Pond survey volunteers wanted in Tees Valley (North East)

[krazykayaker]

Ponds are part of our natural heritage, enriching our landscape. They are familiar features, home to treasured wildlife, providing habitats for over two thirds of Britain’s freshwater plant and animal species. Ponds are often overlooked and it is estimated that a million ponds have been lost this century, through lack of management, intensive agriculture, pollution and urban development.

Tees Valley Wildlife Trust has been supported to run a £250,000 project looking at how ponds function in the landscape. The Pondscape project is surveying and mapping ponds and looking at the networks formed by the wildlife that depends on them. More than 400 ponds have already been identified and mapped by the project and over the summer, wildlife surveys will be carried out to document their plants, amphibians and insects by specially trained volunteers.

More information for the project can be found here:
http://teesvalleybiodiversity.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/tees-valley-pondscape-project-summary-061008.doc

New high quality ponds will be created and historic ponds restored to improve pond networks and support endangered species such as Great Crested Newt and Water Vole. Information on the invertebrates and plants present will be important in deciding the importance of a pond. Volunteers, school and local groups are an essential part of the project, increasing support for ponds and natural areas. They will be encouraged to assist with surveying and mapping, allowing an overall picture of an improved pond network across Tees Valley.

Ponds are a valuable wildlife asset and this project will improve the national understanding of the importance of ponds and make a vital contribution to the National Pond Habitat Action Plan.

Volunteers are needed to take part in surveying ponds. No experience is needed, just some time and an interest in wildlife. I have put a copy of the preliminary survey form on here to show what is needed – nothing scary! We already have a list of ponds to be surveyed and volunteers will be allocated them. These can be done anytime throughout the year and I am happy to work evenings and weekends to suit volunteers.

In addition to these preliminary surveys there will be opportunities to survey for Great Crested Newts, Water Voles, pond plants and invertebrates.

Any people interested in volunteering will be trained up – I plan to run several over this year.

The list of over 400 ponds does not include them all and therefore any additional pond records would be appreciated.

For more information please pm me or e-mail rjackson@teeswildlife.org or ring me at Tees Valley Wildlife Trust – 01287 636382 or 07713985448

If you are interested but don't have your own transport - don't worry this isn't an issue please contact me

[krazykayaker]

This is the basic survey form - a series of ticky-boxes. Landowner information will be sourced by myself as will access permissions

Tees Valley Pondscape Project – Pond Recording Sheet

Surveyor Details

Name:
Landowner Details

Name:
Address
Postcode:
Phone No:
Email:

Is the Landowner willing
(i) to be contacted about this dataset? Y/N

(ii) for their contact details to be made publicly available? Y/N
Pond Details

Pond Name:
Pond ref. no:
Date of visit:
Grid Reference (e.g. NZ123456)
Name of nearest town/village
County
Is the pond:
(i) marked on an OS 1:25000 map? Y.N
(ii) in an area with free public access? Y/N
(iii) on a nature reserve or protected area? SSSI, SPA, SAC, NNR, LNR, ESA, other:
- if so what is its name?
(iv) any of these types of pond?

Garden
School grounds
Farm pond
Village pond
Urban pond
Mining/quarry
Industrial pond

Pond area m2
Does the pond have an inflow e.g. from a river or stream? Y/N

Does the pond dry up?
1= never 2=rarely (only in drought) 3=sometimes (about 1 in every 3 years 4=annually

How much of the pond is covered by vegetation?
<1/4
¼ to ½
½ to ¾
> ¾

How much of the pond is shaded? (Overhung at any height)
<1/4
¼ to ½
½ to ¾
> ¾

Is the pond used by livestock at any time of the year?
No
Cattle
Sheep
Horses
Other

Tick if you have ever seen more than 20
Coots & moorhens
Ducks at this pond

Is there rubbish/pollution in the pond
None /little
Lots (e.g. covered in oil, shopping trolley)

How old is the pond?
0 – 5 years
6 – 50 years
Over 50 years

Is there a shallow natural looking edge to any part of the pond? Y/N

What types of plants are present in the pond?
Grasses in water
Floating leaved plants
Free-floating plants
Submerged plants
Emergent plants

Please describe any pond management

Land Use: how much of the land around the pond is taken up by each of the land use types below?
Up to 5m around the pond
From 5m to 100m from the pond


Parks & gardens
Grassland
Arable
Woodland
Scrub or hedge
Marsh
Heath
Roads & tracks
Buildings
Ponds & lakes
Streams & ditches


Species Observed

Fish
Frog
Toad
Newt
Moorhen/ Coot
Dragonfly/ Damselfly
Duck
Water vole
Smooth Newt
Palmate Newt
Great Crested Newt

Invasive alien plant species: tick if present or mark with A if abundant (i.e. >1/3 pond covered)

New Zealand Stonecrop (Crassula helmsii)

Parrots feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum)

Water fern (Azolla filiculoides)

Floating pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides)

Notes: (other species observations etc)