By chance, I met some of the PTA members from Plascrug School recently in a café. My connection to the school came from supporting the original pond project that began the journey toward a wetland. I shared some of what I knew, and it was lovely to see how much care that little piece of land has received over the years.
For the pond, we had the children design their ideal version with the help of Project Tyfu Dyfi and explored what it might look like. The first iteration did include several cats which needed a long discussion. We talked through ideas and what we needed, which I then passed on to a pond contractor who quickly realised I had no idea what a large-scale wildlife pond might involve. I had never managed a landscape project before, but we live and learn. Many wonderful things came out of that project.
Since then, the school community has developed the site further, adding a boardwalk and embracing the idea of a full wetland. I’m proud that my small role helped start that journey. In some ways, while the initial issue with the site was flooding, applying a Permaculture approach allowed them to find a solution that benefited both wildlife and the learning process. The pond was just a tiny step, not the final one, and I often wonder if it caused more chaos at first. Water always follows the path of least resistance they say, even when it is causing high sales of wellies. Learning is tricky. And yet, nature itself is the process of learning.
Naomi Heath 