This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Pond
Linda562
Posts: 2
I've had a pond at the bottom of my third acre garden for 25 years. It now is just host to newts mostly. We have had 4 grandchildren in the last 3 years and need to remove the concrete based pond. How do we do this whilst retaining some kind of water feature which is kind to wildlife.
0
Posts
A fence with vertical slats, or even just chicken wire on a post and rail frame, is an ideal solution instead of removing the pond.
Something that prevents children climbing up and over.
Alternatively, you could fill it in and plant bog plants which will still suppport lots of pond life. You'd still need to break out some chunks of the concrete to allow enough drainage though.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If there are newts then you can't actually disturb them...
You need to check with local wildlife monitoring people who might be able to relocate them before touching the pond.
I wasn't sure about the newts Steve - in my head I was thinking it was only the crested ones that were protected, but perhaps I've dreamt that
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I stand partially corrected but still a good idea to discuss it with a local wildlife expert.
How big is your pond and is it a regular shape?
The grandchildren will grow quickly enough and need to be taught about managing hasards. Fence off the pond for now and then introduce them to the joys of wildlife when they're a bit bigger.
We had a large, 6m x 4m - 90cms deep unlined pond dug for drainage in our Belgian garden. Possum, taught to swim from the age of 4 months, never showed any interest in going in because it wasn't blue like the swimming pool. We also made sure she and her friends had a paddling pool for hot days. I planted the margins with a mix of tall iris sibirica, miscnthus zebrinus, purple loosestrife and so on and no other child ever went in either.
Cats and dogs a different matter entirely!
I presume you're thinking of the safety aspect, otherwise it would be a great shame to remove a pond. Why don't you just fill it with soil and create a bog garden? There are lots of wonderful plants that love wet soil and many of the little beasties will still survive, sadly not tadpoles or newts. Good luck. Ian
The newts would be carefully relocated to a large pond on the opposite side of the road. We did this 5 years ago when we re lined our pond, there were about 50 of them, although sadly no greater crested newts. It didn't take them long to return once the pond had been re filled. We have newts in our garden soil and even in the house very occasionally so I think we can keep them happy. At this stage I don't think we can go down the fencing off route as one 2 year old has already 'jumped in' and the parents are not keen on visiting until we do something about it. So a bog garden with marginals is probably the best plan... thank you all for your very kind and helpful input.
Last edited: 29 August 2017 18:15:54
There is another option for you which friends of mine did successfully when their children were small. Steel mesh over the pond. Here are some pictures; some of them are quite attractive.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=894&q=mesh+over+ponds+for+safety&oq=mesh+over+ponds+for+safety&gs_l=img.3...1203.11604.0.12306.27.27.0.0.0.0.196.3152.0j23.23.0....0...1.1.64.img..4.12.1791.0..0j0i8i30k1j0i10i24k1j0i24k1.OFDFYbukf0k