December 18th, 2017 | danny Last weekend, Danny organised and lead a team of volunteers in clearing out the wildlife pond at Stoke Holy Cross Primary School. The school has recently completed construction of its outdoor classroom, but the nearby pond was sorely in need of some management having become very overgrown with sedge and even had some small trees growing in it. The aim was to clear a significant area of the vegetation around the edge of the pond to create a larger expanse of open water habitat for newts, dragonflies and other invertebrates and provide accessible open water to allow the children to do pond dipping from the edge. The team arrived on a very cold Saturday morning and had to break the ice on the pond before beginning work. Over the course of the morning the team carefully cut and lifted the matted turfs of interwoven roots from the butyl liner, some of which were eight to ten inches thick, and laid them on the bank to drain off before piling them near the pond to rot down. The pile would naturally compost over time whilst also providing habitat for wildlife. The team also built a log pile refuge for newts and other amphibians breeding in the pond and cleared encroaching blackthorn scrub. Despite the cold, the team (fuelled by cups of team and bacon rolls) managed to clear about 70% of the pond area leaving enough marginal vegetation to maintain a diversity of habitats within the pond. Danny is already planning a return visit next year to clear the remaining vegetation and introduce a regular management plan for the pond. If you have any ponds, we have experts in wetland habitat management and licenced ecologists for Great Crested Newts, Water Vole and White-Clawed Crayfish. Contact Danny Thomas at Riverdale Ecology if you require any protected species surveys or have any questions about pond creation and management.