Pond Project

On Friday 16th June, Great Marlow School began a huge undertaking: The Pond Project.

The aim was to install a new nature pond behind S-block, to create a place where important local wildlife could take refuge.

However, it was too big a project to do alone. So, the GMS Eco-team called in some help: an amazing assembly of people from Softcat, Wild Marlow and many eco-conscious students. They all worked to bring about the fruition of Miss Addy’s planning and hard work.

There was so much to do. Firstly, the remnants of the previous pond were removed: the neglect meant it had fallen into decay; this involved removing the old liner. Before that was achieved an extensive list of things had to be tackled:  overgrown thorns and brambles had to be cut back, they were removed and composted; mud and plants had to be cleared from where the new pond was going to be installed; the edges of the old pond liner had to be dug out; the gravel from the old pond had to be removed and stored, so it could be reused.

Only, when all that had been accomplished (after a number of hours) could the new pond liner be put in. It was noon: clearing up took that long!

All morning, the teams were accompanied by a cheeky little blackbird, who had come scavenging for a snack. He wasn’t bothered by all the noise being made, he was only interested in a worm or two. It reminded the team why they were making a difference to the environment – to make a positive impact on local wildlife.

After a break from the arduous labour in the 25°C sun, the workers returned to the task – putting the liner in. The liner was so gigantic that it was all hands on deck just to get it properly installed!

Once that was achieved successfully, the liner had to be filled in with 2 tonnes of soil. This meant many wheelbarrow trips back and forth. At this stage, everyone had to be very careful of their step, as even one puncture to the lining would have negated everyone’s hard work and planning. Fortunately, it was filled in successfully after a couple of hours work, without any damage to the liner.

At about 1:30, everyone stopped for a well-deserved break. The canteen staff very kindly gave everyone sausage and chips.

Twenty minutes later, the mission was resumed, but with even more hands! Mr Ford kindly allowed students who regularly attend gardening club a lesson off timetable to help in the endeavour. This meant that there were extra hands to help fill up the pond and clear up debris from earlier in the day.

Once the end of the day came, everyone was delighted with the progress made. But, this successful day is just the beginning of the project.

Ongoing work includes planting water plants into the pond. (Wild Marlow has kindly donated many plants, however, weeds have to be cleaned off them before they can be planted, which is a very difficult task.) The surrounding area has to be cleared so that the pond can be more easily accessed. There is talk of a wooden decking, which would enable students to more easily access the pond area, should they need to do so for their learning.

The main goal of this project is to help contribute to the local ecosystem by providing a haven for animals, plants, and insects. It also demonstrates that large eco-projects like this can be undertaken and be a source of inspiration for other schools to pursue their own projects and help fight against climate change!