woodland ponds

[MattWebster]

Hey, wasnt sure where it was best to post this question! Hope here is okay.

In the wood we recently purchased we have placed a small pond; 2m by 2m and around 5cm deep; the main aim to provide some source of water to the wildlife in the wood. Which; i must say has worked amazingley well!
However we are now planning to install a second larger pond in the wood. The aim of the pond will be to increase the species range of the wood, provide a water source for birds and act as a pond dipping site for visiting children.
Any suggestions for depth; dimensions, profile or any usefull advice please?

Cheers Matt

[Bulworthy Project]

A few points:

If you want newts, it should be at least 1.5m deep for part of the pond.

The edges should be shallow so that creatures can climb in and out all the time as the water level changes.

Having large areas of shallow area allows for bog plants etc.

dappled shade in places and full sunlight in others adds more diversity.

[docsquid]

Check the planning guidelines - a pond over a certain size requires planning permission.

[docsquid]

I should have said, try the Pond Conservation Trust for information - they have some very helpful guidance. When we built our ponds (OK, we did build ELEVEN ponds), the director, Jeremy Biggs, came along to our woods when the digger was on site and helped us outline them and profile them. But the information on the web site is helpful enough. If you dig it yourself, fair enough. If you don't, then don't let the man with the JCB get carried away as they love to dig deep holes with square sides. You need shallow holes with very shallow sloping sides instead.http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/