Living wall comes to life on Longboat Key

A project to improve water quality at Bayfront Park is only a few weeks from completion and already starting to meet its goal.

By Dana Kampa
| 5:00 a.m. August 6, 2025

Workers with Kearns Construction Company, who have been leading the charge installing the new "living wall" at Bayfront Park on Longboat Key, said plenty of parkgoers have been curiously inquiring about the project.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

Last month, Longboat Key became the site of an innovative project meant to provide a home to filter feeders living along the shore at Bayfront Park. The project is progressing and already seeing a few inhabitants start to move in.

Alex Burgos, a diver with Kearns Construction Company, said he and his team have already seen small sea stars and crabs starting to explore the printed concrete panels they've installed so far along the water's edge. Panels modeled after the root system of red mangroves provide shelter.

As work on this environmental project continues, film students from Ringling College of Art and Design have been recording the progress.

Box by box, the team with Kearns Construction Company has been unpacking and installing panels of a "living wall" modeled off red mangrove tree roots at Bayfront Park on Longboat Key.

Ryan Zyck, Andrew Lamm and Lachin Kerbabaeva have been learning the tools of the trade under the guidance of Patrick Alexander, the college's department head of film.

Zyck, the student director, said the filming process has been going tremendously so far, and the students plan to check in every few months to see how the underwater community will grow over the coming years.

He said that likely will mean the project will continue in the hands of an up-and-coming class of students following graduation. But he will be eager to see the final product.

Vadim Dumbrava joined the documentary film team recording the process of installing a "living wall" off the shore of Longboat Key's Bayfront Park, bringing his experience as a drone pilot to capture aerial footage of the park. He said he found it to be an interesting project and was happy to shoot it for them with his DJI Air 3 Drone.

A week ago, Vadim Dumbrava joined the documentary film team recording the process of installing the wall, bringing his experience as a drone pilot to capture aerial footage of the park.

He said he found it to be an interesting project and was happy to shoot it for them with his DJI Air 3 Drone.

Dumbrava has been flying drones since 2014, and now he operates his own company, Motion Media LLC.

Burgos said if everything goes to plan, the team should be putting the last panels soon.

Julio Ramos, right, and Alex Burgos with Kearns Construction Company work on installing the "living wall" panels at Bayfront Park. Burgos said the team has already seen little starfish and crabs checking out the new shoreside habitat.

Jonathan Mosqueda, working with teammates from Kearns Construction Company, said they have been learning how to work with the high tide to help with installing the concrete "living wall" panels, each of which weighs 45 pounds and has to be specifically placed to keep the mangrove root pattern intact.

Julio Ramos and Alex Burgos work with the high tide to install the "living wall" panels along Sarasota Bay. They have been working row by row, and they'll put their diving skills to the test to install the furthest ones down.

Patrick Alexander, department head of film at Ringling College of Arts and Film, enlisted the help of drone operator Vadim Dumbrava, right, to capture aerial film of the "living wall" installation at Longboat Key's Bayfront Park. Through Alison Alexander's Florida Eco Films organization, film students Ryan Zyck, Andrew Lamm and Lachin Kerbabaeva have the opportunity to get hands-on experience creating a short film documentary.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.