You associate January with the bleak midwinter, with new starts and resetting the clock on your personal goals, but what about conservation? Whilst the wildlife sleeps, the volunteers and farmers are busy maintaining one of the best biodiverse resources at their fingertips!

Farmland ponds have been proven to be hotspots for life in the middle of a monoculture of arable fields and Wensum farmers have always been keen to create, restore and maintain these vital assets.

We spent the day with the wonderful team of volunteers from Norfolk Ponds Project (NPP) learning how to do just that. The weather threw a multitude of hurdles at us with strong winds, bright sunshine, rainbows, hail and torrential rain seen within a matter of hours however it did not deter the enthusiastic discussions around maintenance options, nor the frantic clip clip of loppers or whir of the chainsaw.

The first pond tackled was initially restored in 2019 as part of a previous NPP initiative: The Big 50. It was agreed that some hard cutting back of brambles and blackthorn was required, particularly on the south and east sides. A wildflower ride was created in one corner, with the area being completely cleared and raked to encourage flowers to occupy the space that brambles once did.

By mid afternoon, showing no signs of slowing down we went on a pond hunt for the second pond of the day, a much smaller pit on the edge of a field of cover crop. An overgrown tangle of shading plants surrounded by a ditch on 2 sides, this was set to be a challenging few hours. In a race against the light we battled as a team through the brambles, creating a restoration chain to overcome the steep drops and ditch.

With some finishing touches still to go on this pond, a reinvigorated group of farmers and an increased understanding of the benefits ponds can bring to a farmland environment, our group parted ways. No doubt to enjoy a hot shower and a well-deserved pint!