So far this year the practical work at Skelton Grange has been dominated by one thing. A pond. A BIG pond. Thanks to the support of First Direct and WREN, we are in the process of constructing a brand new dipping pond, for all the visitors at Skelton Grange to enjoy. Including ones like these.
Work started in the new year, when we found a gap in the rain (only a small gap) for a digger to come in and save us from much of the soil moving. So in no time at all we had a big hole. A couple of days landscaping and shaping, and it was time to put the liner in place.
Turns out that a pond liner for pond this size weighs a lot. 160 kilos, according to the label. Fortunately, many hands make light work, and many volunteers were on hand to safely manoveur the liner into place and lay it out. Thanks to Geofabrics for donating geotextile for our undelay and to protect the liner – we needed to make sure it ended up safely in place (hence the socks on the photo on the right – no risks taken here!)
Now just add water and wait… A long hose, a large amount of water and a couple of days later – we have a pond! Ta da!
Since then – lots of volunteers have been hard at work landscaping the edges of the pond, digging holes and putting in foundations for the pond platform. We’ve had help from volunteers from First Direct, as well as from our Green team, a regular group that meets every Friday at Skelton Grange. Its going to be a big platform that curves around the end of the pond and should enable 12-15 children to be able to safely pond dip at one time.
So we have a pond – but there is still lots to do – decking to install, planting and landscaping, and a path, retaining wall and seating to go in. So – if anyone wants to help with the finishing stages there are chances to come and volunteer on Friday the 11th of April, Friday the 25th of April and Friday the 2nd of May as part of the Skelton Grange Green Team. Your chance to help us make a big splash!*
* not literally. No jumping in the pond. Please.