Building large school pond

[ilia123]

Hi Everyone.

I've got around 2 years of experience with small ponds (mainly half-barrell, preformed above groun; a few small liners). However I am attempting an exciting challenge by building a 6m by 2.5m wildlife pond in the local school. It will be so muc bigger than what I'm used to and will require an 8.65 x 5.80m liner - so 570sq feet which along with underlay wil cost £270. They don't really mind about price as long as its not in the tens of thousands.

I've just got a few problems planning and would appreciat some help

1) Could I dig the pond out in a week with a shovel? Or would I need machinery?

2) I want to include a waterfall to aearate the water; maybe some lights and a fountain.

i) How would I install the pump for the waterfall; is it possible to make a hole in the liner and have it underground or would it have to be a tube comming out of the pond which looks a bit ugly. Or could it be hidden with a few water lillies or even marginals?

ii) How would I deal with the electrics. It will be next to the music school so there will be a socket less than 5metres away. Would this be easy for an electricican to do and how much would he charge?

Thanks very much for any help.

Hopefully I can get this done before the new year and have frogs, newts, tons of life by end of spring!

[galanthus]

Phew !! First of all warm welcome to WAB and hope you stick around after your pond-building so we can see pics of your wildlife

You should certainly be able to dig out your pond in a week with hard work and an aching back. Better still get some volunteers to help You will need a depth in the middle in excess of 2ft to enable wildlife to hide at the bottom in v cold weather brrrrr !

Pump for waterfall just sits on the bottom or ledge near bottom of pond on a brick or something to avoid silt blockage. Yes you'd have a pipe but it's easily covered with rocks, ivy, creeping jenny etc or even some squat conifers, then near pond with marginals as you said. You certainly do not wanting to be putting holes in your liner

The electrics include having a water proof casing for the cable etc, my fella did mine but if you don't know anyone that way inclined then you'd need an electrician. However, you may get a good deal as doing it for the school.

Don't forget you need to have some sloping sides into the pond like a pebble or beach area for wildlife to get in and out. Also health and safety would insist you covered the pond with a net if close to a school.

Hope some of this is of help, I'm sure lots of others will answer with more suggestions. Good luck !!

[Tursiops2]

Hello ilia, and welcome to WAB.

I can't answer your second and third questions, but the answer to the first is "yes, but..."

It depends on the depth, the internal contouring, the location, your tools, how fit you are, and if you're planning on doing it solo.

Well prepared and properly organised, two people who know what they're doing could do that in a day, probably less.

Sounds like a nice project, tell us more

PS What part of the country are you in?

T2

[pressld2]

Hi Ilia and welcome from me too.

A waterfall for aeration (and the sound of running water - lovely!) is a good idea. Personally I'd steer clear of lights and fountains for a wildlife pond. Apart from anything else most schools chuck out at 3 or 3:30 so the children will never see it lit up anyway. And waterlilies don't like fountains much, they prefer still water. It would be best to plant them at the opposite end to your waterfall.

Like Galanthus said, you definitely don't want a hole in your liner for the electrics but the pipe should be easy to hide with border plants or rocks.

It sounds an interesting project - good luck with it!

Dave P.

[Dan Salter]

Agree with all of the above...

i pulled a funny face when i read "waterfalls, fountains and lights" in a 'wildlife pond' so stear clear of any of that!...

However im SO GLAD you didnt mention fish...so your doing something right!...wildlife pond= no fish (they eat everything).

And as mentioned please dont build a 6m x 2m box/swimming pool/ steep sided bath.....think like a tea saucer....gently sloping sides/beaches with pebbles and marginal plants getting to a depth of around 2ft (min) in the centre....oh and try and keep all planting 'native' pond/wetland species and no 'canadian pondweed' which is the one they sell everywhere for fish tanks and ponds...it will take over in no time...there are other similar native oxygenating plants you can find.

Good luck....and please try and keep it 'natural' looking...exotic plants, conifers...exotic stone etc may be 'natural' in the amazon....but this is England

Oh...maybe site a nice log pile near the pond and some piles of rocks for amphibians/grass snakes etc to use as hideaways.

[ilia123]

Thanks for all the comments!

On second thoughts I do think a small fountain might be a bit too much as I can imagine the poor daphnie and larvae being thrown up through it

Def no fish as it will have to be low maintenance as the biology department might use it for pond dipping and with fish they will not find anything apart from ammonia lol :d

However I would still like a waterfall as all my wildlife ponds were too small to contain it and I guess if I pick a less powerful pump and position it away from the waterlillies it should be fine. Plus I hope it can attract more wildlife as they will hear running water.

