Garden Links

UK Wildlife - Pond Conservation Interview

25th February, 2009

Firstly, can you tell us a bit about the Pond Conservation Charity?

Pond Conservation was established 20 years ago to carry out research and practical conservation of freshwaters, with a particular emphasis on smallwaterbodies - ponds! We currently have 13 staff, with the majority based in Oxford, and with 4staff covering the regions of Wales, North England and Southern Englandplus a project officer for amphibians. Our major focus at the moment is the Million Ponds Project which was launched on Thurs 19 Feb in Mayfair.

What is the current state of the pond nation!? What about ponds in the countryside?

Our countryside ponds are in a very bad way. The latest Countryside Surveyshow that good quality, wildlife-rich ponds have disappeared from manyparts of the countryside. The survey is carried out by the Centre forEcology and Hydrology and is done every 6 or 7 years to look at thequality of the countryside across the UK. The latest results show that a mere 8% of ponds are currently in goodcondition and that the biological quality of lowland ponds went down between 1996 and 2007.www.pondconservation.org.uk/News/latestnews/countrysidesurveyfindsdeclineinpondquality.htm

Are garden ponds more popular now or less so than a few years ago?
 
Garden ponds have always been popular and there are about 2 million gardenponds in the UK. The great thing about garden ponds is that you can createa mini habitat, that can be just as good as a clean water countrysidepond, literally right in your back garden. The important thing to rememberis to include very shallow sloping edges and have some very shallow water(no more than 2 cm deep). Use rainwater in preference to tap water toavoid putting too many nutrients into the water (this causes algal growth).

What is the Million Ponds Project?

The Million Ponds Project will create a network of new clean water pondsfor wildlife, across the UK. In the past 100 years over half of ourcountryside ponds have been lost. The ponds will be dug where they willhave clean water and will remain pristine for hundreds of years. The new ponds will be dg on heathland, moorland, woodlands and farmland. The Million Ponds Project will create half a million new ponds, to doublethe number of ponds in the UK. This ambitous target is over the next 50 years. The first phase of the project is to dig 5000 ponds over 4 years,with the help of our 11 partners.The Million Ponds Project is a collaboration of major landowners and landmanagers, co-ordinated by Pond Conservation. Partner organisations including Defence Estates, the Environment Agency,RSPB, Ministry of Justice and the Forestry Commission are creatinghundreds of ponds on their land and elsewhere. The Tubney Charitable Trust, Natural England, and the Countryside Councilfor Wales are funding project officers to help provide training andadvice.

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is also supporting the project. Wildlife organisations like Buglife and the Aquatic ColeopteraConservation Trust are providing information about pond creation for rarespecies. The Herpetological Conservation Trust (The HCT) is co-ordinating part ofthe project, in association with the Amphibian and Reptile Groups (ARGs),to encourage the creation and management of ponds for BAP amphibians andthe pond-loving grass snake. In addition to the current project partners, we will also be working withmany more individuals and organisations, and we will continue to buildpartnership with organisation who are interested in pond creation. The Million Ponds Project is supported by The Tubney Charitable Trust andthe Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. More info www.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds

If you want to dig new ponds, please read the toolkit www.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds/pondcreationtoolkit

If someone is thinking they would like a pond in their garden, where should they start, what do they need to consider? 

We have some straightforward advice on our website www.pondconservation.org.uk/gardenponds/keyadviceongardenponds.htm Pond Conservation have a free advice line for all information about ponds;you can contact us at info@pondconservation.org.uk

What can people do to their ponds to make them more wildlife friendly?

Shallow edges, shallow water and clean water are really the key issues.There is lots of advice on the blog written by Dr Jeremy Biggs (PondConservation Director Policy and Research)http://thegardenpondblog.org.uk

What sort of wildlife can be found in or attracted to a typical British Isles pond?

There are lots of plants, animals and birds that use ponds. Some of these are commonwww.pondconservation.org.uk/advice/wildlifeandponds There are also 80 endangered plants and animals that rely on ponds andthat will be helped by the new ponds being made with clean waterwww.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds/bapspecies/bapspecies.htm Get the conditions right and your garden pond will very quickly attract awide variety of wildlife. You should soon see dragonflies, pond skaters,damselflies, water beetles and backswimmers, as well as frogs and maybenewts. If you’re patient, water snails can colonise garden pondsnaturally– even though they don’t fly!

Do you have one or two great tips for pond owners?

Take a look at our website for advice and for more detail you can buy The Pond Book www.pondconservation.org.uk/advice/Buythepondbook/

Is there any big pond NO NO's? Type of fish or plants that should be avoided?

The things to avoid are invasive plants, such as Australian SwampStonecrop, New Zealand Stonecrop, New Zealand Pigmyweed (also calledCanadian Waterweed or Pondweed) and Curly Waterweed. These were oftenbought as ornamental plants for garden ponds but cause big problems whenthey get out into countryside ponds. For pictures and more information seewww.pondconservation.org.uk/advice/invasivespecies/introducedplants/ Always ask at garden centres if the plants you are buying are native tothe UK. Or even better, you could let plants come to your pond naturally.This may take a bit of time but it will help to make the most of the earlystages of the pond, which is important for plants and animals.

How can people help Pond Conservation with its work?

We would love people to support us by making a donation to our importantwork to conserve and create ponds.www.pondconservation.org.uk/supportus

Finally, is there any spectacular ponds that you can suggest for people to visit for inspiration?

At the moment, we dont really have a list of these ponds but with the Million Ponds Project many of the partners, such as RSPB, will create ponds on land where the public will be able to see them. So this is a case of keep and eye on the website and come back for more info!

 www.pondconservation.org.uk

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Credit: Countryside Council For Wales

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