How to build a wildlife pond

How to build a wildlife pond. Encourage nature into your garden by creating wildlife pond.
www.sussexwildl...
film by Neil Fletcher

[@janetadams3443]

Excellent. Not too wordy and clear. No irritating musak!

[@runefagereng6023]

Nice work and pond!

[@FoxfireGallery]

Just had a wildlife garden created from a overgrown weedy neglected garden. Had a pond installed by Pro's. After watching your Video, they did not have a clue creating a wildlife pond. Thanks you for publishing this.

[@bunnygarrett4595]

I do wish you had spent some time talking about plant placement. beautiful pond.

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

It was filmed in the pond, but you are right about the glass tank, however it was the camera (not the newts) that were in the tank. The tank was placed in the pond to keep the camera dry & allow us to get underwater footage.

[@santiroberts9211]

So peaceful your voice. Great advice too. Thank you for also mentioning how to make a bog.

[@hotnews3366]

That was a nice looking pond!

[@davidpotter3361]

Nicely built pond that looks extremely natural.

[@wildsuburbiauk152]

Great video good idea to save the turf till the end as a border.

[@CastleKnight7]

Couldn’t be simpler! Thank you.

[@BestestGardenPal]

Excellent film. This is how I constructed my own pond. :)

[@Wildlife-film]

Excellent wildlife pond-building instruction! :)

[@TheBigslug333]

Wow, that pond is killer. Thanks for the instructive video, will give this a go myself :)

[@peteskitchengarden1761]

Brilliant! I'm building a nature pond this year so thank you for the great advice 👍

[@slayertackle5699]

u can also buy fresh spring water in gallons pretty cheap

[@jacobsworld7573]

@@slayertackle5699 is that safe for your pond?

[@NikkiBikki]

Such a helpful video. Thanks!

[@RosbifFrog]

Thanks for the great video. I will be doing this very soon.

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

Thanks for letting us know

[@mogmuffmunch]

Beautiful pond.

[@LGSDoktoru]

A m a z i n g !!!

[@thodorisliontis646]

amazing fantastic natural pond

[@bobdebouwer7835]

Don't trim the liner just fold it and cover it. Liner is easy to make smaller but hard to make larger again...

[@lordcommandersnow1625]

One year soon I plan on building one in the backyard.

[@bobstranzenbach4700]

How do you keep mosquitoes from happening?

[@jack123451653]

what plants have you used and i have a pond but its full of newts but for some reason frogs havent breeded there i have had he pond for 4 years now but am thinking of makeing a smaller one but in full sun as the other pond isnt in sun sun light

[@zeroqp]

impressive.

[@ghost-nature3046]

awesome :D i will try:D

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

With such shallow water, one does not need plastic. Most soils in developed urban areas are heavy silts and clays. They just need to be well compacted.

[@haroldinho9930]

Natural Ponds Lakes & Streams by Spring Creek Aquatic Concepts I have VERY leaky soil,I live in the countryside

[@Vikface1978]

Erm No! My Dorset soil is sandy and stoney. No clay or heavy silts actually.

[@markdoyle2739]

Hi i put a pond in my garden its 2yrs there now it is 17ft by 17ft but i didnt slope it right like a foot in from one side and then its 2ft deep i hope the newts will use it that its not to deep and its still very open looking not enough cover on the surface any ideas how i can correct this problem or is it just a case of waiting i found a female newt in small pool beside my pond thats full of green slime n leaves so has plenty of cover sunday night just used a bit of left over pondliner only 1ft wide by 1.5ft was going to put a plant in it last year but didnt so hopefully it uses the big one im putting in more Tillaea recurva 4 together might make a kind of forest underwater.

[@hissonshinegirl]

i am confused...what is the bog's purpose for the pond? The pond won't become stagnant because of the plants but the bog can? Maybe its a senior moment because I am pretty clever with DIY but right now I feel pretty ignorant LOL

[@willisnotdead6409]

Wish I could build one but our house is rented. :/

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You could build an oak barrel or mini pond in a container.

[@liamsworld2198]

If you get a pond shell you could install and remove it when you move

[@seaweedeater3104]

WillIsNotDead unless you know you’ll be moving very soon I would suggest just building one anyway. You’ll enjoy it while you’re there and know you’re doing something great for the local wildlife and it’ll be your legacy when you leave. We are in the same situation and we did it just using mostly what we had already but bought a few plants and got a small pond liner by searching on line. We got it free from someone on gumtree. We got frog spawn from a friend and created a frog hotel also so they could hibernate in winter. It’s such a joy for us to see the wildlife.

