Latest Dafen Pond Watch (The Good & Bad)

Dafen Pond Watch (The Good)

Dafen pond area is looking so beautiful at the moment. The array of coloured leaves carpeting the ground is a lovely sight, autumn is such a lovely time. The ducklings and other babies are growing up nicely and all appears calm with the swans, ducks, moorhens etc. It has also been a pleasure to see a heron, grey wagtail and to see a glimpse of a kingfisher! There is always something wonderful to see even on the dullest of days, even if it’s only a happy little robin watching you, it will make you smile.

(The Bad)
10 days after Dafen Forum had done their monthly clean around the pond I met up with a friend for a chat at the pond area. We were so upset at the mess around the area including food containers left on a bench that we raided our cars for some gloves and bags. Thankfully Veronica (my friend) had some bags we could use. We walked around picking up rubbish as we went. Lots of alcohol cans and bottles were the main things to pick up. In the river we saw 2 carrier bags, Veronica fished them out only to find that one was full of raw meat, chops and bacon! We also pulled lots of fishing line up from around the pond, some with hooks on! Sweetcorn tins were thrown in longer grass and Veronica even pulled a knife out of the ground that had been left by a fisherman!!! We also came across a tree that had been burnt at the bottom and then saw that someone had cut half way through the tree trunk! 4 bags of rubbish we collected in the 2 hours we were there. We put the recycling in the appropriate bins and arranged for the council to collect the rest. I also met with the council to show them the tree, it had to be cut down as it was so dangerous. Upset and sad is an understatement as to how i felt that day. Such a beautiful area marred by mindless, lazy people. How would these people feel if that tree had fallen on a member of their family, if the knife got into the wrong hands, if they found wildlife stuck, trapped or dying because of their thoughtless actions? I can’t say anymore as my eyes are swelling with tears as i tell you this. I know some don’t care but hopefully there are more people that do care. The council man that arranged for the tree to be cut down thinks that maybe people are cutting the trees to sell for firewood. Please, if you see anything untoward going on, report it.

Trixie Evans

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