Sibford School pond gets new lease of life after clean up

Sibford School sixth form students have been spending their lessons standing waist deep in water in a bid to improve the biodiversity of the school’s wildlife sanctuary.

As part of their BTEC Countryside Management course, the students have carried out an investigative project on the school pond.As a result students cleared the water of overgrown vegetation and invasive species such as bogbean and reed mace. They also cleared the banks of overgrowing weeds and scrub.

Student Charlotte Kirk said: “We assessed and surveyed the pond in early January to identify the biodiversity present. “It was evident that the pond was in a healthy condition as even at this time of year we found a range of species including as dragonfly larvae, daphnia, water boatman and leeches.”

Henry Burton and Charlotte Kirk hard at work

She added: “Cleaning the pond was a challenge as it was partially frozen. Despite the cold we managed to get all the work completed and hopefully these improvements will allow a greater variety of species to flourish in the future.”