A long neglected wildlife site has been given a new lease of life, improving habitat for local wildlife and providing an area for the community to use, thanks to Keep Wales Tidy and Denbighshire County Council’s Countryside Service.
Llanynys ponds between Ruthin and Denbigh is a small wild corner that has been left to its own devices for a very long time.
Whilst this is generally no bad thing for biodiversity, the lack of any attention over such a prolonged period had meant it was reaching the point where its wildlife value was being lost. Once known for its water birds such as teal, and a place where local insects and amphibians flourished, tree regeneration within the pond and leaf mould and silt build up meant it was struggling to retain water.
Its apparent neglect had also meant it was becoming a hot spot for fly tipping and rubbish was not only becoming an eyesore but endangering what remaining wildlife was found there.
However, thanks to funding from Tidy Towns and some hard work from Denbighshire Countryside Service, volunteers and local contractor Craig Evans, the rubbish has been cleared out, trees cut back to allow light to reach the water and banksides, silt and regeneration cleared from within the pond and new access put in to allow local residents to enjoy this lovely little haven. A second pond adjacent to the one that has been worked on will be left wild, providing an effective contrast, though this will also need some attention in the future.
Kate Taylor, Denbighshire’s Senior Biodiversity Officer said “We have struggled for some time to find funding to be able to help this beautiful pond and so it is fantastic that we’ve finally been able to give it the helping hand it needs to return to the wildlife haven it was. The change is quite dramatic and over the next couple of years as the flora develops and animals re-colonise the pond it should surpass its former glory.”
Gareth Jones, Tidy Towns Officer for Denbighshire commented that “this is a site we cleared of fly tipping over 5 years ago after concerns were raised by local residents, although the site remained clean for some time, the fly tippers have sadly returned in recent years. The local community and school have shown a keen interest in the site, and it was therefore great that we were able to get the improvement work completed, by working in partnership with one another. I hope that the site will now get visited and enjoyed a bit more often by the right people, rather than individuals who go out under the cover of darkness, and use the countryside as a rubbish dump!”
