RAUK e-Forum: Million Ponds Project


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RAUK e-Forum : Projects and Grants

Topic: Million Ponds Project - get digging!

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herpetologic2
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Joined: 15 June 2004
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Posted: 24 March 2009 at 6:54am \| IP Logged

Million Ponds Project

ARG UK is a partner in this project coordinated by Pond
Conservation.

To provide guidance on the creation of 'clean water
ponds' Pond Conservation has produced the Pond Creation
http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds/pondcrea
tiontoolkit/

Edited by herpetologic2 on 24 March 2009 at 6:56am

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GemmaJF
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Posted: 24 March 2009 at 3:40pm \| IP Logged

I read that as a "Million Pounds Project" and went to get the bucket and spade.

Must be the consultant in me.

Working link

http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/millionponds/pondcreation toolkit/

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Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

Peter
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Posted: 24 March 2009 at 4:14pm \| IP Logged

GemmaJF wrote:

I read that as a "Million Pounds Project" and went to get the bucket and spade.

Must be the consultant in me.

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Robert V
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Joined: 06 August 2004
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: 25 May 2009 at 3:54am \| IP Logged

Without wishing to put a damper on the whole "million pound pond thingy", and as good as it is in trying to bring life where there is none, please remember that the only "pond project" which can/could make any significant difference to the populations of amphibians in the UK is one where ponds are built at intervals through out the uk (in agreement and compensation for farmers),

but with migration corridors linking them all. It would be a massive project, certainly costing more than a million pounds especially if a new pond was to be constructed every couple of miles or so in a criss cross pattern linked across the shires.

If there any multi millionaires out there that want to leave their mark on UK wildlife heritage, can I suggest you start looking at this as your first port of call.

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RobV

Mark_b
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Posted: 25 May 2009 at 5:16am \| IP Logged

The project isn't limited to one million £
pounds£, Gemma just thought/hoped it said
£pounds£ rather
than ponds hehe

The Million Ponds Project just wants to get half
a million ponds dug over the coming years (+ existing
ponds = 1,000,000) , which can never be a bad thing

Edited by Mark_b on 25 May 2009 at 5:16am

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herpetologic2
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Posted: 25 May 2009 at 5:19am \| IP Logged

Hi Rob

May I suggest you have a look at the link and have a
read about what the project is trying to achieve.

In order to readdress the pond losses over the last 60
or so years it is planned to create over 600,000 ponds
across the UK - it is estimated that there was over
1,000,000 ponds in the UK - I think that the peak number
was something like 1.7million ponds. There are around
400,000 ponds now (give or take). So the project aims to
bring the number back up to a million

Hence the name the Million Ponds Project.

Now people have been busy creating new and restoring old
neglected ponds. Take Essex Amphibian & Reptile Group
they have created two new ponds in Brentwood with the
help of the 100% fund (see www.arguk.org). The group has
also supervised pond clearances and creation projects in
Uttlesford and Basildon.

Great Dunmow Council restored three ponds and created a
new pond this year. Visits to the ponds have shown that
great crested newts are breeding in all but one of the
ponds. Common toads are within the larger pond in the
town. Number of new GCN ponds = 1 number of restored gcn
ponds = 2

Hatch Farm in Basildon was completely cleared last
winter which was a bit drastic but visits this year has
shown that the pond has come back to life amazingly well

Number of GCN ponds restored = 1

Back to Brentwood - the new pond has been found to have
breeding gcn less than 6 months after it was created.
Another smaller pond has also had gcn found this spring
gcn ponds = 2

Thorndon Country Park - gravel ponds were restored for
the benefit of palmate newts. Plus the odd gcn is found
here - palmate newt ponds = 3 to 4 new

Essex County Council will be planning to create at least
50 or so new ponds over 2009/10 within country parks and
other natural habitat areas which they manage.

Bowers Marsh - gcn pond restored under license by the
RSPB (shock horror!) -

This is from a small group of volunteers who are working
with landowners and other organisations to restore and
create new ponds within Essex.

It goes to show that any pond creation project is
worthwhile. The better ones would be groups or clusters
of ponds within the wider landscape.

Down in Hampshire I am planning to organise new pond
projects as part of my community group - greening
Alresford and as a member of the Hampshire Amphibian &
Reptile Network working with Hampshire County Council,
Forestry Commission and private individuals and
companies.

Get out there and look for suitable sites and tell the
million ponds project as they will be looking to fund
these projects!

J

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Robert V
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Posted: 26 May 2009 at 1:52pm \| IP Logged

Jon,

I'm not knocking it, it's great and I didn't know that fact 1.7 million ponds - amazing, no wonder we don't see as many frogs now as when we were kids.

But I do have a reservation: if you don't link those ponds Jon, the populations will be struggling to be self sustaining in a colony and come one bad pollution incident, all that hard work in renovating any particular pond could be lost.

What is needed is a deliberate planting policy of light hedgerows and ditches which actually link pond to pond, or pond to heath/scrub, then on to pond.

That way all species can migrate and healthy populations can crop up more swiftly than if left in solitary confinement.

Thinking long term really.

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RobV

AGILIS
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Joined: 27 February 2007
Location: United Kingdom
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Posts: 621

Posted: 27 May 2009 at 1:05am \| IP Logged

local coservationists in cavendish some years ago decided to sterilise the local duck pond and banished the ducks from it and prosecuting them if they dared to return even though they had lived there for centuries ,with the exception of plastic duck
that some times turn up to enhance the place

Edited by AGILIS on 27 May 2009 at 1:06am

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LOCAL ICYNICAL CELTIC ECO WARRIOR AND FAILED DRUID

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