News: August 2003

So you think that your garden is too small for a garden pond? Think again; Tony Richardson, managing director of the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust has suggested that every little helps.

In his editorial for the current issue of Wildfowl and Wetlands, the membership magazine of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Tony Richardson explains why he installed a tiny fibreglass pond in a raised bed in his garden. His tiny pond, now only a year old, surrounded by marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), water mint (Mentha aquatica) and yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus), has already become home to common frogs (Rana temporaria), and pond skaters (Gerris lacustris), and a valuable resource for woodpeckers, goldcrests (Regulus regulus), foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and many other animals.

Tony says that collectively, our garden habitats go a long way in 'redressing the balance in favour of biodiversity' but argues that the benefits go much further; nourishing the soul and making us healthier.

If no pond is too small for the managing director of one of the most important wetland conservation organisations in the UK (and arguably the world), then who are we to argue?

Tony Richardson. 2003. Editorial in Wildfowl and Wetlands, the membership magazine of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Autumn 2003, Issue 145.