We have been fortunate to inherit a wetlands natural area just outside the library.

It is a man made wetlands area and was originally planted up with wetalnd species and it has a pond in it.

 

Since 2010 we have maintained it and tried to introduce more wetland grasses and plants as well at put fish into the water of the pond to help curb the mosquito problems we were having.

 

In 2011 we did have a very invasive bulrush(  ) growing in the pond which we had to get rid of and in so doing we have had a resultant filtration problem.  We have tested the health of the water and it is good but clarity of the water is not good due to the vegetation and leaf litter that fall into the pond throughout the day from the surrounding trees.

 

In 2012 we took out other undesirbale species and trimmed and cut back the growth.

 

In 2013 we have introduced bulrushes to the pond in the hope that we can use these to filter the water and so return it to a better clarity.

 

Our Wetlands project is largely about maintenance and improving the area and getting the students to realise the worth and value of wetlands in the environment.  

This year, 2014 we will be labelling the plants in the wetlands & trying to concentrate on the water clarity and health and on continuing to bring in other indigenous wetland species.  We will be learning more about wetland plants and seeing how we can impact this area with our knowledge.

 

We are working on the filtration problem we have in the wetlands as we have vast quantities of leaf litter that falls into the water and the water is too stagnant to deal with it effectively. We have got a lot of bulrushes and we neet to work on a filtration and reticulation of the water to keep the water clean and habitable.