Norfolk Ponds Project
@norfolkponds.bsky.social
Science-led NGO restoring & conserving Norfolk's ponds. Pioneers of #ghostpond resurrection & farm pond restoration. Crucian carp, eels, stoneworts, birds, bats, pollinators. Come yew orn: www.norfolkponds.org
Pinned
Hello @bsky.app. we are Norfolk Ponds Project - a science-led partnership NGO focused on pond restoration & #ghostpond ressurection. We aim to educate, lobby & inspire others on ponds. We used to Tweet & had 5000+ followers. ***Please follow & help us achieve the same here***!!!
Reposted by Norfolk Ponds Project
For your freshwater Friday delight... we're thrilled to present a deep dive with @carlsayer.bsky.social, Prof of Limnology & Freshwater Ecology at UCL, into the fascinating world of #GhostPonds, and their potent power for ecological and palaeoecological regeneration:
www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
November 28, 2025 at 3:06 PM
For your freshwater Friday delight... we're thrilled to present a deep dive with @carlsayer.bsky.social, Prof of Limnology & Freshwater Ecology at UCL, into the fascinating world of #GhostPonds, and their potent power for ecological and palaeoecological regeneration:
www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
Pond hope!!! Thanks to the @freshwaterbio.bsky.social for some great coverage of our work resurrecting #ghostponds. www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
Ghost pond resurrection – the most successful ecological restoration ever known? — Freshwater Biological Association
Carl Sayer is Professor of Limnology & Freshwater Ecology at UCL. We were delighted that Carl was able to attend the FBA ASM to deliver a keynote talk on ghost ponds. These pond resurrections are ...
www.fba.org.uk
November 21, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Pond hope!!! Thanks to the @freshwaterbio.bsky.social for some great coverage of our work resurrecting #ghostponds. www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/gh...
Reposted by Norfolk Ponds Project
Happy Halloween freshwater fiends! Do you believe in ghosts? Nope. How about ghost ponds?👻
Please allow us to introduce you to a the amazing #GhostPond aficionado @carlsayer.bsky.social for inspiring ponderings on the incredible power of ghost pond resurrections!
Check it out: youtu.be/bT1FLPCjEPw
Please allow us to introduce you to a the amazing #GhostPond aficionado @carlsayer.bsky.social for inspiring ponderings on the incredible power of ghost pond resurrections!
Check it out: youtu.be/bT1FLPCjEPw
October 31, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Happy Halloween freshwater fiends! Do you believe in ghosts? Nope. How about ghost ponds?👻
Please allow us to introduce you to a the amazing #GhostPond aficionado @carlsayer.bsky.social for inspiring ponderings on the incredible power of ghost pond resurrections!
Check it out: youtu.be/bT1FLPCjEPw
Please allow us to introduce you to a the amazing #GhostPond aficionado @carlsayer.bsky.social for inspiring ponderings on the incredible power of ghost pond resurrections!
Check it out: youtu.be/bT1FLPCjEPw
The huge biodiversity gains from restoring farm #ponds. Major evidence coming in from studies at our Heydon restored pondscape, Norfolk, eastern England @tonyjuniper.bsky.social @fwageast.bsky.social @farmwildlifeuk.bsky.social @brecksfarmerswn.bsky.social @norfolknats.bsky.social @epcn.bsky.social
How do you get a 120% increase in wetland plants in the farmed landscape & massively increase water beetle diversity too? The answer is restore farm ponds by scrub & sediment removal - key is to go in hard & make a big impact. See new paper: share.google/VVowsJzqHdPT...
October 23, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The huge biodiversity gains from restoring farm #ponds. Major evidence coming in from studies at our Heydon restored pondscape, Norfolk, eastern England @tonyjuniper.bsky.social @fwageast.bsky.social @farmwildlifeuk.bsky.social @brecksfarmerswn.bsky.social @norfolknats.bsky.social @epcn.bsky.social
The great Helen Greaves representing us at the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership Community Biodiversity Fair today @theforumnorwich.bsky.social promoting ponds, #pond restoration & of course #ghostpond resurrection
October 4, 2025 at 12:20 PM
The great Helen Greaves representing us at the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership Community Biodiversity Fair today @theforumnorwich.bsky.social promoting ponds, #pond restoration & of course #ghostpond resurrection
Reposted by Norfolk Ponds Project
In case you missed it: lots of amazing and heartening pond restoration going on. Research is likely to confirm that seeds "lost" in the bottom of filled-in ponds can remain viable for 100s of years so ponds and their aquatic plants leap back to life. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘It’s resurrection’: 1,000-year-old seeds could grow ancient plants in England’s ice-age ghost ponds
An expert team are resurrecting ice age ponds and finding rare species returning from a ‘perfect time capsule’
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
In case you missed it: lots of amazing and heartening pond restoration going on. Research is likely to confirm that seeds "lost" in the bottom of filled-in ponds can remain viable for 100s of years so ponds and their aquatic plants leap back to life. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Norfolk Ponds Project
Ghost ponds and overgrown ponds in Norfolk are being recovered and restored in an extraordinary conservation project in which sound is being used to measure the health of a pond....
