After four and a half years of discussion, in 2022 Langdyke signed a ten-year agreement with Nene Park Trust to manage M’Lady’s Pond in Ailsworth parish, making it the eighth nature reserve.
This one-and-a-half-acre site is known to be at least two hundred years old and had not had any work done to it for more than thirty years. The trees had grown in – and around – the pond so much that the canopy met over the top of the water area.
Naturally, without any sunlight reaching the water, the aquatic plants that were in the pond all died, and sadly only a relatively small number of (quite specialist) creatures were occasionally present, and nothing that was particularly rare or unusual for the area.
One of Langdyke’s first tasks was to work with ecologists Sarah Lambert and Pete Kirby to establish which of the hundred or so trees that were blocking the sunlight should be removed, and in late November 2022 a morning was spent marking the appropriate trees.
A coppicing team then spent almost three days cutting down the marked trees – which were mainly on the southern edge of the pond, to allow sunlight to reach the pond.
Immediately after that a dozen strong group from local employer Caterpillar spent a day making sense of the mayhem that a hundred fallen trees had made. The team used loppers and saws to create dozens of hibernacula in areas that will receive full sun, partial shade and full shade in future years. The different locations will create a variety of habitats for the different invertebrates, birds and animals to call home.
Several work parties have been on site since then, and, so far, around 35 young native trees have been planted on the eastern side of the reserve as mitigation for the trees used for hibernacula.
Around 1,100 bluebell bulbs have also been planted among the new trees and Langdyke is creating native wildflower meadows around the edge of the pond to improve diversity of species and provide nectar and pollen for pollinators.
A small mammal survey in June 2024 showed that there are currently four species living in the reserve, most of which were on the southern edge due to a lack of suitable shelter on the northern edge. It is hoped the work done since then to increase suitable shelter throughout the reserve – as well as planting more ‘useful’ native trees (such as hazel, wild pear, hawthorn and blackthorn) will allow for an increase in numbers.
The digger part of the pond renovation started in July 2024, with the top forty centimetres of leaf litter that had built up at the bottom being used to cover over some of the trees that were felled to create several 10-metre-long by 5-metre-wide hibernacula. The large, underlying tree branches formed a sort of ‘cave network’ throughout the hibernacula, creating ideal shelters.
Project leader Mike Horne said: “We’ve already seen several aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial plant species re-emerge from a dormant seed bank, and we’re hopeful that we’ll see additional species re-instate themselves in and around the pond over the coming years. It’s been known that seeds hidden at the bottom of a pond can still be viable after 150 years, so we’re hopeful for some interesting discoveries!”
Staff from Nene Park Trust, kindly helping to create new wildflower meadows by cutting and collecting the dominant rank grassland species in September 2024.
Mike added: “We know that Great Crested Newts are breeding in Splash Dyke, which is within a few hundred metres of the pond, so we hope to encourage them to migrate upstream into M’Lady’s pond – which is now a perfect environment for them, as well as for dozens of different amphibian, invertebrate, bird and mammal species.
‘We’re very grateful to the BCN Wildlife Trust for financing the pond’s renovation through Natural England’s District Level Licensing scheme, which sets out to create or improve ponds specifically for Great Crested Newts. In truth, though, this renovated pond will be home to literally hundreds of other species, so everything wins!”
NOTE: Sadly there is no public access to the site, but Langdyke members can visit during work parties and other specific viewing events.
