Early in November the Inclusive Volunteering teams worked hard to clear an area round a pond at Thornton. The pond was once an ornamental feature in the grounds of a manor house, which has since been destroyed. In the years that passed the pond was gradually enclosed within a plantation of oak, ash, beech and hawthorn, with some yew growing along the original boundary. For a long time the pond was a good habitat for aquatic species, including the Great Crested Newt (GCN); last recorded in the pond in 1993. Since that time the pond has gradually filled with leaves and debris from surrounding trees, making it uninhabitable. That’s where Rachel, our Pondscape officer, stepped in.
Within her remit to create and regenerate ponds throughout the region she has been seeking out suitable candidates. It is hoped at Thornton, with past records of GCN’s, that by clearing the pond will entice newts and other inhabitants to return.
To this aim the volunteers have been working to clear trees in a 2m wide boundary around the pond, creating habitat piles as they go. This will reduce the amount of leaf litter falling on the water, opening up light levels and maintaining depth. Some trees will be left in to add variety to the bank and add dappled shadow, while in other areas stumps will be left to form hibernacula (safe areas where newts can over-winter).
The plan is to use machinery to clear the silt from the pond once we have cleared the trees. However, we are not going to attempt to clear it all this year. By leaving half of the site untouched until next year we are preserving an area of habitat for anything that does still live in or around the pond. This will help the pond to regenerate more fully and more quickly when the project is completed.
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