PONDERFUL webinar: Creating clean water ponds for freshwater wildlife, by Dr. Pascale Nicolet

Our last webinar of the year was about "Creating clean water ponds for freshwater wildlife", with Dr. Pascale Nicolet from Freshwater Habitats Trust, United Kingdom.
This webinar presented the key elements of pond creation, covering locating ponds to ensure good water quality, how to assess hydrology and geology and design principles at pond and pondscape levels to maximise conservation benefits.
Ponds are important freshwater habitats for wildlife, as they can provide refuges and stepping stones for aquatic species in a fragmented environment. They support a wide variety of freshwater plants and animals, many of them endemic, rare or threatened. However, ponds are disappearing at a very fast rate. To counteract this tendency, there is a need to build more ponds to ensure that they continue to support biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services. Good practices should be taken into account when building a new pond, for instance, their main purpose and the location. Even more important, is to take into account that might need long-term management, for instance clearance of excessive vegetation and organic matter removal. Nevertheless, the creation and management of heathy ponds is a successful method to create more freshwater habitats and beneficiate aquatic species. Tips on managing contractors and other practical considerations like permissions and site checks needed for a smooth delivery of pond creation schemes on the ground were discussed. Case studies from the United Kingdom were presented including small schemes but also pond networks and pond complexes.
Dr. Pascale Nicolet has worked with the Freshwater Habitat Trust since 1999 as a freshwater biologist. She has extensive experience of wetland plant and macroinvertebrate surveys, ecological assessments and monitoring, pond creation and management, and catchment management. Pascale has a particular interest in protecting and restoring freshwater habitats at the landscape scale. She works closely with partners and landowners on practical projects in various parts of the United Kingdom, with a focus on pond and floodplain wetland creation. She is a member of Freshwater Habitats Trust’s Senior Management Team, the National Coordinator of the Million Ponds Project, steering group member of the European Pond Conservation Network (EPCN), and trustee of the River Thame Conservation Trust (RTCT). Since February 2018, Pascale is the interim CEO of the Newt Conservation Partnership (NCP, part-time secondment).