You might have noticed that we rather love wildlife ponds on The Howe! As well as adding beauty to landscapes, wildlife ponds are vital habitats for many animals and wetland plants.
They’re also an important fresh drinking water source for birds, hedgehogs, deer and foxes. And if you look carefully around our 4 ponds you can find the footprints to prove it!
Ponds boost biodiversity by providing food, a refuge and breeding space for a huge variety of insects – such as dragonflies and beetles – as well as amphibians such as frogs, toads, and newts.
Ponds can even help with climate change, flooding, and pollution too.
Sadly, the number and quality of ponds in the UK has declined dramatically over the last century – causing a drop in the numbers of animals which rely on them. But thankfully there are now many organisations who are now trying to reverse this trend. And here on The Howe, we too are taking major steps to improve our own existing pond – and creating new ones too!
Last May, we used a grant from Trust for Oxfordshire’s environment (TOE), to create 3 large new ponds – each approx. 30m x 15m.
And last month we started work renovating an old seasonal pond – again with money from TOE. This is our ‘before’ picture!
Seasonal ponds (which are shallow and dry up over the summer months) are now considered some of the most important ponds, with the greatest overall value for some rare species of invertebrates which can be wiped out in permanent ponds with year-round predators.
Our seasonal pond had been hidden within a small copse for many decades – and was completely overgrown and full of leaf litter. So we asked Adam Bows of Oxecology to survey it and come up with a plan to help restore it. Luckily he’s not only a freshwater habitats specialist but is also a professional tree surgeon!
The first stage was to cut back most of the trees around it – this lets in light and also helps reduce leaves falling which will help improve the water quality.
The work is now complete and we’ve used the brash to build a dead hedge (see image) around the lond – a feature which is particularly effective near a pond, as it gives frogs and other pond creatures a place to shelter when out of the water.
Next month, and through the summer we’ll be surveying the pond again – this time to see what new species we have attracted.
Fingers crossed for newts and frogs!
Maggie
Is there any evidence that these were originally ponds and what they were used for and when?
An alternative possibility is that they were originally trial brickpits in the 19th century but discarded in favour of the Littleworth Brickpit which is on trend with them. They could then have been used as ponds.
I have been looking at LIDAR imamges of the area and could send these to you if they would be of interest.