Page sponsor: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/index.htm Wildlife ponds So you want a wildlife pond? Here's how to make one in your garden. Once you've made the pond, it shouldn't be long before you are watching wild animals. This is even true of ponds created in towns and cities. We had a wildlife pond in our garden in London and we saw dozens of frogs, a toad, newts, a hedgehog and five foxes who regularly visited. Remember you need to get your parents' help and permission for this! When is the best time to build a pond? The best time of year to build a pond is in November - this gives the pond time to settle down before the spring WHERE SHOULD I PUT THE POND? There are a number of points to think about when deciding where to put your pond. The ground should be level or the water will run out. If your garden is on a slope - make a terrace. Put it in a reasonably sunny position but still give it some shade. Don't put it underneath trees or shrubs - otherwise you will spend all Autumn getting the leaves out. Don't put it somewhere people will keep disturbing the animals. If you have small children in the house, be very careful where you put it - ie somewhere they can't fall in. Small children can drown even in a few inches of water, so perhaps you should think twice about having a pond at all, if you can't fence it off. Frog HOW BIG SHOULD MY POND BE? Of course this is dependent on the area available but: Wildlife ponds need to be at least 60 cm (2 ft) deep in Britain (deeper in colder countries), so that the animals can escape the ice in winter and hot water in the summer. In deciding the width and length of the pond, bear in mind that you will need some shallow edges, where the warm water will attract animals such as tadpoles and where animals such as hedgehogs will be able to climb out, if they fall in. WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE IT OUT OF? You will need something to line the pond, so that the water stays in. There are two options - a flexible pond liner or a cast pond (made from plastic or fibreglass). Of the two, pond liner is the best, because you can get your pond to be the shape you and the animals would like. In particular the cast ponds often don't have the shallow area wildlife need. You will find your flexible liner in garden centres which have a water garden section. There are many types of pond liner - and they vary in price. Look on the label to see how long the liner will last - Butyl, which is what we used, can last over 20 years. Of course any liner will not last long if it gets punctured - such as by a bird's beak or sharp stones. You will also need something to protect the pond liner from stones etc - we used an old carpet, but you could use old newspapers or fine sand, and there are materials which you can buy. Newt HOW MUCH POND LINER DO WE NEED? To work out the length the pond liner needs to be - add the maximum length to twice the maximum depth and add 60 cm (2ft). To work out the width - add the maximum width to twice the maximum depth and add 60 cm (2ft). WE'VE GOT THE LINER - NOW WHAT? Dig the hole for the pond - the size and shape you want. Remember the size of the hole you dig will need to be deeper than the pond you want, to allow for the carpet or whatever you are using to protect the pond liner. Keep the grass to one side. Dig a trench around the edge for the liner to be moored in. Clear away all the sharp stones from the hole. Line the hole with the carpet or whatever. Spread the pond liner over the hollow up to the trench. Weight down the edges in the trench with a smooth stones Cover the pond liner with a shallow layer of sieved sub soil and, if you want, smooth pebbles. AND NOW ADD WATER? Yes, add the water slowly. You will find that the water will pull the pond liner down to fit the hole. You will probably use tap water - in which case leave it to stand for a couple of weeks. Once the pond is full - trim back the liner, anchoring the edge in the trench using stones. Put the grass turves back around the pond, going right up to the edge. The water will probably go green for a while. Toad crossing sign!!! WHEN SHOULD WE PLANT THE POND AND WITH WHAT? You can plant the pond after two weeks. The best time is in the Spring, but if you are like us you will want to have the pond plants established before the frogs arrive to lay spawn, if so do it earlier. You must have enough pond plants which provide oxygen - these are called oxygenating plants. There are underwater oxygenating pond plants such as water starwort, milfoil, and willowmoss. Canadian pondweed can also be used, but it grows like crazy and so you may have to remove some after a while. Floating pond plants such as the water spider and water lilies are also useful, giving shade and shelter. Then you will also want plants for the edges of the pond - such as the marsh marigold and water forget-me-not, where animals can hide. The best way to get pond plants is from someone else who has a wildlife pond. Don't take them from ponds without permission. You could try contacting your local wildlife trust (see contact page) for help. In the USA you could try your local Native Plant Society. Rooted pond plants can be planted in baskets filled with soil - you can buy the baskets from garden centres. AND HOW DO WE GET THE ANIMALS? Many will turn up by themselves - beetles will fly in, frogs will hop in and newts crawl. Others will come on the plants or in the mud surrounding the plants. You can try adding a bucket of mud from a wildlife pond to yours to add some bugs and their eggs. Don't put fish into the pond, if you want frogs and tadpoles. Fish will eat them! IS THAT ALL? No, think about the pond's surroundings. A wildlife pond is no good if there isn't anywhere to hide near it, and no sources of food. Animals, such as frogs and newts, also need somewhere to hibernate. In order to provide, these create an area of taller plants close to the water somewhere; a rockery can be created from the soil dug out for the pond (we have a dry-stone wall near our pond), and old logs nearby would also provide shelter. Try to avoid using pesticides and herbices in the vicinity of the pond such as slug pellets. Slug pellets not only poison slugs, but the animals that eat them as well. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/dfly/dflyusa.htm#intro specifically for dragonflies in the USA http://web.ukonline.co.uk/conker/newts.htm great little bit of info on newts

protecting amphibians and reptiles in the wild www.froglife.org www.people.colgate. edu/wda/Dragonfly.htm