Wildlife pond and wildflower meadow, Froyle.

A new wildlife pond was constructed in April 2016 by kind permission of Froyle Park Ltd. and funded by developer contributions through East Hampshire District Council. Located near Gid Lane in Froyle, the area can be seen from the adjacent public footpath (see plan). There is permitted access for members of Froyle Wildlife. Conditions of our access licence include using only the stile for entry/exit and no fires, BBQs or picnics.

Advice from wildlife pond experts is to let the pond colonise naturally over time. So please do not introduce any fish, aquatic species or pond plants because this could bring in diseases or potentially invasive non-native species.

The ground surrounding the pond is maintained as wildflower meadow. Areas were sown in 2016 with seed mixtures for wet or chalky soils depending on ground conditions that were disturbed by digging the pond. The tussocky grasses and the wildflower meadow seed has grown well, although weeds such as thistles, nettles and docks needed removing. See the list of the species sown.

Thanks to the Froyle Wildlife volunteers who have helped to cultivate/weed the ground area and build the hibernaculum plus woodpile habitats. Do contact us if you can help with ongoing maintenance of the pond and meadow or if you want to tell us your sightings.

Dragonflies soon found the new habitat (see species) and have successfully bred there, as well as pond skaters, water boatmen and whirligig beetles. The marginal plants Blue Water-speedwell and Brooklime arrived naturally along with others (see plant list). Within the first 3 months we saw newts in the pond and then in 2018 Great Crested Newt were recorded breeding there. The wildflowers have attracted bees, hoverflies and butterflies (see list). This increase in local biodiversity demonstrates how we can help to give nature a home.

In winter the meadow is maintained by sheep grazing. For more information about ‘Froyle Park Pond’ see links to photo gallery, aerial photos, opening event, seed list and planning.  To view the slides of a talk in 2023 entitled the ‘Story of a Froyle wildlife pond‘ download the .pdf.