Looking After Local Ponds

Yaxley Ponds

Wildlife needs water and not just to drink. Aquatic habitats are an important part of our local environment and Yaxley Countryside Volunteers works with the Parish Council to help maintain Willow Pond in the Recreation Ground and Pound Lane Pond near the church.

Willow Pond can be found near to the Community Orchard and is an example of a seasonal pond. Don’t worry if you visit the pond during the summer and find no water there. The pond relies on filling up over the winter and gradually dries out over the summer. The alternating wet and dry seasons creates a range of habitats that are rarer than a permanent pond. This actually helps our local frog population as it means there are few predators in the pond, like fish, that will eat the tadpoles. Most years the pond stays wet enough for long enough so that the tadpoles can turn into frogs and hop off into their surroundings. As YCV carries out tasks in the orchard we often come across frogs that will have started life as frog spawn in Willow Pond.

Pound Lane is a permanent pond and relies on water coming from the slopes above and from the ditch on Waterslade. The level will normally vary across the seasons but over the last couple of years it has suffered from flooding due to discharges from the Greater Haddon development. This flooding has changed the pond, for example, there is now much less surface vegetation such as Duck Weed. YCV has carried out pond dipping at the site for a number of years and we have seen a decline in the variety and number of species found in the pond. The most obvious impact has been on the clarity of the water with the pond becoming cloudy due to sediment brought down with the flood water. This is an issue that has yet to be resolved.

Willow Pond and Pound Lane are not the only ponds in the village but they are the most accessible to the public. The council has provided information boards about each pond so that you can find out more about them. If you would like to help YCV look after the ponds then please do get in touch. secretary@ycv.org.uk or visit our website www.ycv.org.uk