This doesn't always jive with the wild-by-design that most animals are looking for,” he says. “Yes, we hope floating wetlands help reduce water pollution, but what I'm equally excited about are the stories of ducks nesting on them, bees pollinating them, even alligators basking on them.”
Floating Wetland Workshop at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus | Photos by Anthony Sleiman Mora
That range of benefits – cleaner water, richer habitat, and now a product people will pay for – is what turned Jazmin’s research into a business. Her startup, Phytoflora Gardens, uses wetlands filled with flowers and natives to beautify canals, cut down on toxins from invasive algae and filter excess nutrients from local waters. The flowers, often marigolds and celosia, are then sold in local markets. With Florida leading the nation in floriculture sales, Jazmin saw an opportunity to help offset maintenance costs through the plants grown on floating wetlands.
Despite its market potential and environmental benefits, converting this experiment into a solution is no easy feat. There is a logistical challenge stemming from how water is handled at the county and neighborhood levels.
Their broader impact will depend on public-private funding, regulatory approvals, consistent maintenance and collaboration with the agencies responsible for the region’s waterways.
Jazmin remains firm on finding a way.
“Who owns and manages a waterway determines which agencies must approve an installation,” Jazmin explains. “We’re navigating what permissions we need in waterways managed by the state or the county. That is a limitation.”
Phytoflora Gardens has two major needs as it attempts to expand, Jazmin adds. The first is working with municipalities to ensure the floating wetlands are properly installed and maintained. The second is securing public-private partnerships to fund the projects.
One of Phytoflora’s first opportunities to test that vision beyond the laboratory is in the Village of Pinecrest, where local stormwater funding has supported the installation of floating flower islands in residential canals. Through a USDA-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Florida International University, Jazmin is closely monitoring the islands’ performance. The pilot will help show how the wetlands perform under real-world conditions, and what it takes to maintain them over time. These results give municipalities measurable data they can use in stormwater reporting and future nutrient-reduction efforts, particularly as the region prepares to implement the Biscayne Bay Reasonable Assurance Plan.
Village of Pinecrest | Photos by Anthony Sleiman Mora, FIU
The startup’s early traction has also drawn the attention of organizations such as Seaworthy Collective, an incubator that supports early-stage ocean entrepreneurs and has helped Phytoflora develop and validate its business model.
“Academia and entrepreneurship in the sciences have largely been misaligned,” says Daniel Kleinman, founder and CEO of Seaworthy Collective. “Preconceived notions on both sides prevent translating deep expertise into sustainable business. Supporting and elevating role models like Jazmin demystifies assumptions and helps other scientists see themselves as potential future founders.”
Phytoflora Gardens & Miami Waterkeeper at Oak Grove Park | Photos by Erin Cover
Jazmin ultimately envisions floating gardens becoming a familiar feature in public stormwater ponds and canals, supported by a team capable of maintaining the installations and engaging surrounding communities.
Beyond financial or institutional support, Jazmin also believes the power lies in the community. She suggests that to broaden impact, people must educate themselves about the importance of water in South Florida. And that alignment needs to work in tandem with nature rather than trying to suppress it.
“We want to bring these floating wetlands into our urban spaces, where we’ve lost a lot of our natural wetlands, and help bring back the power of wetlands and plants to our more concrete landscapes.”
Watch Dr. Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez’s presentation at the 2026 Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit.
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