The realization of a pond inside the wild garden is a really useful project for nature. Creating one, small or large, will help to preserve the biodiversity linked to it, due to the drastic reduction of wetlands and consequently of the plant and animal species that inhabit it. You will see your wild garden filled with aquatic plants and invertebrates, amphibians and more; it will be exciting to see how much biodiversity can characterize even the smallest collection of water.
The following are two different ways of making a pond, depending on the space, time, materials and work required. So, you can choose the best for you! Come on, everyone at work!
Realization
- If required, define with rope and stakes, the area that will be subjected to digging.
- Start digging with spade and hoe, putting aside the dug soil, which will then be recycled to raise an edge of the pond.
- Remove stones, woods and everything that is located on the bottom of the dig, to prevent stones or roots from piercing non-woven fabric and PVC (if you decide to use them).
- Once the excavation is finished, place the non-woven fabric sheet on the bottom and then the PVC waterproof one. Remember that the PVC sheet must be larger than the size of the digging, because it must be folded and the edge must be buried.
- Now it’s time for water: the best choice is not to add it, and wait for the pond to fill naturally thanks to the rain. If instead you decide to build the pond in a low rainy season, then you can add water, better if it comes from a well.
- Place stones and trunks around the edges of the pond, in order to create habitats suitable for its future guests.
- If the banks are particularly steep, you can place mesh nets (in hemp or other natural material) that will help the sediment to stop.
- * Tank option: If you use it instead of the PVC sheet, simply remove any stones and woods once the excavation is finished, put a layer of sand (if available) and place the tank. Finally fill the edges between the tank and the excavation with the resulting soil.
Maintenance
- Check that the water level is not too low, especially in summer; this could compromise the balance of the pond and the presence of animals.
- In autumn you have to clean the pond: remove the leaves and reduce the aquatic vegetation if it has grown too much (both on the edges and in water). Floating species, for example, if present in excess can subtract light from submerged ones.
- In winter avoid complete freezing of the surface, possibly providing some tap water.
- Do not make any action in the spring, because you may disturb the animals during their reproduction and egg-laying period, with the risk that they will leave the pond.
Planning
- Choose an open area of the wild garden, where there is little shade only at a specific time of the day. It should preferably be far from the trees, which in addition to creating too much shade, make maintenance difficult. During the autumn, the fallen leaves must be absolutely removed in order to avoid that their decomposition takes away oxygen from the water.
- There is no minimum size planned for your pond. In nature, there are sheets of water of all sizes, so even a small pond is a valuable habitat for wildlife. So, choose freely how large you want to make it, taking into account the space, time and workforce you have available.
- The depth must be between 40 and 80 cm. If the water level does not reach at least 40 cm, it will be more difficult to host different species, because it will heat and cool too easily, allowing colonisation by only a few organisms.
- The banks must slope gently and gradually, in order to allow to the animals that will populate and live in, to enter and exit the pond with ease.
Needed equipment
- Tape measure
- Spade, also suitable for children
- Shovel, also suitable for children
- Hoe, also suitable for children
- Rope and stakes
- * A sheet of non-woven fabric
- * A sheet in PVC
- * PVC tank, minimum diameter 70-80 cm
- Wheelbarrow
- Stones and logs
- Sand
- Water
* to estimate the size of the sheets, remember to consider the depth and area of the pond. The PVC sheet can be replaced by a PVC tank, which however has higher costs. Their usage is therefore alternative, being able to choose the most appropriate between the two ways.
