In mid-April volunteers gathered at the Duck Pond and hammered in a further row of Chesnut stakes and wired faggot bundles on the road side of the river. Over 40 coir rolls (made of sustainable waste from coconut shell husk) were placed on top of the faggots. The water level had dropped to 47 cm but was still very high and waders were essential.
Once the coir rolls were thoroughly wet the volunteers made holes in them with dibbers and planted 550 aquatic chalk stream plug plants which were grown by Salix River & Wetland Services Limited. The plants included Water Forget Me Not, Flag Irises, Marsh Marigolds, Purple Loosestrife, Yellow Loosestrife, Meadow Sweet, Water Avens and Branched Bur-reed.
When the planting was complete wire mesh was installed to deter the ducks from ‘nibbling’ the young shoots with their beaks or ‘dabbling’ on the plants with their webbed feet.
Following a week of warm sunny weather, with plenty of showers, the plants started to quickly establish themselves and the Water Avens and Water Forget-Me-Nots started flowering.
It is encouraging to note that the sticklebacks are larger this year (3-4 cm up from 2-3 cm) and can be seen swimming by the gravel in both the Duck Pond (by the bench) and at Brookside. It is anticipated that gradually the number of invertebrates, including pond skaters and dragonfly will increase once the plants establish themselves.
