We are proud to work with the Stour Countryside Partnership in delivering Great Crested Newt Ponds, which utilises developer contributions to generate genuine benefit to ecology.
Here are examples of a couple of ponds we have worked on near Egerton:
The top pictures are of a pond creation, which looked to utilise an unproductive and low-lying area of grassland, creating a habitat for newts and other wildlife in the area. The pond is already home to toads which successfully bread this year, mayfly, damsel fly and dragon flies. We have also seen wagtails, alongside swallows and house martins drinking in flight and collecting nesting material over the summer, with snipe and green sandpiper being seen over winter months.
The second pond is one of four restorations along a narrow wooded copse. The works involved coppicing and thinning hornbeam and hazel, clearing leaf litter and sediment which had built up over decades and creating ledges within the pond edge. The pond boundary was then fenced to prevent livestock damaging the pond edge and to promote vegetation growth. This pond is full of life and we have already found Great Crested Newt eggs and Larvae within the pond this year.