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Ghost Ponds and Underwater Songs
In Norfolk, ghost ponds are being recovered, restored and heard to sing once again.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Ghost ponds and overgrown ponds in Norfolk are being recovered and restored in an extraordinary conservation project in which sound is being used to measure the health of a pond....
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
A resurrected Ice age #pond in Norfolk, E. England. Dug to draw in extraterrestrials. It took 1 day to bring back. The black soil is full of seeds. The excavation will fill over winter & be amazing by summer. Photo @hburningham.bsky.social @hayleymcmechan.bsky.social @timholtwilson.bsky.social
September 21, 2025 at 9:27 AM
A resurrected Ice age #pond in Norfolk, E. England. Dug to draw in extraterrestrials. It took 1 day to bring back. The black soil is full of seeds. The excavation will fill over winter & be amazing by summer. Photo @hburningham.bsky.social @hayleymcmechan.bsky.social @timholtwilson.bsky.social
Reposted by Norfolk Ponds Project
‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond
‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond
An expert team are resurrecting ice age ponds and finding rare species returning from a ‘perfect time capsule’
www.theguardian.com
September 20, 2025 at 5:03 AM
‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond
Our work resurrecting ice age #ghostponds in the Guardian today @timholtwilson.bsky.social @hburningham.bsky.social @uclgeography.bsky.social ‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond | Wildlife | The Guardian share.google/kO6HQaC4PAUJ...
‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond
An expert team are resurrecting ice age ponds and finding rare species returning from a ‘perfect time capsule’
share.google
September 20, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Our work resurrecting ice age #ghostponds in the Guardian today @timholtwilson.bsky.social @hburningham.bsky.social @uclgeography.bsky.social ‘Just add water’: how to bring back ancient plants in a Norfolk ghost pond | Wildlife | The Guardian share.google/kO6HQaC4PAUJ...
1/4: We restored the biggest Norfolk farmland #pond we have ever worked on over the last 3 days. 50 x 25 m. Huge amounts of willow was removed by our volunteers followed by much chainsaw work @patrickbarkham.bsky.social
September 18, 2025 at 8:44 PM
1/4: We restored the biggest Norfolk farmland #pond we have ever worked on over the last 3 days. 50 x 25 m. Huge amounts of willow was removed by our volunteers followed by much chainsaw work @patrickbarkham.bsky.social
We have been described as "THE BEST NGO THAT NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT"
Please help by following us & reposting!!!
Please help by following us & reposting!!!
September 15, 2025 at 8:37 PM
We have been described as "THE BEST NGO THAT NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT"
Please help by following us & reposting!!!
Please help by following us & reposting!!!
1/4: It's Norfolk Ponds Project Pond Week. Despite the wild weather hampering things today we are now 4 ponds in! Look at this pond in the morning compared with the afternoon. All done with hand tools & brill volunteers clearing scrub (phase 1)!
September 15, 2025 at 8:24 PM
1/4: It's Norfolk Ponds Project Pond Week. Despite the wild weather hampering things today we are now 4 ponds in! Look at this pond in the morning compared with the afternoon. All done with hand tools & brill volunteers clearing scrub (phase 1)!
This week we are working with volunteers to restore around 6 farm #ponds by major scrub & mud removal. Today we got almost 2 ponds done through pure weight of numbers helping!!! A truly brilliant crazy team!!!
September 13, 2025 at 7:49 PM
This week we are working with volunteers to restore around 6 farm #ponds by major scrub & mud removal. Today we got almost 2 ponds done through pure weight of numbers helping!!! A truly brilliant crazy team!!!
