This new pond was created here in 2024/25 by Shropshire Wildlife Trust; it is very likely there was previously a pond here in this wet corner. The water level will vary seasonally, but even a shallow pond is of immense value to wildlife. 

Since 1900 over half of all the ponds in England have been lost, which has had a devastating impact on the wildlife that relies on them. The creation of this pond will provide habitat for a wide range of water-dwelling creatures. It will take a year or two for the pond to settle and start to look established but we hope to see creatures such as dragonflies, amphibians and water beetles gradually arrive. 

We are not adding any plants or creatures to the pond as we want to let nature will find its own way here. 

In March 2025 we saw that frog spawn had arrrived and over the summer a small amount of pond vegetation arrived. In 2026, following some remedial works, we are observing the pond more closely to see what arrives. 

2026 observations:

In July two volunteers conducted a pond-dippping session and we were delighted to see how much life had already moved into this new pond. Findings included smooth newt, mayfly larvae, damselfly and dragonfly nymph, backswimmers and great diving beetle. 

The pond was also visited by an Odonata expert, Michael Howard, to identify dragonflies and damselflies on the wing. He observed Blue-tailed Damselfly, Common Darter, Azure Damselfly and Brown Hawker. 

It looks like our pond is already providing a home for a range of water-dwelling creatures. We anticipate that the number of species will increase as the pond develops into a mature fresh-water habitat.

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