venue: Hackney City Farm, LondonA boggy area or body of water can bring a whole new dynamic to your garden or patio space, improving biodiversity by attracting many new insects into your garden. Big or small, in the ground or in a container, a wetland habitat is an essential part of a garden nurtured with wildlife in mind. The pond itself with its mirrored surface is calming and soothing. Should a pond not be suitable for you then a bog garden will provide an interesting alternative with a huge choice of plants on offer. If you manage to attract frogs, newts or toads to your pond, they will take care of a lot of the pest control in your garden. The course includes:
'Puddling' clay is the most natural way to build a pond. Puddling is compression of clay to take out air spaces and create a dense particulate base. It was traditionally done by cattle, but on this course, you'll be doing it with your bare feet! (don't worry - there are washing facilities to clean yourself up afterwards. You'll also hear about clay - types of clay, where to get it from, how much, depth, how the process works etc. dates: see 'book online' below
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| how
to book: |
if you can't open
the booking form, you need Acrobat
Reader - it's free |
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| arrive: |
for a 10am prompt start |
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| depart: |
after
the course finishes at 5pm |
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directions: |
click here for
directions to Hackney City Farm |
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| what
to bring: |
work
clothes; pen and notebook; packed lunch (if you're not using
the cafe) |
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| let
us know: |
if
you have any special needs |
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price: |
£60 Refundable up to two weeks prior to course (minus £30 admin fee) No refunds for cancellations within two weeks of course |
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| lunch: |
bring
a packed lunch or you can get lunch at the cafe |
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| car
sharing: |
visit
our car
sharing forum to offer or request a lift |
by planting
your pond with pondweeds, water-lilies, reeds and bog plants, you
will attract beneficial wildlife to your garden, like frogs, toads
and newts - and beautiful ones like dragonflies, whose larvae develop
in water
a group of
volunteers digging a pond; digging a pond by hand, and sealing it
by puddling clay (instead of using synthetic pond liners) is the
most natural way of creating a pond
you can fit
a very small pond in almost anywhere, and it will still support
beautiful plants and beneficial wildlife