Lower Greenmoor Pond Restoration

The Lower Greenmoor Pond Restoration Project aims to restore a large historic pond located on registered common land in a woodland setting on the southern side of Woodcote in a way which is sympathetic with its important social history as well as its significant value for wildlife.

As the top of the Chilterns is dry, without springs or flowing water, the ponds are vitally important for wildlife, especially amphibians. Every year toads, frogs, smooth newts and palmate newts migrate to the two Greenmoor Ponds and the large numbers involved make the ponds an important breeding site. Woodcote Conservation Group (WCG) coordinate an annual ‘toad patrol’, registered with Froglife.

The ponds are a key resource for other species too. The WCG has recently carried out a series of bat monitoring sessions around the Greemoor Ponds and has built up a detailed picture of local bat activity. The different species that are present on, or visitors to, the site include the common and soprano pipistrelle, natterer’s and Daubenton’s (myotis species), brown long eared, noctule, serotine, barbastelle and the rare nathusius pipistrelle.

In just six weeks between May and June 2023, the Lower Pond lost all its water. Since December 2023 the groundwater has been monitored via a network of boreholes and the data indicate that the pond’s clay lining has been breached causing water accumulating in the pond to drain through the sand layer which occurs naturally beneath the clay (when the sand layer is not saturated). The wet weather caused the pond to partially re-charge over winter 2023/4 but the pond was completely dry again in July/August 2024. High rainfall since has caused the pond to partially re-charge again and, based on the considerable amount of data collected from the boreholes over the last year, we know the groundwater outside the radius of influence of the damaged pond is healthy giving confidence that the Lower Pond will re-charge naturally if the breach is repaired.