Trinity's wildlife pond

Posted on: 24 May 2023

Animals that live in ponds, like frogs, are under threat worldwide because their habitats are disappearing. Ponds used to be a common feature of our landscapes, and together with bogs, streams, rivers and man-made ditches, contributed to networks of wetlands. However, many ponds have been drained, ditches are neglected in favour of piped water, and many freshwater habitats have become polluted. This leaves water-loving wildlife stranded without a home. Building an urban wildlife pond can have a fantastic impact, creating a home for not only frogs, but for plants and invertebrates and the creatures that feed on them, like birds and bats. And as we create more ponds, the network of wetland habitats builds up again, providing a refuge for biodiversity.

In addition, ponds provide fantastic educational opportunities for learning about biodiversity. Pond dipping is easy and fun, and can reveal a range of ecological strategies. Creatures live on the surface, in the water column, as well as in the vegetation that trails into the water, amongst the plants growing on the margins of the pond, under the leaves of floating plants, and in amongst the leaves and twigs at the bottom of the pond. A great diversity of herbivores (plant eaters) and carnivores (predators) live in and around ponds – from insects like pond skaters, water beetles and dragon flies, other invertebrates like snails, to vertebrates like frogs, newts and birds.

Trinity’s new pond has already attracted a range of creatures, even in the middle of Dublin city. It has been dedicated to biodiversity expert, Dr Aoibheann Gaughran, who sadly passed away in late 2021 after a short illness. Aoibheann was a Trinity Scholar, with an outstanding academic record, filled with prizes and awards, and who earned a PhD on the behaviour of badgers in 2018. Following completion of her PhD, Aoibheann managed the Áras an Uachtaráin Biodiversity Audit, a year-long project, commissioned by President Michael D. Higgins, where she studied the habitats, plants, birds, mammals, insects and fungi present in the grounds, and made management recommendations for their future protection and enhancement. Following that, she was Project Manager for the Nature+Energy project, which focuses on how onshore wind farms can support and enhance Ireland's biodiversity, and helped with the Trinity Biodiversity Audit. Aoibheann was a passionate about wildlife, volunteered with a range of conservation organisations, and was an exceptional science communicator.

It’s fitting that Trinity’s latest biodiversity feature is dedicated to a biodiversity champion and we look forward to seeing the pond flourish in the years to come. 

For more information on creating a wildlife pond, see this article and video that Trinity's Collie Ennis (Zoology Research Associate) put together for his conservation group, the Hereptological Society of Ireland:

https://thehsi.org/publications-and-resources/how-to-build-a-simple-pond/

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• Environment
• Sustainability