HERBICIDE TREATMENT AND ATTENDING THE VILLAGE POND
It is with great pleasure and thanks that Tom Harbord will re-commence
his voluntary maintenance of the Wistow Village Pond.
The intention is to resume herbicide applications to Wistow Village Pond.
Herbicide applications were applied from November 2014 until July 2022,
when treatments were suspended as we were unable to comply with the
agreement made to the Environment Agency 2014-15.
Tom has recently contacted the Environment Agency and they have given
us permission to proceed with a treatment schedule as long as we remain in
compliance (no new application for herbicide treatment is required).
Treatments are to begin this July continuing until September. Preparation
will start earlier.
During October the edge will be trimmed and vegetation removed from banks.
Dead rushes destroyed by herbicide to be removed from the pond.
Cleaning of the pond and bank reduces nutrients dissolved into the pond and
helps prevent the development of algae bloom in spring. Clearing takes place
mid October to help prevent disruption to wildlife, and prepares the pond
for spring.
The retardant effects of the last herbicide application on rushes is now wearing
off. The hand weeding carried out by councillors has been commendable
after the herbicide treatments stopped in 2022, but has stimulated rushes
growth and if not checked will now double if not triple yearly.
Several years will pass before The Village Pond returns to a thriving
environment, and the pond will at times look like a Swamp while it recovers
over the next couple of years. Hence please be patient, but assured that the
right approach is being taken.
Birds have been nesting in the pond for all of living memory and after any
disturbance they just bounce back – they are resilient.
A full report on treatments and attendance to the Village Pond and Green
will be made every October.
Once the pond has recovered, we will be looking for a new (younger) volunteer
to take over from Tom, but until then, WPC would like to thank Tom for
volunteering to carry out this work, which will be carried at no cost to WPC or
the village.
