About school ponds
The educational benefit to children from having access a pond is enormous. Where else locally can they learn about the seasons, about life cycles, about wildlife communities and adaptation? Where else can they see tadpoles grow legs, colourful dragonflies lay eggs or a hedgehog having a drink.
Real-life experiences of this kind cannot be matched by TV.
Of course they must be made safe. Here’s how:
- Never leave young children unsupervised by any size pond
- Encourage children from a very early age to respect water
- Put up a fence. Make sure it is at least 1.1m high
- Install a pond grille. A rigid mess across the pond to create a secure cover
- Construct the pond with gently sloping sides- important for wildlife
Example 2:
We were asked to refurbish the pond at Fleet Primary School, Camden.
Frances White, the School Business Manager, had the following to say:
"Our school pond was in need of a complete overhaul after many years of neglect and after trawling the internet and numerous unsuccessful phone calls I found Women with Waders. From my initial phone call I knew I had found what I was looking for - Jo Pateman and Women with Waders. Jo and her team are pleasant, hardworking, experienced professionals who transformed our pond and surrounding area to a wonderful oasis. At our initial meeting Jo understood our requirements and gave sound advice and ideas on improving the area. The work was carried out as planned during the summer holidays and completed on schedule. They did a fantastic job which has made a huge improvement to our school environment. Thank you!"
Examples of School Pond Projects
Here are some example of pond cleaning, refurbishment and construction projects we have carried out for schools. Click any photo to enlarge.
Example 1:
We were contacted by Heath Mount School in Hertfordshire who had found our contact details in a local Parish Magazine. They wanted to refurbish their existing pond, which was in a sorry state. An initial visit was made to assess the pond. This is what we found:
- The liner was ripped in many places and was not repairable
- The edges had steep sides which was dangerous for the children to stand near
- The pond was full of leaves and sludge
- Large trees surrounded the pond so the pond was in permanent shade.
An initial quote was given to refurbish this pond but we suggested at that time that the construction of a new pond in a new part of the grounds should be considered Another meeting was held onsite in May with our construction Director. It was then decided to fill in the old pond and build a new pond in a more appropriate location with a purpose build dipping platform where the children could safely stand to carry out their pond dipping.
The pond has been a great success and the school have been very pleased with the result.
