3 goodgymers made their way to Beeline Way in New Malden to help make a start clearing an area of overgrown weeds and brambles to make way for a new wildlife pond.

Julie made her way for a 4.2km cycle from the Quaker Centre to join Petra at Beeline Way. They were greeted by Elliot, Kingston’s Biodiversity Officer. Elliot explained that he wanted the area to be cleared by hand to give any wildlife a chance to find a new home before the construction work on the new pond starts.

We grabbed our tools and Julie started clearing the area of prickly thistles, while Petra sawed off a big overhanging branch that was leaning into the new pond area. Jane joined with special guest puppy Pepa and set about cleaning the surrounding overgrown vegetation.

We were soon on to an area of thorny brambles which were covering the dip in the land where the pond water will sit. It was slow progress at first as we chopped through the big brambles, uncovering some creepy crawlies including one ginormous spider! Very soon though we could start to clearly see the area with the natural depression in the ground where the new pond will sit.

Time flies and as the rain got heavier is was soon time to step back and admire our handiwork, before heading for a soggy cycle home to dry off.

Looking forward to seeing the new wildlife pond as it starts to come to life very soon!