Wetland

One of the richest habitats you can create in your garden is wetland. The species attracted to even a very small area of freshwater are astonishing.

A healthy pond is a home to many aquatic species of insect, like water boatmen, pond skaters and water scorpions. Many species of dragonfly and damselfly need ponds to complete their life cycles. Amphibians like common frogs and toads, smooth, palmate and great crested newts are all reliant on ponds to mate and lay their eggs in. Mammals such as wood mice, bank voles, and larger hedgehogs, deer, foxes and badgers all use ponds to drink from, and bats hunt for emerging insects at dusk above the water. Once birds find clean ponds, they use them for drinking and bathing too. There are also many beautiful and scarce plant species that grow in healthy ponds, forming an important part of the ecology of these fantastic freshwater habitats.

Over the last 100 years, we have lost over half a million ponds in the UK. In the wider countryside, amphibians and many other freshwater species are facing more and more habitat loss and fragmentation - new roads divide existing habitats, hedgerows that formed important corridors for migrating amphibians are being removed. General tidying of the countryside and gardens over the last few decades have all had a detrimental effect on wetland species.

There has never been a more urgent need to build wildlife ponds. No matter how small your site is, there is enough space for a wildlife pond. Even container ponds in urban courtyards can support newts and water beetles. 

At Wild Horizons we have many years of experience creating wetland habitats, ranging from tiny garden ponds and bogs, to large pools with reed beds and marsh habitat. If you are looking to create a wildlife pond, please get in touch with us to discuss your plans and we'll be able to advise and help to make your ideas reality.