Why ponds are brilliant

Andrea Hudspeth from the British Dragonfly Society gives us lots of great reasons why we should all want access to a pond.

Have you ever stopped for a few minutes next to a pond and had a good long, hard stare? At first glance, it may appear that there is nothing to look at, but once you get your eye in you will probably notice that there are lots of weird and wonderful creatures milling around. A pond ecosystem is a harsh, but fascinating environment to observe.

Ponds for children

I love pond dipping. There I said it, but I’m still a big kid at heart and always hungry to learn more. Pond dipping is a great educational activity to do with kids because it’s fun, it’s unpredictable and opens our kids up to whole new world. There are so many themes that can be covered: water quality and pollution, food chains and webs, life-cycles, consumers and impacts of invasive species to name just a few - all of which can be differentiated to be age appropriate. Ponds within school grounds are a great resource, but pond dipping can be done at home or within the community too.

Following the announcement of lockdown and home-schooling it became clear that the group activities we had planned were not going to happen, and my pond dipping kit would remain in the garage, unused and unloved. So, I had a cunning plan. I contacted the parents with children in my village and asked if they would like to borrow pond dipping kits and the answer was a resounding “YES!”. All I asked for in return were photos showing the children using the kit along with their finds. Whilst this has been great for the kids, even the parents have reported learning new things alongside their children, which is brilliant news.

Ponds for Gardens

A pond is a great addition to any garden whether it’s for decorative purposes, keeping fish or for wildlife in general, you’ll never regret installing your pond. Naturally, we at BDS favour a wildlife pond as these are great for introducing more biodiversity into the garden and this benefits dragonflies. As well as providing habitat for aquatic and semi-aquatic wildlife, a pond will bring in other wildlife too, such as birds looking for a drink or a bath and flying insects which will pollinate plants, but also provide food for foraging bats and, of course, adult dragonflies. If you don’t have room for a large pond, you can make a smaller pond using a variety of recycled containers such as barrels, sinks, baby baths, planters as well as buying one of the many smaller preformed liners that are available. Look online to get some inspiration.

Ponds for Communities

Not everyone has access to a garden. If you live in a block of flats for example, you’ll hopefully have some community green space nearby that you are able to visit even under the current restrictions. Installing a pond, or breathing new life into an old pond, can be a great community project. There will be something for everyone through the various phases of development and the project will bring together people with different skills, ideas and interests. We are currently working with around 30 community groups across Scotland to install new ponds, improve and maintain existing ponds and to teach them more about dragonflies and how they can help conserve them. The response to this project has been amazing, and we hope to expand it across the UK.

Ponds for Mental Health

Water can have a calming effect on people and create a sense of well-being, so ponds are also great for people how do not have easy access to rivers or coasts. That good long stare I mentioned earlier - well doing that is great for our mental health and is a good exercise in mindfulness. Sitting by a pond and watching all the life within brings you back into the present moment, concentrates the mind on something new and can allow your mind the space it needs to get some inspiration – hopefully that inspiration will be to dig a pond!