On the 21st August, we had our pond life workshop at Cody Dock!

Ponds are extremely important for local wildlife because they provide a crucial habitat for species who live and/or breed in and around water and they act as an important water source for all animals. We have a thriving pond at Cody Dock so it was exciting to head down to see what species we could find living there and to do this we went pond dipping…

In order to pond dip you need:

• A tray
• A pond net
• Small spoons
• Magnifying glass/pot
• ID guides

First, we filled our trays with a little pond water to ensure that anything we collected would be safe and happy in them. We then took turns using a net to collect some pond life, making sure to stand a safe distance from the edge of the pond and sweeping the net slowly though the water in a figure of eight shape. We lifted the nets carefully out of the pond, transferred the contents into our trays of water and used small spoons to gently look for any creatures.

We had to be a little patient, allowing the water to settle before we were able to uncover any life within the pond plants and debris we had collected and soon, we were able to see a whole range of species. We found Stickleback fish, Whirligig beetles, lots of freshwater shrimp and most excitingly, we found a juvenile newt (an eft) and a juvenile dragonfly.

We were able to use our magnifying pots to have a closer look at the creatures we found before carefully returning all pond water and life back to the pond. 

We then took inspiration from our pond dipping to create some clay pond creatures! We had fun taking characteristics from different natural species we had encountered and combining them to make our own funky creatures.