Pond Visualiser App

Froglife’s Wildlife Gardening App

Froglife works to protect, conserve and secure a future for amphibians and reptiles in the UK. We speak out for amphibians and reptiles, encouraging best-practice and pulling in new audiences to understand and appreciate the needs of our species. Our work addresses key threats to amphibian and reptile survival including: destruction and removal of habitats, non-native wildlife disease, invasive species and persecution.

In the wider countryside ponds are disappearing. One third of ponds are thought to have disappeared in the last fifty years or so. This has had an enormous effect on wildlife, particularly amphibians. Frogs, toads and newts are dependent on ponds to breed; if ponds disappear, so do they. Yet, there is a solution. Creating a wildlife pond helps wildlife locally. Big or small, adding water to your garden or backyard is a really good way to do your bit for the neighbourhood’s wildlife. In addition, ponds can be fantastic places to spend time, relax and de-stress.

Wildlife Pond Visualiser App 

To download the app search for “Froglife” on the Google Play Store!

How to use the app         

Wildlife ponds are amazing additions to local gardens and other greenspaces. To help you discover this for yourself Froglife has made this app.

Froglife’s Wildlife Pond Visualiser app offers information on four different kinds of wildlife ponds- large, small, classic and upcycled. No matter how large your outdoor space, there’s a wildlife pond out there to suit you!

Come Forth for Wildlife is a 4 year project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). The Come Forth for Wildlife project is working throughout the Forth Valley (Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire) to develop connections to conserve and enhance the unique heritage the area offers. This is being achieved by creating inter-connected habitats for amphibians, reptiles and other wildlife.

This includes our Neighbourhood Wildlife Corridors project offering therapeutic gardens, allotments and community gardens workshops to share skills on wildlife gardening and create wildlife-friendly features at the gardens / allotments themselves. These interactive workshops will have an amphibian and reptile focus – while we will be running regular sessions with adults with physical / learning difficulties at therapeutic garden centres. See the latest news on these workshops here.

The project enables all sectors of the community to develop connections with the natural heritage of the Forth Valley region through the activities we are delivering and have planned.

Inspire

Once you’ve found the wildlife pond that suits your local greenspace then you can start to consider complementary habitat features like log piles, wildflower planting areas and rockeries. Use the apps 3D Wildlife Pond Advice section to help you!

Then, once your plan is ready….We want to hear about it! Send us your photos of new or restore wildlife ponds. Your efforts can help inspire others to be like you and create or refresh wildlife ponds to help local nature.

Send your photos to info@froglife.org

Top Tips for Wildlife ponds

Here are 8 tips to get the most out of your wildlife pond;

1. Complexity is King!-A variety of depths in your pond and lots of plant diversity will allow a larger range of animals to colonise
2. Native Niceties – Some pond plants can be used by newts during egg-laying. Froglife can offer you a handy plant list. Source native pond plant cuttings from nearby wildlife ponds with permission.
3. Fish Free- If you want to attract frogs and newts, and maximise invertebrate diversity, it’s best not to add fish.
4. Entry and Exits- Remember that amphibians and other animals need sloped edges to help them get in and get out.
5. Be Insect Endowed- Insects play a vital role in your pond food chain. Their presence attracts predators like newts and birds. The more variety the better.
6. Drawdown ones- It can be good to let parts of the pond dry up in summer. These areas help seeds germinate and they create shallow niches for insects.
7. Hidey Holes- Log piles and dense foliage offer frogs and newts a place to hide and keep safe from predators such as cats and foxes.
8. RECORD TAKERS- Tell us about your sightings and help scientist understand the health of local populations. You can also download Froglife’s DRAGON FINDER app to get started

Large Wildlife Ponds

1. A large neighbourhood or garden wildlife pond might measure 5 metres at its widest point.
2. This pond has been made using hard- wearing plastic liner held in place with large stones and vegetation.
3. A large rockery provides areas for reptiles to bask and plenty of cracks for amphibians to hide within.
4. Though 50cm at its deepest point, the pond has plenty of shallow zones in which most invertebrates thrive.
5. Carefully selected native pond plants- each suited to its own depth- add a reef-like complexity that animals thrive within.
6. Large wildlife ponds attract some spectacular wildlife residents. Here are our top 3;
   1. The Common Toad loves larger ponds. A pond like this might be more than thirty in springtime.
   2. Dragon flies are drawn to large wildlife ponds toffee on emerging insects. Their predatory nymphs play a key part in pond ecosystems.
   3. The Grass Snake is an occasional visitor to large wildlife ponds. These beautiful reptiles are specialist hunters of amphibians. We hope this inspires you to get digging! Keep in touch and tell us how your pond-planning goes!

Classic Wildlife Ponds

1. The classic wildlife pond is shaped like a kidney. This shape helps maximise overall shore length.
2. A pond like this might be 2-5 metres at its widest point. It is no more than 30cm deep.
3. Classic ponds often use a durable plastic liner. They can be creates on a budget of just £100.
4. A variety of native pond plants provide a rich array of micro-habitats that insects love.
5. In return for just one or two days of work, hundreds of wildlife species can be rewarded with a freshwater resource.
6. Classic wildlife ponds attract some impressive wildlife residents. Here’s our top three;
   1. Many dragonfly and damselfly species like ponds of this size. Their nymphs live in the water.
   2. Newts also visit ponds like this. Their fish-like larvae can be seen throughout the spring and summer
   3. Many classic wildlife ponds become home to the common frog. Sometimes this happens within days.
7. We hope this inspires you to get digging! Keep in touch and tell us how your pond-planning goes!

Small Wildlife Ponds

1. A small neighbourhood or garden wildlife pond might only measure 1 metre at its widest
2. With depth of only 20cm at its deepest, ponds like this might need partial shade
3. A pond like this could be dug in a hour or two using a spade and a hard wearing plastic liner
4. You maybe surprised by some striking occasional visitors;
5. A large log pile offers passing frogs a place to hide from predators
6. Small wildlife ponds attract some impressive wildlife residents. Here’s our top three:
   1. Little more than 1mm in length =. Daphnia are one of the many crustaceans that hoover up algae
   2. Many hoverfly species use small ponds as a nursery ground for their aquatic larva
   3. The Common Frog often uses small ponds in the summer months as a place to keep cool
7. We hope this inspires you to get digging! Keep in touch and tell us how your pond-planning goes!

We hope this inspires you to get digging! Keep in touch and tell us how your pond-planning goes! We need record takers– Tell us about your sightings and help scientists understand the health of local populations. Download Froglife’s Dragon Finder app to get started