Pond Safety on The Howe

The exceptional rain of the last few days has meant the 3 ponds in Tombs Field have gone from huge muddy holes with puddles in the bottom to now being full to capacity. Great news for our resident and future wildlife – but we hadn’t expected them to fill up quite so rapidly!

We have temporary signage in place to warn visitors and ask them to take extra care. But our permanent signage – together with lifebuoys to help should anyone get into trouble – will not be in place until this weekend.

We’d therefore like to emphasise the importance of Water Safety precautions to all our visitors.

1. Please keep to the paths. The pond surrounds have not yet been colonised by plants – so the mud around each one is currently very slippery. Do not stand too close to the edges of the ponds for this reason. Likewise please do not attempt to paddle or pond dip.
2. All children must be very closely and constantly supervised in Tombs Field. The Howe is a much-loved community space which is open 24/7 and while we have carried out risk assessments, to where possible help reduce the danger to the public, the trustees cannot take responsibility for the safety of individual visitors. We would like to ask that everyone – especially parents and their children – take extra care. We want everyone to enjoy our new ponds, but please talk to your youngsters and ensure they fully understand the potential dangers of water, however shallow. Children and young people should never be allowed to visit the Howe ponds without the close and constant supervision of a responsible adult.
3. Please keep all dogs on leads. We ask this because canine flea and worming treatments are very toxic to aquatic life. We want our wildlife ponds to support as many species as possible. If dogs are allowed to paddle or swim in our ponds we will have no frogs, newts or dragonflies to enjoy!

Thanks for your ongoing support – we’re looking forward to reporting back on the plants and animals we discover over the coming months and years.