Yes you can use wild moss in the land area. Ive had some wild mossin my FBT tank that has started to actually root into the gravel :0 You can use a log from the pond area but it would be easier to find a broken branch on the forest floor because you may have some unwanted bugs on the wood in the pond, One other thing that works well for a floating platform is Cork bark. For the GS method, im not too sure if it would hold up if it has water being splashed on it.