Way back in 1995, a Laleham resident asked Spelthorne Civic Pride if we could help restore the village pond he had ice skated on as a child. We dis-covered that the land belonged to Thames Water and, to our delight and astonishment, they agreed that we could recreate and maintain the pond for wildlife. Over the last 27 years, volunteers have done just that. We can now boast Great Crested Newts, King-fishers and even Grass Snake – alt-hough they are rarely seen. But no pro-ject goes without some problems. Sev-eral years ago flooding at the pond destroyed our dipping platform which local children used to learn about the intriguing creatures in the water. Un-fortunately we have never had the funds needed to rebuild it. Now the SLP pipeline project will march across part of the site. At first, we feared for the pond itself, but it seems that the worst is the loss a num-ber of mature trees along the bank by the intake channel. Fortunately our lovely mature oak and walnut trees are safe. Before the pipeline work began, builders conducted a detailed wildlife survey which confirmed that we do still have Great Crested Newts. This is very welcome news as GCNs are protected and their presence safeguards both the pond and its immediate environment. The felled trees will be replaced in the autumn and we hope all will be back to normal by winter.
In the meantime, our twenty or so fruit trees have had a mass of blossom and now have mini fruit in abundance. Come the autumn we will have masses of apples, pears and cherries to eat and distribute to local food banks. Or, would your school or youth group like to come and harvest the fruit for your-selves?
Volunteers meet every Tuesday, weather permitting, from about 10am to 1pm. Do join us for a look round the pond or to give a hand. Contact Ray Thorn SCPV Chairman for more information about Laleham Pond raymondthorn30@gmail.com