Lights do sound a bit stupid now as no one will be there to see them and this will just cause extra work with electrics.

I'm not too sure on the volume of the pond as it is quite an irregular shape but here are some plans that I drew up:



- the left side will have a very shallow incline with pebbles to help wildlife get in and out; the right side will be deep (1.2m at max) with stair like sides for various marginals. If I can dig it out in a day that would be great

So I guess my only question left will be if anyone can give me tips on how to dig that shape out. Will there be a lot of ruler work to make sure the sides are 30cm; I guess I will dig from the outside and then dig inwards?

Thanks again for the helpful replies

[Tursiops2]

Hi ilia.
Apologies for being frank, no offence is intended, but although your design contains most of the essential components of a wild life pond, I don't think it makes anything like the best use of the space you have to work with.

There are several points to bear in mind:
1. The maximum bio-diversity of a pond occurs in water less than 5cm deep, and most of your pond appears to be more than 30cm deep.
2. Water over 1m deep in a small pond is, effectively, ecologically sterile. A max. depth of 70cm should be sufficient - don't give yourself unnecessary work to do.
3. Water absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere as well as gaining it from submerged plants. A simple geometeric shape maximises the surface area, as well as being easier to excavate, construct and maintain than an irregular "organic" layout and, in my opinion, looks better in an urban or built-up setting.
4. Every "garden" pond should have an area of non-slip hard-standing on one side, to allow for safe access and maintenance. This is even more important in a school pond where pond-dipping is a regular activity.

I’ve not had the chance to put this into practice, but for what it’s worth, in your situation I’d do the following: allowing for site-specific constraints, dig out the biggest rectangular trench practical, to a depth of 30cm- 40cm, with a small area down to 70cm; line it, and then partly backfill with a suitable low-nutrient substrate which can then be contoured to create an irregular shoreline with areas of varying depth and slope, rising above the waterline round the edges. I wouldn’t bother with extensive shelving for pots when planting on that scale.

I’d also put a spacious area of timber decking along one side. Overhanging the water by a few inches to create a shadow line, this could also conceal the outflow pipe.

Waterfalls or cascades are good for a wildlife pond (they help oxygenate the water and can add to the range of habitats) but they’re difficult to construct so that they look “natural” if you’re not on sloping ground. You could use the spoil from the excavation to build an embankment around one end of the pond to set a cascade into; and if you want waterlilies, contour the substrate to create two discrete compartments separated by marginal vegetation, one for the cascade and one for the lilies

As for the actual digging, it’s a mattock + shovel + barrow job, best done by two, or even three, people. If you’re doing it on your own, be methodical; work from one end to the other, taking it down in 15cm-20cm spits about a metre wide. Make sure you’ve got somewhere to put the spoil, and a safe and unimpeded barrow run to get it there.

Are you anywhere near Ipswich? I’ve got free time at the moment, if you’re reasonably local I could give you a hand with this.

Tursiops2

[ilia]

Wow, I really appreciate the detailed response Tursiops. I apologise for forgetting to answer your question last time; I live in Harrow so on the outskirts of London.

I think I will reconsider this; I was just a bit over-enthusiastic with the measurements given my chance to finally work with big groun. I think the original plans would have been big enough for a koi pond!

I will definitely follow your advice. I will have a small area of 70cm, but most of it will be 30-40cm as you say.

Shape-wise I was hoping to come up with something like this: Our Pond to attract wildlife into the garden.: Home

I understand that design might be a bit harder but I am looking for a challenge.

Thanks once again; I think after collaboration on the shape I will draw new plans with these sizes. You've saved me a lot of digging

[Wild-Woman]

I think it's a great idea and I would add a very gently sloping gradient from the water into a bog plant area to allow anything that may fall in, get out, ie hedgehogs, and to add another dimension to the biodiversity. I personally would not add a pump and fountain, purely because of the maintenance, carbon output(unless you can get solar powered ones) and I be a bit worried about small vertebrates getting mashed in the pump system.

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by ilia

Thanks once again; I think after collaboration on the shape I will draw new plans with these sizes. You've saved me a lot of digging

No problem, always pleased to save someone some work

I'm going to be frank again: I'm glad you put that link up, because that pond is precisely what I'm hoping to steer you away from

Before I get the scalpel out (and get blood on my keyboard ), could you just clarify something?

Is the 2.5m x 6m rectangle you describe the maximum extent of a pond within a larger wildlife area, or the maximum extent of a wildlife area which includes a pond?

Cheers
T2