The New School Pond
13th November 2004
It May Look Empty Now...
The school Eco-Committee has many on-going projects and has set up and maintained a great number of things in the school. In their spirit of always eager to do more, their latest project was to set up a new pond area, which will be more visible and accessible to the pupils. The major work had been completed. All that was needed now was a willing troop of volunteers to help plant it up.
Fancy a Dip?
Everyone likes pond dipping, to find which of the many beasties that often live in a pond can be found there. The new pond, with its walkway, makes that really easy and safe to do - and it's on our doorstep! The barrel collects water from the roof so we can fill up the pond if it gets a bit low. All it needs now is a few plants...
Ready and Waiting
A number of plants have been bought already, and more will be bought or donated for the future. Amongst the collection here, we have some Guelder Roses (Viburnum opulus), Firethorns (Pyracantha sp.), a Clematis and and Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.). Within a couple of years, these should grow to look very impressive.
Your rubbish, plant's food
A lot of compost was dug in around the plants to give them the food that they will need to grow well next year. As you may have seen in the last section, all of that compost came from the plant matter we could all just throw away in the bin. But luckily we don't throw it away. We collect it, put it on the compost heap, rot it down and use it again for our new plants and vegetables. This banana skin needs a bit more time before it's ready.
A New Home
The ground has got a lot of clay and tree roots in (as it was an overgrown site before), and was quite hard work to dig holes in. But with a gang of 11, we managed to dig enough holes for the plants and managed to loosen up the soil too. The compost we've added is going to help to make the soil a great place to grow things in the years to come.
It's Amazing What You Can Find
Although most of the ground had been cleared, we still found the odd bit of rubbish here and there, usually buried. Who knows how old this plastic toy is, but it goes to show that plastic does not rot away in the ground very well. There's no use in hoping it will go away if it is buried.
The Old Pond
We had a visit to the old pond to rescue some plants. The lining of the pond has a leak in, and the pond is not as accessible as we wanted, so that's why a new pond has been built. However, the life of this pond is not over yet. The creatures in it have yet to be taken (or to migrate) to another pond, before it is slowly filled in to become a marshy area.
The Walkway
In the spring time we hope to be all standing here (hopefully not all at the same time!) dipping into the pond to see what has arrived so far. The plants on the right will grow to hopefully cover the fence and make it into a really green area.
The Planted Garden
It's looking a bit greener already. When the spring comes, you will hardly be able to see the soil for the bushes, grass, wildflowers and troops of staff and pupils who will come to visit the site. My place is already booked for my class!
The Planted Pond
Some plants had been rescued from the old pond, along with the odd snail or two, to begin life in the new pond. I know that there are frogs and newts in our old pond. I wonder if they know about our pond already? Perhaps they have started to make holidays plans to come here in the springtime?
Just Wait and See...
This is the part of the nature area that will be easily seen by the school. The path carries on to the right-hand side, leading back to the old pond, through an area enclosed by trees and, in the spring and summertime, nettles. The pond area will sleep during the wintertime. But when spring comes, just wait and see...
