Ryde and Binstead residents will have a chance to discover the creatures that reside in a local historic wildlife pond on Thursday 27th August from 11:00 to 12:30.
We like to think of old ponds as being natural features. However, most of the 340,000 or so ponds in England and Wales are artificial. The same is true of the historic Treefields Pond situated on the north side of the Binstead Road on the on the northwest outskirts of Ryde.
This pond, hidden behind trees and shrubs on the edge of Southern Housing Groups’ Treefields Estate, is one of the few of Ryde’s ponds to survive into the modern age. The town’s old ponds have long since disappeared under the rapid pace of development, which engulfed the area in Victorian times and has continued ever since.
The nearby golf course and Puckpool Park are two the few other places that old ponds can be found. The 1863 Ordnance Survey map shows three ponds in the vicinity. One where the existing pond still is, but it was twice the size it is now. One to the north, which is now the site of a residential care home, and the third 200 yards East of Ryde House. On the 1840 Map of the Parish of Newchurch, which included Ryde, this area -measuring 1 acre, 1 rod and 9 perches – was part of Lodge Copse, on the Ryde House Estate, owned by George Player.
Many manmade ponds were situated next to a road which acts as a catchment, providing some runoff water. These roadside ponds would be used for the watering of cattle on the way to market and for horses. This is almost certainly why Treefields pond was created. It is less than a metre in depth and thus is not a disused stone quarry or claypit, which would be many metres deep. This manmade pond is not fed by a spring but by rainwater. As with many old ponds it is dug into the natural clay. Even in the recent drought it remained half full, still doing its job of holding water at least 150 years since its creation.
Today Treefields pond is owned by the Southern Housing Group. Thanks to the partnership with The Footprint Trust and its pond wardens, it supports a wide range of wildlife including dragonflies, newts and frogs. It is a small remnant of Ryde’s rural past.
In 2011 the wildlife in the pond suffered a set-back when aquatic plants and algae was removed during the spring – taking with it thousands of newtlets, dragonfly larvae and other creatures. Recent surveys have revealed that the pond in recovering well – but this does serve as a lesson to overenthusiastic gardeners that autumn rather than spring is the time to manage ponds.
Those wishing to help care for this pond can take part in its annual make-over on Thursday 29th October 2015 from 12.00 noon. Local Pond Wardens and experts from the Footprint Trust, will be on hand and looking to recruit local people who wish to help care for the historic pond. For more details please contact Ray at The Footprint Trust on 01983 822282.
