Pond and Stream Weeding 16/02 - 20/02

Last week I spent a majority of my days weeding ponds (mainly dead reeds), which is a new task for me. All of the 4 separate bodies of water that we weeded were on two separate new-build housing estates [Terlings and Duck-Riddy] and all were used for drainage so I assumed we were carrying out the works as it was in the owners' interests to keep the water clear for that reason.

A recently cleared 'Pond A' at the Terlings Estate

More efficient drainage, however, is not the only benefit for removing reeds however and there are a multitude of benefits that it brings to the pond such as:

• Preventing aggressive growth/ spread - Like Japanese Knotweed, Reeds can grow out of any part of a rhizome, which leads to it spreading perpetually at an accelerated pace. This gives other aquatic plants a chance to establish themselves

• Habitat diversification - Open bodies of water on a pond are more likely to attract Waterfowl (e.g. Ducks, Moorhens, Coots), Amphibians, Insects and Bats as well. A healthy pond needs both foliage and open space for wildlife to succeed, as such, keep some reeds for nesting and habitation.

• Prevention of the body of water from shrinking - The spread and clustering of roots solidifies the ground and restricts the flow/ access of water in the pond

The benefits of the weeding cannot be understated as on the subsequent visits to both ponds on the site later on in the week Ducks were spotted in 'Pond B' and Moorhens in  'Pond A' and in the case of  Pond A, the Moorhens came to investigate minutes after getting out of the water. This was most likely due to all the insects now exposed on the cleared water, making them more easily preyed upon by aforementioned predators such as Waterfowl, Amphibians, Dragonflies and Bats.

A cleared 'Pond B' at Terlings

All the weeds collected from 'Pond B' at Terlings

Before beginning, we were briefed to not remove all of the reeds because, as previously mentioned, they are still necessary for wildlife. This was especially emphasised for the Duck-Riddy site as I was briefed that Great-Crested Newts were documented previously on the site so that entire 1/7 of that stream had to be ignored. This also explains why there was a man-made stream and pond placed right in the middle of this new build as the 'English Nature Great Crested Newt Mitigation Guidelines' state that if one habitat is removed for the newt, two new ones must be installed.

We also left any weeds we pulled out in piles on the banks of these bodies of water, for a few days at a time, so that any wildlife still inside would have time to return to the ponds/ stream.

Relevant Journal entries:

16/02: Today was my first time in the waders at a pond in the Terlings Estates in Harlow. We were tasked with clearing dead pond weeds by using forks to scoop them out by the roots and flinging it on the bank to drain them for a later collection, then raking excess debris on the water surface too. After that we did the dog bins and finished off the day litterpicking Letchworth.

19/02: Today we cleared just over 2/3 of a stream on a new build outside of Ampthill and attempted 1 metre around a pond also. We removed weeds/ reeds in the areas mainly so the water could flow and there was a place for ducks. We also left some large patches for great crested newts which were recorded to have been nesting there before.

The workflow of the operation was one person pulling out weeds with a 90° fork, another using a regular fork to throw the weeds out the pond and a third person raking the weeds/ reeds into piles for fauna to evacuate before we return to take it away.

20/02: Today we returned to the Terlings estate to collect the weeds from the first pond we cleared part of, using a fork and wheelbarrows to transport it back to the truck. Subsequently, we used a leafblower and rake to clear the surrounding area.


After that we began clearing the second one but only focussed on the weeds in the centre as a plump of Moorhens seems to use the reeds on the pond edges for nests. We again used the same method as before: one persons loosens weeds with a 90° fork while the other two rake and use a regular fork to gather the pile of weeds/ reeds on the bank to dry out.