The Dewpond – an oasis for Wildlife on Seaford Head
Background
The Dewpond is an oasis of fresh water, a haven for migrating birds and thirsty mammals, a rendezvous for courting frogs and dragonflies and a home for those countless invertebrate creatures we call “pond life”.
Yes, we all know there is plenty of rain on those hills, but the water simply drains away as soon as it falls because chalk is so porous. As a result, sources of fresh water are a rare and important lifesaver for wildlife.
From Medieval times farmers have solved their herd’s hydration problems by digging dewponds, small round ponds, artificially lined to hold water. There used to be dozens of them on the hills around Seaford. Now very few remain and even less are looked after with wildlife in mind. The one on Seaford Head, beside South Barn is unique and of very high potential value, but by 2021 it was no longer a haven for wildlife, in fact you would have been hard pressed to describe it as a pond at all!
It was overgrown, choked with an invasive non-native weed, the New Zealand Pygmy Weed, also known as the Australian Swamp Stonecrop. It didn’t sound attractive, and it wasn’t! We needed to remove as much of the weed as possible and restore the pond into the area of open water it once was, vital to our native wildlife.
January 2022
In January 2022, Seaford Natural History Society (SNHS), with support from Seaford Town Council (STC), and the South Downs National Park Authority ( SDNPA), received funding from the South Downs Trust, to renovate South Hill Barn Dewpond.
The project had the aims of:
- Controlling the Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) of weed, which was smothering the surface of the pond, in order to create a significant area of open water, for the benefit of aquatic and land-based wildlife.
- Increasing the wildlife value of the enclosed area immediately surrounding the pond.
- Establishing, training and equipping a ‘Friends’ group of volunteers, to provide the on-going renovation and management work, at the end of the funded project.
October 2022
Much has been learned during the delivery of this project. Whilst biosecurity measures introduced for people entering and leaving the site were straightforward, processing and destroying, by burning, all the extracted plant material has at times presented difficulties. This included dealing with very silty material initially, and more recently processing the rhizomes from Reed and Iris. Nevertheless we have not taken any plant material off site, and continue to dry and burn it, although this practice can be protracted at times.
A great deal of the INNS has been removed and burnt, Iris and Reed controlled, and perhaps ¼ of the pond created as open water. An extensive list of flora and fauna has been produced, including a healthy aquatic population, and the exposed water is very popular with birds, dragonfies and damselflies in particular. To demonstrate its local importance, many of the recorded species are new this year, and have not been seen elsewhere in the Nature Reserve. Two hibernacula have been made with practical help from the amphibian and reptile charity Froglife, which should particularly benefit the overwintering of the Newts.
What happens next
This Seaford Natural History Society project, funded by the South Downs Trust is now nearing its conclusion. There were two main strands to the project –
Firstly to control the invasive weed species which was blanketing the pond, and enhance its value for wildlife.
Secondly to establish a volunteer group of ‘Dewpond Friends’ to continue the on-going management of the dewpond at the end of the funded project.
These two objectives have been completed, and all that remains to enable the ‘Friends’ to continue with the work, is to confirm to the satisfaction of those with a direct responsibility for the dewpond, how on-going work would continue under the ‘Friends’ management. The Friends Group have produced a plan covering this requirement which has been submitted to Seaford Town Council (as landowner responsible for the area) and to South Downs National Park Authority, as the dewpond is also situated within the National Park.
With the approval of these two bodies, the renovation and future maintenance will then be able to continue seamlessly. Finally, at the completion of the funded project, it is intended to produce a case study to assist and inform any other project aiming to renovate a dewpond by involving the local community in this
way.
It is hoped that the ‘Friends’ future management of the dewpond will continue to play an important role in support of the wildlife of the surrounding area and Nature Reserve, and enhance its value.
If you would like to get involved with the practical work, or as a general supporter please contact Seaford Natural History Society. The Friends Group Administrator, Shirley Duda (shirley.duda@yahoo.co.uk) or Paul Baker (prbaker2ep@btinternet.com)
