By John Maxen, Friends of Ash Link
We regularly hear and read that freshwater environments are in serious decline. The Environment Agency has reported that Britain has lost more than 90% of its ponds and other wetland habitats in the past 100 years. Nowhere is immune to the challenge of habitat loss. Such a habitat under threat is Splash Pond at the end of Old Charlton Road, part of The Ash Link Local Nature Reserve managed by Spelthorne Natural History Society, that also includes Splash Meadow and Splash Wood on the East side of the M3 and connected by bridge to Nutty Wood on the West Side. Residents may recall that the pond was dug around 1995, and since then has seen volunteer events with residents, members of the society and others to remove some of the invasive vegetation and improve the pond and surrounding wood and meadow. Spelthorne Council has also been involved in vegetation mowing and tree removal.
The Friends of AshLink (FOAL) Volunteer Conservation Group who meet on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Wednesday of the month maintain and look after the pond. Activities include seasonal reed and sedge removal and other activities to keep the vegetation in check and preventing invasive plants such as Parrots Feather from completely taking over.
In 2021, discussion began as to whether more could be done to protect and enhance the pond to improve biodiversity and as a result, in July 2021 a basic ecological invertebrate survey was commissioned by Spelthorne Council to determine the species present and future potential. The result was as we had feared. The species present were not as diverse as we would have expected (or liked). The main recommendation from the survey was that the large willow tree covering the pond should be removed to allow more light into the site, and to reduce leaves from falling into the pond as this was resulting in silting and eutrophication (a reduction in oxygen and an increase in minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus). The Council agreed, and the willow was removed in 2021. (Seen above before.)
We now needed to consider the future and to that end, the society successfully applied for grants totalling £5000 that will allow employment of a professional ecologist who, over the course of 2023 will carry out ecological surveys across the pond, surrounding meadow and wood to ascertain how currently diverse the nature is over the seasons. This will include plants (both terrestrial and aquatic), and aquatic macroinvertebrates, such as mayflies, caddisflies, snails etc. In addition, water chemistry and quality analysis of the pond will be carried out. The results will be very helpful in deciding what we are able to do to improve water quality in order to stop the eutrophication and improve pond oxygenation thus enabling smaller invertebrates to return, followed by larger invertebrates such as snails and water beetles, that in turn will be followed by frogs and newts thus creating a sustainable food web in the pond.
Finally, the consultant will provide a report containing a prioritised list of actions in order to improve the pond’s biodiversity and water quality. The Society will then have a management plan, that will underpin the conservation and management of Splash Pond for the future.
New volunteers are always welcome. We can be contacted at snhsociety.org.uk. or Facebook.