A day of 'ghostpingo' #pond resurrection in the Norfolk Brecklands with @timholtwilson.bsky.social & other wonderful experts. By the end of tomorrow Norfolk will have 2 more of its lost ancient ponds back
September 11, 2025 at 8:39 PM
A day of 'ghostpingo' #pond resurrection in the Norfolk Brecklands with @timholtwilson.bsky.social & other wonderful experts. By the end of tomorrow Norfolk will have 2 more of its lost ancient ponds back
1/2: Ponds were often filled in at the same time that hedges were removed & so burnt wood & hedgebank soil was dumped in the disappearing pond which was a convenient hole. Big tree stumps could not be burnt so often come out whole when we restore #ghostponds. Often we find loads of big stumps
September 7, 2025 at 7:41 PM
1/2: Ponds were often filled in at the same time that hedges were removed & so burnt wood & hedgebank soil was dumped in the disappearing pond which was a convenient hole. Big tree stumps could not be burnt so often come out whole when we restore #ghostponds. Often we find loads of big stumps
A pond restored in 2015. Stunning structural complexity & very high biodiversity in its 3 planty zones. Right in the middle of an arable field but no drainage in & a good buffer. Farming & conservation working together. This is what we MUST DO! @wildernorfolk.bsky.social @tonyjuniper.bsky.social
September 7, 2025 at 5:06 PM
A pond restored in 2015. Stunning structural complexity & very high biodiversity in its 3 planty zones. Right in the middle of an arable field but no drainage in & a good buffer. Farming & conservation working together. This is what we MUST DO! @wildernorfolk.bsky.social @tonyjuniper.bsky.social
A starter pack for people & organisations that love #ponds! Whats not to love!!!
go.bsky.app/5ZMVBB1
go.bsky.app/5ZMVBB1
September 6, 2025 at 8:44 PM
A starter pack for people & organisations that love #ponds! Whats not to love!!!
go.bsky.app/5ZMVBB1
go.bsky.app/5ZMVBB1
This is what we do. Since 2014 we have restored (& guided others to do the same in the UK) 100s of #ponds with **MASSIVE** measured benefits.
See this mid-arable farm pond before & just 1 year after restoration by scrub & mud removal. A freshwater jewel in the landscape @davetickner.bsky.social
See this mid-arable farm pond before & just 1 year after restoration by scrub & mud removal. A freshwater jewel in the landscape @davetickner.bsky.social
September 6, 2025 at 6:35 PM
This is what we do. Since 2014 we have restored (& guided others to do the same in the UK) 100s of #ponds with **MASSIVE** measured benefits.
See this mid-arable farm pond before & just 1 year after restoration by scrub & mud removal. A freshwater jewel in the landscape @davetickner.bsky.social
See this mid-arable farm pond before & just 1 year after restoration by scrub & mud removal. A freshwater jewel in the landscape @davetickner.bsky.social
The Great Silver Water beetle is the size of a small building. It is strongly an East Anglian species & we see it regularly in farm ponds that we restore. A largely vegetarian species. An absolute corker
September 6, 2025 at 5:39 PM
The Great Silver Water beetle is the size of a small building. It is strongly an East Anglian species & we see it regularly in farm ponds that we restore. A largely vegetarian species. An absolute corker
It's a great when you change the map! 2 resurrected #ghostpingos, just 1 yr old, look like they have been there forever. Working with the brill @timholtwilson.bsky.social & funded by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, BFER & Heritage Lottery we have helped 22 lost ancient Ice Age ponds back to life since 2021
September 5, 2025 at 9:07 PM
It's a great when you change the map! 2 resurrected #ghostpingos, just 1 yr old, look like they have been there forever. Working with the brill @timholtwilson.bsky.social & funded by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, BFER & Heritage Lottery we have helped 22 lost ancient Ice Age ponds back to life since 2021
1/3: The how & why of #ghostpond resurrection was the focus of a workshop that we ran for Norfolk FWAG & the Royal Countryside Fund this week in Cawston, Norfolk. Around 30 farmers saw 2 lost ponds brought to life
September 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
1/3: The how & why of #ghostpond resurrection was the focus of a workshop that we ran for Norfolk FWAG & the Royal Countryside Fund this week in Cawston, Norfolk. Around 30 farmers saw 2 lost ponds brought to life
August 31, 2025 at 7:29 AM
1/2: A Norfolk #ghostpingo #pond during, just after, 1 year (2024) & 2 years (2025) after ressurection. The pond now supports well over 35 wetland plants. It is stunning & getting better & better. An old seedbank was surely exposed allowing rapid plant colonisation
August 30, 2025 at 6:02 PM
1/2: A Norfolk #ghostpingo #pond during, just after, 1 year (2024) & 2 years (2025) after ressurection. The pond now supports well over 35 wetland plants. It is stunning & getting better & better. An old seedbank was surely exposed allowing rapid plant colonisation
1/2: The charm of overgrown ponds. In Norfolk Ponds Project we reset succession in wooded-over farm ponds by major scrub & mud removal. This hugely increases biodiversity at the landscape-scale. But so there is a mix of successional stages we always leave some ponds. Here are 4 we will not touch
August 29, 2025 at 6:26 PM
1/2: The charm of overgrown ponds. In Norfolk Ponds Project we reset succession in wooded-over farm ponds by major scrub & mud removal. This hugely increases biodiversity at the landscape-scale. But so there is a mix of successional stages we always leave some ponds. Here are 4 we will not touch