All kinds of creatures discovered by Wimbledon Common’s avid pond-dippers
The Wimbledon Common Nature Club enjoyed a morning of pond-dipping on Wimbledon Common – making plenty of exciting discoveries on their fact-finding mission.
Youngsters took their nets, trays, magnifying glasses and pond-dipping identification charts to Seven Post Pond, on Wimbledon Common on Sunday, to search for freshwater animals.
The children found water hog-louse, freshwater shrimp, water beetles, ramshorn snails, pond snails, damselfly nymphs and water boatmen.
The number of animals were added up, each having a score number, and together with Ph strips dipped into the water showed that the water was clean, the results going to the Ranger’s Office. All the animals were then returned to their watery habitat unharmed.
Club leader Auriel Glanville said: “The children loved their pond-dipping discovery morning, seeing so many freshwater animals that they never knew existed, and they want to continue exploring other ponds to find out the life within them.”
The group’s next session will be a “Herbal Walk” led by Althea Finch, looking for wild plants that are good to eat and are natural medicines, on Sunday, May 5.
The club, supported by the London Wildlife Trust, meets at the Information Centre on Wimbledon Common from 10am until noon (newcomers 9.45am to register) and is for children aged six to 14. It is free but donations are welcome.
You can contact Auriel on 07837 910 072, at auriel.glanville@btinternet.
Pictured top: Gathering outside the Information Centre, from left, are club assistant Luciana Teuma, Max Schulkes, club assistant Alexander Mallett, Genta Miyahara, six, club assistant Oliver Mallett and Sohei Miyahara, nine.
(Picture: Alexander Mallett)
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