With new projects to help fight climate change popping up all over the planet, it’s good to see some new initiatives appearing in Brighton and the surrounding region. How are ponds playing a big part in the battle to protect the Earth and in what projects can we see them appearing?
A New Dew Pond at Waterhall
Originally created by farmers to give their sheep somewhere to drink from, dew ponds can play a big part in helping us to fight back against the effects of climate change, as they increase biodiversity by attracting birds and other types of wildlife. That’s not all though, as these ponds are also excellent at pulling CO2 and greenhouse gases from the air. This is why it’s good news that Brighton and Hove City Council is investing in a new dew pond.
They’ll be using money from the Carbon Neutral Fund to do this, and it will be created on the site of what was the golf course at Waterhall. This is now a nature reserve and it’s expected that more people will visit it once the pond starts to attract more wildlife.
Jamie Lloyd, the council’s lead councillor on the subject of biodiversity, pointed out that the population of freshwater species has fallen by 84% since 1970. He said that this type of dew pond is among the unsung heroes in nature and is going to bring many benefits to the region. It will also reintroduce a traditional element that has largely been lost, with close to 40% of all South Downs dew ponds having disappeared.
Other Important Projects
The Heritage Lottery Fund is another important source of funding for worthwhile projects like the dew pond. With the money spent on lottery tickets being used to fight climate change, the odds of winning the lottery is just one factor to take into account. The UK Lotto has odds of 1:54 when it comes to winning any prize, compared with tickets for the Irish Lotto, with odds of 1:42.
Recently, the local council announced that they were awarded £130,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, part of which will fund the work needed to get the village pond at Falmer back to its best. This pond has been struggling due to the hot, dry weather. This is part of the project to continue developing wetland habitats to increase biodiversity in the South Downs National Park.
Projects like these are particularly important in Brighton & Hove, which was declared to be in a climate and biodiversity emergency in 2018. Last year, an Emoov study reported that Brighton is the UK city most at risk from the effects of climate change, just ahead of Belfast and Cardiff, with some parts of the city expected to be underwater by the year 2100.
This and other climate change projects in Brighton will become increasingly important as the battle to get climate change under control intensifies. Dew ponds could be a vital part of this strategy, so expect to see more news about funding being used for their creation and maintenance.
