If you walk around Lower Lake, you cannot miss the impressive transformation of the overgrown ‘skanky’ pond to Newt Pond. The Newt Conservation Partnership (NCP) both financially supported this biodiversity project and guided the creation via their project officers. NCP will visit every spring to take environmental DNA (eDNA) samples from the water to detect whether great crested newts have inhabited the pond. The project officers will also keep an eye on what aquatic vegetation establishes to ensure the great crested newts have enough plants to lay their eggs on. The site was chosen because it is near existing great crested newt populations and there are currently no fish present (which prey upon the amphibian’s eggs). A hibernaculum was also created using the removed tree stumps, scrub, and leaf litter from the stagnant pond to provide shelter and hibernating habitat for amphibians and reptiles, including grass snakes.
We are very excited about Newt Pond and look forward to seeing it develop.
