Aim

We're raising £5,000 to create a year-round wildlife pond that supports biodiversity, manages floodwater and brings together community!

The Vision

To address Climate Action by replacing a damaged, ephemeral pond with a resilient, year-round wetland habitat and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS). Covering 50m², the system manages extreme weather by capturing and storing excess runoff during seasonal storms for flood prevention, while mitigating urban heating through natural cooling.

By demonstrating how urban spaces can harvest water rather than drain it, we empower our community to adapt to shifting climate patterns. The enhanced area provides an inviting, year-round space for all visitors, protecting vital biodiversity when water is scarce.

We want to create a thriving, resilient wetland at the heart of our established and much-loved wildlife garden, one that supports wildlife throughout the year, helps us adapt to a changing climate, and gives our community a place to discover the fascinating world of ponds and aquatic life.

Our existing ephemeral pond has become increasingly unreliable. With springs and summers becoming drier, and damage to its liner, it now dries out much earlier in the year than it once did. This limits the wildlife it can support and means we are losing an important habitat just when many species need water most.

Our project will transform an approximately 50m² area beside the existing pond to one that can provide year-round water for wildlife, whilst capturing and storing excess water during periods of seasonal flooding. In this way, the project will not only create better wetland habitat, but also demonstrate how gardens can work with water rather than simply trying to drain it away.

We also want to enhance the immediate area around the pond, making it an inviting space to all who visits, every month of the year.

The Team

Our Head Gardener, Courtney, is a passionate pond enthusiast and lover of aquatic life. He has created planted aquariums and ponds across the UK and North America and is an active contributor to Practical Fishkeeping Magazine. His experience and enthusiasm for aquatic habitats will be central to creating a pond system that is both beautiful and genuinely valuable to wildlife.

Courtney is supported by two gardening assistants who already help manage the wider wildlife garden, as well as an enthusiastic volunteer group who come twice a week to take part in practical conservation and maintenance. Together, we have the knowledge, commitment and local support to care for the project long after it is built.

*Please Note: The project image is an mock-up of our proposed pond design and is intended to give an idea of the finished project. The final design may differ.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 4th October 2026 at 7:09am