Dobbs Field gets pond power!

Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) has been awarded £57,161 from SITA Trust to create a pond at Dobb’s Field in Godstone, which it purchased in 2002 with the help of local residents.  Apart from massively increasing the wildlife value of Dobb’s Field itself, which is currently overgrown with nettles, the new pond will improve conditions for wildlife at Bay Pond, one of SWT’s educational nature reserves and part of Godstone Ponds Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
  
The new pond will be 50m x 50m, 1.5m deep and planted with reedbeds along 3 sides; 6 dipping platforms will line the other side and be used for educational purposes.  The pond will support much more wildlife than Dobb’s Field alone, filter unwanted silt and nutrients from the stream that runs through the reserve and supplies Bay Pond (a 2.5 hectare lake, currently in ecological decline) and alleviate ‘over-dipping’ by providing an alternative resource, thereby improving its water quality and biodiversity.

Once colonised, the pond will support a variety of species, from native aquatic vegetation to an array of invertebrates including dragonflies, as well as benefiting a number of bird species such as the reed warbler and bittern.  The new habitat will contribute towards national and local Habitat Action Plan (HAP) targets for Standing Open Water and Reedbeds, both of which are priority habitats in the UK, and help create a ‘Living landscape’ by linking habitats and allowing wildlife to travel between them to find mates and food.

Bob Crompton, SWT ranger, said: “We are grateful to SITA Trust for their funding which will enable an improvement in the quality of water flowing into Bay Pond SSSI and create a whole new valuable wetland habitat, as well as improving the aesthetic nature of the area.”