The Footprint Trust, who support the Isle of Wight Pond Wardens, have been in touch with good news for anyone who is considering becoming a pond warden.
Ray from the Trust tells us that the independent group has just been awarded a grant from the Hampshire & IW Wildlife Trust to train potential pond wardens.
They go on to say that there is a shortage of pond wardens in the West Wight area and are inviting anyone interested in becoming a pond warden to get in touch.
The Isle of Wight Pond Wardens scheme was set up about 10 years ago by Ray Harrington-Vail and Carol Flux.
With the help of the national conservation charity BTCV and funding from Southern Water, the wardens now care for about 70 ponds.
“Ponds are under threat from a number of directions”¦” explains Ray Harrington-Vail the Pond Warden’s tutor.
“Introduction of goldfish and other fish into ponds will soon lead to the loss of important species such as dragonflies, newts and other amphibians. Pest pond weeds dumped in the wild can soon choke a pond.”
“Poor advice from ‘gardening experts’ telling people to clean out ponds in spring is another issue – this can kill wildlife and damages the natural balance of the pond. We recently got the RHS to change its online advice.” Ray explained.
The scheme welcomes all sizes of ponds into the scheme. Those wishing to become Wardens need no previous experience, just a love of ponds.
“A small pond can have more interesting wildlife than a large one, even ponds that dry up for part of the year can be important habitats for certain species.”
“Anyone thinking of creating a wildlife pond should come on this free training course. We often hear from many people with pond problems – one common issue is that the pond has been put in the wrong place…”
For more details please contact Ray at the Footprint Trust on (01983) 822282 or email [email protected]
Image: Ethermoon under CC BY-SA 2.0
