Hello. I live in the UK (in the sw) and we have a pond which came with our house. It was very neglected - overhung overgrown and full of slime! We’ve cleared it out and want to make it into a wildlife friendly pond (no fish). It’s about 1x2m and 0.5m deep and had a black liner. However it needs a shallow beach area for things to get in and out etc in the area of the first photo. Any thoughts on how we can do this? And any other tips welcome! Thanks.
Convert to wildlife friendly
- Thread starter Lauraj
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Welcome to the forum. You could take up a side of the liner, looks like you might have some extra, and taper the edge. Another option would be placing some rocks on the plant shelf to build up the edge (protecting the liner with some underlayment under the rocks is a good idea). Another option would be placing a large branch on the edge which would enable critters to climb out.
j.w
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Welcome to the forum!
The critters will love it.
The critters will love it.
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I wouldn't worry about that area. As long as it does have a shallow area for frogs and newts to enter they will probably use it. Having one area in the pond with a steep slope won't bother them as they as they can get in and out from another section of the pond.
If anything, it might be beneficial for the frogs to have a deep section where herons and other predators cannot easily access them.
If you are worried about rodents, shrews, moles, or hedgehogs falling in, then just make sure that they can swim to a more shallow section to climb out. Animals don't just fall in the water and drown. Almost all animals can and will swim and they only drown because they are trapped.
We don't have hedgehogs in the US, but we used to have moles, mice, and chipmunks fall into our swimming pool back at our old house in Connecticut. They undoubtedly could not escape the slippery, vertical walls of the pool. We even had amphibians drown in there.
It was a death trap for insects, spiders, amphibians, and the occasional mammal. Gradual slopes prevent animals from falling in, but they also allow animals to escape even if they fall into a steep section.
If you desire, however, you can add rocks and a few logs or add sand or gravel to make the edge less steep.
If anything, it might be beneficial for the frogs to have a deep section where herons and other predators cannot easily access them.
If you are worried about rodents, shrews, moles, or hedgehogs falling in, then just make sure that they can swim to a more shallow section to climb out. Animals don't just fall in the water and drown. Almost all animals can and will swim and they only drown because they are trapped.
We don't have hedgehogs in the US, but we used to have moles, mice, and chipmunks fall into our swimming pool back at our old house in Connecticut. They undoubtedly could not escape the slippery, vertical walls of the pool. We even had amphibians drown in there.
It was a death trap for insects, spiders, amphibians, and the occasional mammal. Gradual slopes prevent animals from falling in, but they also allow animals to escape even if they fall into a steep section.
If you desire, however, you can add rocks and a few logs or add sand or gravel to make the edge less steep.
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