New #autumnwatch #blog - Make a Splash for Nature this Autumn! - Arne - Arne

26 Oct 2016

Make a Splash for Wildlife this Autumn by Installing a Pond in Your Garden by Morwenna Alldis

Installing a pond into your garden is one of the most effective ways that you can encourage wildlife to take up residence in your greenspace. After all, most living things need water to survive, it’s the life blood of nature and her wildlife – so if you build it, creature of all shapes and sizes will come. Ponds quickly become their own eco systems as well as supporting other life too.

Photo 1: Eleanor Bentall (rspb-images.com)

Whilst you can install a pond at any time of year, autumn is perfect as the ground isn’t too wet or too dry – great for digging.

A pond takes time to bed in, but you should see wildlife results in its first season, including pond skaters and water beetles arriving early summer, dragonflies and damselflies and frogs and newts within a year.
Remember that a pond of any size will do wonders for your garden’s biodiversity – a large pond (anything from 2m x 2m) may be pricey to install, but will deliver wonders for wildlife. But equally a washing up bowl sunk into a sunny spot of your garden, filled with rainwater and planted up will also make the perfect home for a frog, water insects, as well as vital water for birds and small mammals

(Photo 2: Nick Cunard (rspb-images.com)

Wildlife Pond Top Tips
1. Location, location, location – opt for a sunny spot, sunshine is vital for the oxygenating the plants you’ll be popping in your pond.
2. Shape and accessibility – you can make your pond any shape you desire, but the key is to combine deeper areas with shallow shelving around the edges – this will allow small mammals easy access in and out of the pond. It’s also vital to create access out of the pond too, should any small mammals accidently fall in e.g. building up an area of logs, twigs or stones leading from a deep are of the pond to the outer edge, so that wildlife can safely scramble out.
3. Invest in a quality pond lining – we recommend either a pre moulded liner such as fibreglass or a flexible line such as PVC, butyl rubber or EPDM rubber
4. Opt for native pond plants – native is always preferable as non-native species can cause issues. Some examples of native species are: marginals, such as, marsh marigolds and purple loosestrife and oxygenators (which will keep your pond clear) including, hornwort, and frogbit.
5. Think safety – if you have young children or young visitors, the pond will need to be somewhere they can only get to if supervised.
6. Pray for Rain- its best to fill your pond with rainwater, even if this takes a few weeks to fill it. Tap water contains nitrates and phosphates that can be harmful to algae.
7. Wait for Wildlife to come to you – It won’t take long for wildlife to move into your new pond, just be patient and do not introduce amphibians that you’ve collected from other water sources. This risks the spread of viruses that amphibians can carry.

Photo 3: Nick Cunard (rspb-images.com)