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| Create
a Wildlife Pond |
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Background
It
would be nice to imagine every garden sporting at least a small
water feature and every street enjoying a pond with open water and
sloping edges. Imagine the sight of them all as you fly over in
an aeroplane – the sun reflecting back at you from a myriad
little mirrors framed by green lawns and colourful borders. Heaven
on earth! That’s just what millions of flying invertebrates
and birds want to see. As do as all the land dwelling animals, although
their view is somewhat restricted.
In
the not to distant past, every village had its pond. Farmers without
a river to call on dug field ponds, they all dug drainage and irrigation
ditches that ran criss-cross all over the countryside joining the
rivers and canals in a broad network, allowing life to roam and
spread throughout the country.Sadly,
nowadays the water authorities drain the rivers the water table
has fallen, ditches have been neglected and dried up and farmers
prefer to use piped water for convenience. This leaves vast tracts
of countryside a barren dry wilderness inhospitable and unwelcoming.
Is it any wonder nature is struggling in so many forms in our modern
world?Now
consider that private gardens account for 3-4 million acres of open
land – greater than the area occupied by London itself. So
if enough of us put some water back into the system and rarely is
planning permission required, so we can if we desire. That image
from above could become a reality – and even if only you decide
to go ahead and build a pond – you’ll be rewarded almost
immediately by new life appearing, everything from microbes, algae’s,
beetles, plants, dragonflies, birds and animals all coming to visit
or colonise this new life source.So
what are you waiting for, roll up your sleeves and start the project… |
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Location
The best place for a wildlife pond is in a south or west facing
reasonably sheltered spot in your garden. You will want to
be able to see the pond from the house to watch all the fantastic
wildlife it’ll attract. Use |
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| Preparation
When
you’ve decided on the best location I like to mark out
the shape of the pond with a long flexible hose or sharp sand,
you can also use canes or string. You might then want to leave
it for a few days. This will give you time to decide if you
like the size and shape of it before it’s too late.
The best wildlife ponds are irregular, kidney or rounded in
shape as these look much more natural. Now’s
the time to really muck in and start digging. Depending how
you intend to finish the pond, you might want to lift and
put aside
the turf to lay as edging at the end. |
| Lining
You
have a big hole in your garden, now it’s time to make
it waterproof, permanently! Do not skip or skimp to save pennies
at this stage. It really will be a false economy. A puncture
at the bottom of a wildlife pond is a disaster, not only the
time and trouble of repairing it but the ecological disaster
of upsetting what will be by that time a well-balanced pool
of diverse life forms. Our method might seem overkill at first
but it ensures longevity, a high degree of leak resistance,
as well as allowing you access to climb in the pond for cleaning,
planting, etc, in the future without fear of rupturing the
liner. First lay either a felt liner of carpet liner, make
sure it covers the whole site and overlaps the edges. Then
add a generous layer of sand and rake it over until you have
a more or less even cover. The next is the most important
layer - the waterproof liner. We use a strong butyl rubber
liner, as
it provides the greatest strength, durability
and
UV resistance. The liner can be rolled out over the pond with
an overlap of at least 1ft. After the waterproof layer, another
layer of felt or sand will help protect your liner from anything
that might fall into the pond. Finally, a thin layer of sub-soil
can be added. |
| Planting
Late
spring early summer is the best time to plant your wildlife
pond, as the plants are just starting to grow and the water
shouldn’t be too cold. You are going to have to get
into your pond to plant (aren’t you glad you took our
advice about all those layers now?). There are a few different
categories of plants that are essential if your pond is going
to become a wildlife haven. The best place to get all your
pond plants is from an already established wildlife pond in
a friend or neighbour’s garden. Go for native species
and avoid plants that will be rampant and take over the pond
completely.
Oxygenators - these are submerged large green
algae. To plant these you need to secure them to half a brick
and then stick some of the cut ends into the soil, they will
then grow in the main body of the pond water and should keep
the pond oxygentated for any wildlife.
Good
Oxygenating Plants:
Curled pondweed (Potamogeton crispus)
Canadian Pondweed (Elodea canadensis) – as a last resort
because it will take over completely
Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum)
Water Milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum)
Water Starwort (Callitriche spp.)
Water Violet (Hottonia palustris) Floating leaves - the roots
need to be planted and held on the bottom of the pond with
bricks. |
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natural
features to your advantagei.e.
a wet area for
the bog garden, a slope to use up excess soil, or if used accommodate a stream, etc. A sunny spot will
attract the most wildlife to your pond but it also needs some
shade from midday sun. However, also avoid overhanging trees,
as autumn leaves will be a problem.
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As you dig the hole, make sure the deepest part of the pond
is at least 2ft deep, this will give over wintering wildlife
a chance of survival in a frost free area, even in the coldest
winters. Shallow sloping sides are critical for the
wildlife pond as these provide essential habitat for your
pond plants as well as providing easy access and escape for
any animals that might fall in, hedgehogs being notorious.
Once the digging is complete, firm down the base and sides
and carefully stone pick any sharp edges out.
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The
sub-soil provides a good medium for any plants to grow in
and will also make the pond look more natural, add extra nutrients
in the early stages and help disguise the rubber lining. When
all the layers are in place, weigh down the edges with large
rocks or brick, place the hose on the bottom of the pond and
gently let the water trickle in. Once it’s full you
will need to leave the pond for at least a week to allow the
water to settle and lose its chlorine. Then to give the wildlife
a kick start, add a bucketful of water collected from a friend
or neighbors pond - this will bring in all sorts of nice invertebrates
and try and add a few pond snails. |
Native
water lilies:
Amphibious bistort (Polygonum amphibium)
Bistort (Polygonum amphibium)
Broad-leaved pondweed (Potamogeton natans)
White Water Lily (Nymphaea alba)
Yellow Water Llily (Nuphar lutea)
Emergents - these plants grow straight out
of the pond from the bottom and they are very important for
many pond invertebrates such as emerging dragonflies.
Emergent Plants:
Bog Bean (Menyanthes trifoliata)
Burr Reed (Sparganium erectum)
Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus)
Lesser Rreedmace (Typha latifolia)
Marginals - these plants grow around the
edge of the pond in the shallows and create a natural edge
between your pond and the rest of your garden, this is where
your gently sloping edges really come into their own.
Marginal Plants:
Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga)
Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula)
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)
Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi)
Water Plantain (Alisma plantago-aquaticus)
Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)
Water Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides)
Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)
Water Plantain (Alisma plantago-aquatica)
Water Speedwell (Veronica anagallis)
Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
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Wildlife
The
pond itself will attract all sorts of wildlife just by being there.
Dragonflies should find your pond very quickly and will amaze you
with their aerial acrobatics. Pond skaters and diving beetles have
an incredible ability to find and colonise new ponds. Birds should
come down to bathe in the water and to drink, and if you’re
lucky you might even get foxes, deer, hedgehogs and other mammals,
possibly badgers using your pond as a watering hole. Frogs,
newts and toads are the obvious residents of a wildlife pond and
these can be introduced with spawn from a neighbour's pond. Otherwise,
just sit back and watch what a fantastic array of wildlife you have
just created
in your own back garden.
Safety
Although
a pond is the best way to attract wildlife into your garden, if
you have small children it may not be practical. Think very carefully
about if you really want the responsibility of a pond if you have
under five-year-olds that regularly use the garden. Even just a
few inches of water can be dangerous and it is safer to wait until
the kids grow up a bit. |
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