A Year in the life of The Pit

Looking at The Pit today it is hard to believe that is just over a year ago that extensive work to secure its long term future was completed. The Pit had become so badly silted up that it could retain very little water. This in conjunction with a very prolonged dry spell threatened its existence and the habitats of frogs, toads, fish and other wildlife.

A small group of volunteers went into action, rescuing and moving hundreds of fish into temporary accommodation ( paddling pools).Then over a two week period with the substantial help and resources of Carl Bird , hundreds of tonnes of silt was carefully removed. Once the original clay membrane was exposed, the depth of The Pit had been increased from a few centimetres to well over a metre. The surrounding areas were re-graded and the Fire Brigade came to our assistance to partially refill The Pit. Fish were returned to their original haunts with minimal loss. Children got their paddling pools back.

Now, the landscape surrounding The Pit has fully recovered .Silt which was pushed back into woods has settled and starkness has been replaced by wildflowers, shrubs and grass. It has never looked better. A drain running down Pit Street into The Pit has been found and excavated and this together with overflows from drain gullies ensures most rainwater runs directly into The Pit and not down the road .This will reduce and may eradicate the drains blowing out at the bottom of Pit Street during torrential downpours in the future.

During this year, numerous male frogs were once again seen gathering at The Pit and croaking loudly to attract females. There was a noticeable increase in frog spawn, tadpoles and froglets in the water. Fish have flourished and spawned well in early summer increasing their number. This is probably just as well given that each day at dawn and dusk a grey heron visits The Pit for breakfast and supper.

Moorhens have returned, flourished and successfully reared two sets of chicks. A pair of mallards adopted one of the Lilly pads and although they started to collect in preparation for a nest they departed after a few weeks and didn’t return.

Muntjac and roe deer are regularly seen drinking from The Pit and most recently, a pair of kingfishers has been seen taking fish, a very welcome return.

It has been a great year; The Pit has been saved and made good for another twenty years. The surrounding landscape continues to recover encouraging a variety of plants and wildlife.

Roger Neal
October 16th 2010