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Introduction |
Woodlands and
Trees |
Open Lands |
Wetlands |
Buffer Lands |
 Wetlands
Epping Forest contains some 159 ponds, 12+ streams and 10 bogs,
meaning wetlands are an important habitat in the Forest. The ponds range
from small gravel workings, to large bodies of permanent shallow water over
5 hectares in extent.
These ponds
and bogs support a wide range of wildlife including scarce plants like
Cotton-grass and Marsh Cinquefoil, for which Epping Forest is the only site
in Essex and London. There are rare and dazzling insects like the Downy
Emerald Dragonfly. These ponds sustain 5 of the 6 native amphibian species,
including the protected Great Crested Newt which breeds in 29 of the ponds.
Angling is a
major recreational use of the ponds and angling across the Forest is free,
making the Forest a very important resource for children as well as adult
fishermen. The ponds and lakes provide a natural focus for visitors to the
Forest and are therefore amongst the most frequented sites requiring special
management attention. The two main problems for the Forest wetlands are a
lack of water, with hot, dry summers occurring more frequently, and their
colonisation by alien animal and plant species.
In order to conserve
these wetlands, invasive foreign species such as duckweed, water fern and
New Zealand pygmy weed which can rapidly grow and take over ponds need to be
removed. Scrub and
bankside vegetation must also be kept under control, to increase the amount
of light reaching the pond which increases wildlife value.
Every year at Project
we help to restore and maintain one of Epping Forest's many ponds - recent
examples include Walthamstow Pond in 2007 (Project 818), Cuckoo Pits in 2006
(Project 817), Brickfield Pond in 2004 (Project 815) and Lord's Bushes in
2001 (Project 812) and 2002 (Project 813).
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