Pond Work

Three vols got stuck in this Sunday afternoon to tackle the pond area and boy, did it need it!  The recent rain & warm weather has been ideal growing conditions for the grass around the pond and for the aquatic plants (well, the rain hasn't affected them that much as they're already in water...). 

We've been so busy preparing for Hemlock Happening and our own Fruity Saturday events and workshops that we've not had time to tackle all of the jobs on our ever increasing, long list.  If anyone fancies coming down to the allotment to give us a hand, we'll be pleased to see you!  You don't have to know about gardening, just be able to pull up weeds at the moment!

The long grass has been cut back from the pond edges and we can actually see into there now!  There's still some work to be done actually in the pond, cutting back some of the plants that have started to take over, but a good start has been made.  We have stylish waders if anyone fancies taking on the challenge...

Here are some Before and After pics (the Before is on the left, just in case you can't see the difference - ha-ha!!!)

Pond Creatures

The pond is showing us that spring is definitely here!  Lots of tadpoles have now emerged from their frogspawn stage and there seem to be snails everywhere.  Here's a close-up of one of the snails & some tadpoles enjoying a bit of warm sun.  Thanks to Sal for the pic.

Pond Life

Spring has sprung, according to the frogs & frogspawn in the pond!

Nice legs!

A rare pic of "The Committee" ... planning the year ahead at Dig In

Hmm, what shall I have for tea? ...

I'll Be Your Honey Bee

Brilliant day at DigIn today.  Sharp frost overnight provided an icy pond, but a blue sky sunshine morning soon had us all warmed up.  Even the honey bees were out & about enjoying the pollen and nectar on our Mirabelle tree.  Their hard work should ensure a good crop later in the season.  The Mirabelle tree was also playing host to some house-hunters - some BlueTits were spotted having a look round a rather des. res. in the form of the nesting box put up in the tree last winter - lets hope they take up residence.

Bright January Day

A lovely sunny and calm day today at DigIn.  Great to see the sun again and feel its warmth while pruning the apple trees in the orchard.

The recent rain has topped up the pond beautifully - ready for the annual mass frog visit in a few weeks time.

Major work has been started on a neglected area of the allotment, it will be interesting to see how the area is transformed from a mound of debris into ... well, we'll have to wait and see !!!

Here's the "Before" ...

Sunny Wednesday

A lovely sunny Wednesday session today, had a hint of autumn to the air.  The early(ish) sun inspired a couple of pictures of the pond and surrounding area.  Twelve volunteers enjoyed a good morning gardening and sharing in the produce.  Thanks to Dan for spoiling us all with some Italian pastry treats at tea break.

Pond

I loved the way the sun shone through the Mirabelle tree ...

Mirabelle

The little critter below is, we think, some sort of shield bug with very long antennae.

Shield bug

Home Sweet Home

Well, we hope so! On a busy Early March Wednesday, Debbie and Helen fixed nestboxes to the big cherry tree.

No trees were hurt in the making of this residence!
 We also had a lovely group of students from Central College, who created a perfect home for seeds in helping us sow sweet peas, and who checked who was at home in the pond. (Water Boatmen, Damselfly larvae and Midge larvae)

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Pond Dipping & Bug Hunt 2014

Please sign up for our annual pond dipping and bug hunt session at the allotment. This is a very popular event with the children and places are limited, so early booking is recommended to avoid disappointment.

This year, the event will be held on Saturday 9th August from 10am until noon.

There will be a small charge of £1 per child to take part, with accompanying adults entering free. The admission price will include light refreshments.

To book places on this event, please email Mary Venning;

bookings@diginstapleford.org.uk 

Please note that children under 14 must be adult supervised.

Click here to download event flyer.

A Busy Week at Dig In!

Spring has really sprung for local children visiting Dig In last week. Stapleford and Draycott childminder groups, and Albany Infant and Nursery School got stuck into gardening, enjoyed pond-dipping, gardening crafts and a Spring Treasure Hunt in lovely spring sunshine.

Later in the week Albany Junior School’s School Parliament sent a deputation to taste rhubarb and rocket and to make flatbreads. Rhubarb got a thumbs-up though rocket did cause a few pulled faces... but they did give it a try!

Thanks to all for such a fun week! 

Karen

frogs everywhere

The DIG IN wildlife pond is a joy to behold at the moment. The whole place is croaking and jumping ( literally) with a huge amount of frogs of all ages, colours and sizes.An absolute pleasure.

Pond Dipping Event 2011

This year's Pond Dipping event was held on August 17th in conjunction with Alan Heath from the Long Eaton Natural History Society (LENS). These events are always very popular with the children, both from a fun and educational perspective, and this one was no exception.

Although we felt that the numbers and types of species found in the pond have been limited by the unwanted introduction of goldfish (which will also eat tadpoles, so reducing the numbers of frogs which in turn help reduce the surrounding slug population), Alan reported a total of 19 species found during the survey.

A pdf listing the species found at this year's event is available by clicking this link.

Capital One - September Volunteer Work Party

On Thursday 30th September, an intrepid band from Capital One came to Dig In to help us revamp the planting around the pond, and to do battle with the Horseradish Monster!

They worked with a will, digging out the worst of the weeds, planting up with new pond plants and wildflowers, and removing huge amounts of algae from the pond.

Horseradish removal showed what a brute this plant is. The roots of the plant are incredibly deep, and you need to wear safety goggles to avoid the juice from them going into your eyes, and waterproof gloves to protect you hands. The team ended up collecting 3 buckets full of horseradish root - if anyone wants fresh horseradish sauce, we can help!

The pond area now looks great, so many thanks to Capital One for all your efforts.

Pond life

The tadpoles are developing rapidly. Many now have legs and some have even transformed into tiny froglets which clamber and splash amongst the weed in the corner of our wildlife pond.

There'll be a chance for the public to explore the pond on Wednesday, 11th August, when we open up between 10:00am and 12:00 midday for a pond dipping workshop. A visiting expert from Attenborough Nature Centre will help to identify the pond creatures and explain something about their lives in the pond. There will also be advice and information on pond maintenance.

The day will assist with scientific research as it is being run as part of the OPAL national water survey.

Call Kathy 0115 875 2095 for bookings and details. Children are welcome, but will need to be supervised at all times by a responsible adult carer. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear.

Mystery guests

The pond has some mysterious new occupants. At least four small brown fish have been spotted swimming happily amongst the plants and tadpoles. Nobody has the slightest idea where they came from. We can only assume they were put in by another tenant on the site, perhaps because they didn't want them in their own pond, or perhaps as an anonymous gift for all to enjoy. We know that people love to come and sit by our pond and they're very welcome to enjoy it.

We guess the fish must be eating the pond weed because that has cleared almost entirely. Does anyone know what sort of fish they are and how should we feed them?