[@andrewcul]

So does the water not stagnate without a filter or some kind of flow?

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

If there are enough pond plants to oxygenate the water then that shouldn't be a problem. Best to include a mix of submerged and pond edge plants

[@andrewcul]

That you for the reply on such an old video, really grateful for the information as I'm going to be making myself a wildlife pond in the corner of my garden as I know my garden gets a lot of passing newts. I assume they use my other big koi pond but i don't want them or their babies to get eaten so I'm making them their own little place. :)

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

That sounds a great idea, good luck with your new pond. We have more wildlife pond info on our website here: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/discover/in-your-garden/ponds which you may find useful.

[@andrewcul]

If anyone is thinking about doing this mines been built for a month now and its teeming with life, attracted a lot more types of birds into the garden and i have a bumblebee nest close by in a bee nester i bought off amazon (had it 2 years with no activity until now). Never had any of these things before I put the small pond in! Very happy indeed.

[@kellypena9430]

andrewcul did you make your second pond? Would love to see a photo for ideas.

[@michaelkarran8493]

Now here is an important question, what will you attract if you live in the CITY?? Is it still worth it you think? I live in a fairly quiet area of my city but I'm 99% sure that the kind of animals will be limited, any info? thanks!!

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

A pond is certainly still a wildlife asset in an urban environment. You may be surprised what turns up. I would certainly expect dragonflies and damselflies. Frogs, toads or newts would also be possible. Many pond invertebrates (water beetles etc) are able to fly so are likely to turn up this way. A pond is also an important water source for garden birds and animals including foxes, hedgehogs and badgers. Definitely worth trying.

[@chenyingwang6593]

I heard that you can get some pond water near your home and put it in the pond that you made so that it will have the eggs of native insects and other small animals, you don't necessarily have to attract animals. I hope this trick is helpful~

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

@@chollyappleseed1969 If there are enough pond plants to oxygenate the water then that shouldn't be a problem. Best to include a mix of submerged and pond edge plants

[@peterjones819]

Sussex Wildlife Trust what is the biggest pond someone can make?

[@haroldinho9930]

As big as the area you’ve got,but the bigger,the more expensive

[@nickmilne7020]

i heard best not to be in a sunny spot , otherwise algae will multiply quickly ??

[@alyssav2124]

nick milne this is true to an extent, however sunlight can be used to your advantage. You can plant sun-loving plants such as water lilies and arrowroot arum, which will outcompete the algae for nutrients and, in the case of water lilies or similar floating plants, crowd them out by hogging up the sunlight. Algae will be an issue at first, but as long as you grow other flora and exercise a little patience, algae problems should eventually be solved. However, some level of certain kinds of algae is beneficial, if you want to keep snails or fish for example, they will like to eat it.

[@TheFatPunisher]

what about mosquitos

[@favouritemoon4133]

There are mosquitos in parts of the UK, but I am nearly 60 and have only ever seen one, and that was about 4 years ago.

[@craigsrck4382]

Will mosqitoes become an issue

[@xmxbwn]

can you buy rain water? or does it have to be manually collected?

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

+mimi brown it is best to collect it, either dig the hole and allow it to fill with water or use water collected in a water butt.

[@xmxbwn]

Aw, okay.Thanks for the help (:

[@_james_7480]

+mimi brown Comes from the sky free of charge ;)

[@OsmoZchannel]

were you serious with that question ?

[@michaelbalfour3170]

GAm a all questions should be welcome, they are apart of the learning process.

[@reybeez73]

Isn't there a way to do it without plastic? Something natural and biodegradable?

[@fartunique]

Reybeez I'm in the process of making a large pond and instead of using plastic, I'm using clay soil and sand - Much like how they make ponds on a golf course.

[@Valentina-Pink]

You can line with clay.

[@theoryg]

I am wondering if a pond like that can actually be crystal clear with the right filtration and waste decomposers?

[@dannyfryy4127]

it could if you put the effort in some plants will do the trick as well

[@Maurazio]

I've never seen such a pond that wasn't crystal clear, only when you put turtles in them since they shite all over. also be sure that there is enough shading with acquatic and riparian plants.

[@mynewlove58]

a wildlife pond will attract animals such as frogs toads snakes or turtles in the spring

[@pussinboots1145]

There aren't any turtles in the UK.

[@mariannefroholdt9783]

They need shade ,so not so Good to be strait in the sun😉

[@sussexwildlifetrust]

A sunny spot is essential to keep a wildlife pond healthy. It’s not a good idea to put a pond in a very shady area, as it will become stagnant - the plants that supply oxygen to the water will need some sunlight.