Keelung government staffers are using volcanic rock to make succulent gardens, walkways and other products, transforming a seafaring danger into a creative outlet.
Ever since an undersea volcano erupted in August last year near Japan’s Ogasawara Islands, mounds of pumice stones have been floating ashore on Taiwan’s east coast and outlying islands.
Pumice is produced when lava with a high content of water and gases is discharged from a volcano, then quickly cools and hardens, creating a light and porous stone.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
As they float, the pebbles can easily become sucked into ship engines and cause damage.
Fishers in Keelung have been feeling the effects, while swimming areas along the coast have become covered by mounds of the pale rock.
About 35 tonnes have been salvaged from ports in the city, Keelung Department of Economic Affairs Director Huang Chien-feng (黃健峰) said.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
They were not found to contain any precious or hazardous materials, he added.
Trying to think of uses for the stones, one staffer tried creating a walking path at the Nuandong Nursery Garden, Huang said.
As pumice is strong and porous, the experiment has thus far proven successful, he said, adding that the city hopes to create more walkways from the material.
Other staffers washed the pebbles and used them to plant potted succulents, perfect for adding a little color to the office, Huang said.
They also created small jars of artistically arranged pebbles that they are calling “fortune stones” (福石) for the Lunar New Year — a pun on “floating stones” (浮石) which is pronounced the same way, he said.
Based on these ideas, the city government also plans to arrange some craft activities for children, he added.
Yet Keelung is not the only area using pumice to grow plants.
When researching the material, the council’s Fisheries Agency and the Agricultural Improvement Stations in Taoyuan and Taichung earlier this month discovered its unique suitability for planting.
As it is a natural material and porous, pumice is excellent at promoting drainage and aeration when mixed into planting soil, the council said.
Researchers also found that it has properties that make it excellent for succulent and leisure gardens, it added.
The Fisheries Agency said it would continue clearing the pumice to protect boats.
It would be stored at wharfs, as long as it does not affect anything there, before being desalinated and eventually removed, the agency said.
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