The perfect pond liner?

Want a practical liner for a pond?  One that blends into the local environment?  Bentonite might be the one.  Once installed, we cover it in compacted soil with the result that the liner is completely hidden.  Standard butyl liners on the other hand, are hard to disguise.

For more information, contact JPR Environmental on 01453 822584 or visit our website at www.jprenvironmental.co.uk

Here's a pond we created in Chepstow a few years ago

Slow worm hibernacula at Welland.

Slow worm entering newly constructed hibernacula

Slow worm

JPR constructed some slow worm hibernaculas at a client's site in Welland.  The video shows an obliging slow worm entering its newly constructed home.

Constructing hibernacula as a refuge for slow worms is often a planning requirement on developments and they can provide excellent stops for these reptiles to over-winter.  However, hibernacula constructed with slow worms in mind can enhance refugia for a whole range of animals from insects to small mammals.

Help for the Slad Valley

Gloucestershire County Councillor for the Greens,
Sarah Lunnon next to a log pile on the Slad Brook

Deep in the upper reaches of the Slad Brook (in Stroud, Gloucestershire), among the remains of mills and leats, what can only be described as a revolution is taking place. Rural Sustainable Drainage Systems (RSuDS) have arrived in the Five Valleys - essentially a system of reducing flood risk by using natural processes to hold back flood water up-stream where it doesn't cause any problems.

After much lobbying and encouragement (and cross party support including from County Councillors) the Frome Catchment was selected as suitable for a pilot project by the Environment Agency in 2011 and work started along the Slad Brook and Painswick Stream in 2014. The pilot project is supported by the National Trust, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Gloucestershire County Council and Stroud District Council. It received its primary funding from a body called the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, which enabled a project officer to be employed.

Willow erosion control

Newly installed spiling in the winter

If people have problems with eroding banks next to rivers and streams, live willow spiling installation could be the solution.  This low cost method of erosion control often works in areas that are not so easily accessible for either large machinery or where it would be difficult to transport hard landscaping materials.  If concrete piling or stone gabions are not an option and a gentler, cheaper solution which is better for local biodiversity is required, then live willow spiling could be perfect.