Category: Ponds

  • Pond Invertebrate Survey May 2019

    Pond Invertebrate Survey May 2019

    A Bank Holiday Monday provided the time for Helen, her mum Pam and Millie the dog to visit with all the kit to survey our ponds. With five ponds to survey it isn’t a quick job but as the weather was kind to us, it made for an enjoyable and interesting afternoon. The real time…

  • Pond Vegetation Survey April 2019

    Pond Vegetation Survey April 2019

    Findings of the Vegetation Survey conducted 22nd April 2019

  • Ponds & Scrapes Update

    Ponds & Scrapes Update

    The recent rainfall has raised the water level in the scrapes to full with each overflow now running. It’s hard to believe how quick the ground recovered from the earthworks.

  • Pond Vegetation Survey October 2018

    Pond Vegetation Survey October 2018

    Findings of the Vegetation Survey conducted 24th October 2018

  • Autumn Pond Audit

    Autumn Pond Audit

    The (hopefully) annual audit of our farm ponds happened yesterday with pond experts Peter and Helen visiting along with Helen’s Mum on admin duties and Millie the dog. Samples of water clarity, ph and electrical conductivity were taken along with the invertebrates and plant life which have taken up residence in the restored farm ponds…

  • Scrapes for wildlife

    Scrapes for wildlife

    Whilst clearing out are farm ponds last Autumn, whilst the digger was on site we also took the opportunity of putting in a series of wildlife ‘scrapes’. Our scrapes quickly filled up with rainwater during one of the wettest winters on record. The scrapes are just shallow depressions in the land with gently sloping edges, which (importantly)…

  • Farm ponds invertebrate audit

    Farm ponds invertebrate audit

    An out of the blue call from Helen Greaves changed the plans for the day as it became the day to do an audit of invertebrates in both the restored farm ponds and the newly created scrapes. A lovely hot sunny day isn’t the best sort of day to don waders but, if you want…

  • Raising the water levels in a restored farm pond

    Raising the water levels in a restored farm pond

    It’s been a few wet months since we cleaned out and restored the main pond and despite the rain the retained water level held in the pond has been disappointing. As we had a digger on site today to prep a shed floor, it had a few minutes diversion to carry across a few buckets…

  • Pond Cleaning Begins

    The long anticipated cleanup of our ponds began today. Hooray! The right machine in the hands of the right driver makes light work of what would have otherwise been an insurmountable task. It poured down in the night so even after a couple of hours work with the digger it looks like a pond again.…

  • Farmland Pond Restoration Opportunity

    Ecologists wanted for Hesketh Bank pond restoration project. Ponds and scrapes provide environments in farmland for aquatic biodiversity covering plants, invertebrates, amphibians, fishes, and mammals. Many farm ponds in the area have already been lost to modern agricultural practices. Our own derelict ponds have now been cleared of most of the overhanging trees, scrub, scrap…