Ponds and Paths

The sun was shining and Team Thursday were out in force this week working on the Voley Ponds. 

Over time the first Voley Pond has filled with silt and become overgrown. Barely any open water remained and the levels were very low. 

Staff and volunteers have worked hard to dig out part of the pond and improve this habitat for wildlife. 

It was incredibly muddy work and it wasn't long before everyone was covered, particularly those wallowing in the pond itself!

Despite the mud, spirits remained high!

Meanwhile, old pieces of boardwalk from elsewhere on the reserve have been cut and repurposed. These have been hammered in along the bank of the second Voley Pond to provide more structure to the bank and path. 

The mud dug out of the first pond has been moved to build up the bank between the newly constructed edging. 

What felt like hundreds of trips with buckets and wheelbarrows was needed to fill the length of the path with the gloopy mud dug out of the pond. 

At the end of the day, the inflow pipe was unblocked allowing water to once again flow into the pond and begin to raise the levels. By the next day, the pond had completely filled with water again. This will be an important habitat for a variety of invertebrates and amphibians in the spring. 

Thank you to everyone involved for such a huge effort in completing this project.