Pond Restoration 101: Taking Back Leech-ey Lake
New Hampshire Agro-Paradise is missing something…a veritable old fashioned swimming (or…dipping?) hole! Below is a photograph of THE POND…smack dab in the middle of the front yard. Spring-fed, it was once used as a fire reservoir in the earlier decades of the 20th century in case any of the wood-framed homes and barns on the hill ever went up in flames. Luckily, and knock-on-(uh oh)-wood no brigades were ever dispatched to the pond! Due to progressive sediment collection, lack of aeration, and the gradual death of natural plant species in the pond and around its borders, the pond is currently devoid of a healthy ecosystem. Its sole residents are leeches of all shapes, sizes, and temperaments. Dubbed “Leech-ey Lake” in jest, it’s time to reclaim this natural feature, restoring a healthy freshwater pond environment, and not to mention, a cool clear place to float and relax during the months of less tolerable humidity.
Dream Pond 2011…
from LAKE-AERATION.COM
Our pond is neither fed by nor drains to any other bodies of water. But this diagram of inter-connectivity between micro/macro species can serve as a good model for the type of plant and animal life we hope to host.
from PALAEOS.COM
So to begin, I decided to take a peek at exactly what kind of leech activity/infestation we were dealing with by building a homemade leech trap with some liver from the butcher and tin coffee cans…
”The leech trap works on the same principle as Winnie the Pooh & The Honey Jar. Leeches, being greedy, will gorge on blood, and when they do, they become so big that they get stuck in the hole.”
After sediment is removed and the springs re-fill the pond, we can introduce perch, lovers of Leech Dinners…
Perch! from UTOLEDO.EDU
…and think about keeping fresh oxygen flowing to our friends with the help of a Pond Aeration Windmills…
from WINDMILLAERATION.COM
