Did you know that in the last 50 years or so, about a third of all ponds in the UK have disappeared? In the countryside, their numbers have dwindled considerably in the last 100 years which has impacted on wildlife, particularly the amphibian population.
The charity Froglife has launched a national campaign called Just Add Water to encourage us all to dig a wildlife pond in urban areas to counteract this loss. You can easily get involved and make a difference to animals right in your garden - just start digging.
Frogs, toads & newts need ponds to breed.
If the ponds aren’t there, frogs, toads & newts won’t be. Adding a pond of any size to your garden is a great way to encourage wildlife to the area. And you can enjoy watching them and de-stressing in the process.
Froglife have produced a very helpful FREE 32 page guide: Just Add Water, How to Build a Wildlife Pond – with many stunning photos so it doesn't take long to read but it has lots of interesting facts, ideas & advice. And rest assured, you don’t need to spend lots of £££ either to build your wildlife pond.
Getting started with your pond
If you were to ask them, amphibians would prefer a pond of 1 to 2 in diameter metres, but a bucket of water buried in the ground is better than nothing at all.
Give it a section of at least 60 cm deep to protect animals, especially in winter.
Give wildlife shallow shelved areas to give wildlife the chance to bask on the side of your pond.
Don’t put your pond right under trees, because the falling leaves will clog it up – amphibians like the sun, although a bit of shade is a good idea too.
Go for curvy edges in your pond’s shape – not straight lines.
Use the soil you dig out to form an embankment around the pond.
care of your pond in autumn, summer, winter & spring
enhancing your pond to encourage wildlife such as lizards, e.g. butterfly banks, log piles, rockeries, compost heaps
making the most of enjoying your pond once the work is done,
Kids & the Wildlife Pond in a Garden
Froglife give helpful advice on making ponds child-safe. Kids can get an enormous amount of fun, enjoyment and discovery from helping you build a pond and watching the wildlife appear around it in the months afterwards. Get the kids out the garden, get them involved, and get them really muddy. They’ll love it.
After, enjoy the fruits of your labours: Watch for wildlife together, use books & leaflets to explore which animal is which, get the kids drawing what they see and helping with the pond’s aftercare. And getting involved and watching nature gives children a pride in their environment, and a feeling of belonging and being a part of this world
Please note... Since writing this, Froglife & the Herpetological Conservation Trust have merged to form Amphibean & Reptile Conservation - you'll find their new web site here but the links below are currently still ok to go on to the wildlife pond info.
