Please sponsor our pond makeover!

A happy morning was spent clearing the very overgrown school
pond last week, with several barrow loads of vegetation and sludge removed.
Happily we spotted male and female smooth newts and several common frogs, along
with numerous invertebrates including freshwater shrimp, pond skater, diving
beetle and rams-horn snails, which we were careful not to harm.

This confirms the pond is a thriving ecological hotspot in
the school grounds and the life within it should benefit from the removal of
nutrients and creation of open water. In the coming weeks a pond dipping
platform will be added and the area further landscaped with plants and bark
mulch so the kids have somewhere safe to learn about pond habitats. We also
hope to organise a few pond dipping sessions for them … so watch this space!

We’ve worked out that our ten hours of volunteering saved
the school the £250 it would have cost for a landscaping company to clear the
pond. We are now seeking donations from the school community to match this
amount! Funds raised will go towards much needed classroom equipment. Please sponsor our smelly, soggy, pond make over efforts - give whatever
you can afford.