British ponds not up to scratch

British ponds not up to scratch

» 24th February 2010 «

British garden owners considering adding a water feature to their garden may be interested in the findings of the first ever audit of UK ponds.

According to the Big Pond Dip research from Pond Conservation, many of the country's gardeners have failed to create an ideal environment for wildlife.

Just ten per cent of ponds are fulfilling their potential for being a suitable environment for wildlife, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) reported.

Pond Conservation director of policy and research Jeremy Biggs told the organisation that many garden owners get things wrong from the start.

"If you get it wrong, right from the word go, you cut yourself off from half the wildlife that could live there," he explained.

The research also found that 80 per cent of ponds in the countryside are in poor or very poor condition.

However, the charity has set up the Million Ponds Project, which aims to create thousands of new clean water ponds by providing grants to farmers, wildlife trusts and the Forestry Commission.

In other news, the RHS recently reported that Delamere Forest in Cheshire is being re-flooded for the first time in decades, creating a rare wetland habitat for wildlife.