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A Change of Scene

Newly restored pond 

Lizzy and the trainees join colleagues to help restore a pond in a community garden...

Recently, our trainee team spent the day away from Worcestershire’s nature reserves to help the engagement team at Mr. Beestans Community Garden in Droitwich Spa. This gave us the opportunity to step out of our comfort zone, build some new skills in a new environment and see some of the fantastic work the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s engagement team does, working with local communities to help boost their green spaces for people and wildlife.

Situated in what was once an abandoned housing plot, Mr. Beestans Community Garden is now a productive garden, a teaching space and an important haven for nature within the Droitwich suburbs. Unfortunately, the pond, which is one of its best wildlife features, had become overgrown with yellow iris and developed a leak, reducing its benefit for amphibians that used it. We joined Connor from the engagement team, as well as Water and Wetland Officer Beth, to help rejuvenate the pond and create a new bog garden to go alongside it.

Eight frogs in a bucket of water

Frogs in a bucket of water by Lizzy Carron

Sam, Sophie and Owen began by deconstructing the existing pond. This involved removing the yellow iris, making sure to save a couple of the healthiest plants for later replanting, and taking out features such as logs and rocks. In the process, they uncovered a dozen frogs and toads, which had to be temporarily relocated to a large bucket and then fiercely guarded from the local feline population! The cause of the leak was found to be a combination of torn pond liner and the collapse of one of the pond's timber edges. Once this edge was repaired, a new underlayer, followed by new butyl rubber lining, could be laid and the reconstruction of the pond could begin. 

When building a pond, it is important to make sure the edges are nicely sloped, so anything that finds its way in can find its way out again. This was achieved by using sand to build up the sides of the pond as well as strategically replacing the rocks and logs that had been removed earlier. 

Three people digging a hole in a community garden

Conservation trainees in Mr Beestans Garden

While Sophie, Sam and Owen were busy restoring the pond, Joe and I started work on constructing a bog garden. A bog garden is designed to hold moisture and so the spot chosen for it was at the bottom of the natural incline, where water will want to pool. This will allow for the planting of wetland species, which cannot be grown in more traditional garden beds and which provide a fantastic learning aid to teach visiting groups about wetland habitats. As bog gardens are also great for amphibians, it will also make a great companion to the pond. Constructing the bog garden involved digging a flat trench a few inches deep and lining it with weed matting and butyl pond liner. This time, we deliberately created a few holes in the liner layer, as, unlike in a pond, a bog garden does need a small amount of drainage. We then filled the trench to ground level with a mixture of damp soil and stones, ready to be planted by the Community Garden’s volunteers.

With the pond fixed and the big garden finished, all that was left was to refill the pond with rainwater and to release our amphibian friends back home! 

Frog rescue at Mr Beestans Garden (https://youtu.be/-YHEd5q6zYU)

Rescuing frogs at Mr Beestan's Garden in Droitwich

Our day at the Community Garden was enjoyable but also very interesting. Not only did we get to try our hand at new, wildlife-benefiting skills but we also got to see the difference our engagement team makes in Worcestershire's wider communities. We saw first-hand the importance of these smaller, wildlife-friendly spaces and the work that goes into maintaining them as well as spending the day outside the natural habitat of conservation trainees!

Mr Beestans Garden with newly created bog garden on left, newly restored pond on the right and a greenhouse in the background

Mr Beestans Garden with newly created bog garden on left and newly restored pond on the right

Having just finished a year as residential volunteer at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Lizzy is looking forward to continuing into a career in conservation.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund logo - teal coloured background with a fingers crossed logo and the words Made possible with Heritage Fund

The trainees were helping out on a Wilder Worcestershire - Neighbourhoods Nurturing Nature project. This National Lottery Heritage Fund funded three year project is supporting communities in Worcester and Droitwich Spa to help nature in their area. 

You can find out how to get involved on our community action page or read more in our wilder communities blogs.

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