Double Pit

This pond restoration was covered by BBC Look East during the UCL Pond Restoration Week.

Crucian Carp used to be fished in the large pit but have not been recorded in recent years.

There are two inflows into the pond; one inflow comes via a pipe off the field, a second by a ditch. Although many ponds in Norfolk have become dry this year, Double Pit remains filled with clear water. From an aerial view, the vegetation surrounding the pond is triangular in shape and shading is between 75 and 90% of the water surface. The pond has two basins to it with a middle ‘finger’ of earth separating the two. A willow lays along the finger where it has fallen in the past. A pre-survey was undertaken at the site during the summer 2019 but no aquatic plants were found. The terrestrial tree species around the pond are mixed and mainly mature but willow trees are more dominant on the south and west edges.

Sunlight tries to reach the pond surface prior to

During the restoration, the large oaks on the south site were maintained, as was the collection of mature mixed species on the north and eastern margins. The farmer remembered personally maintaining the pond open in his younger years, but over the last 40 years contractors have been hired in to carry out tree management. Other species on the southern margin were coppiced into a hedgerow. Although the pond looked large, because the trees were mature, the canopy was not very thick and with many volunteers it did not take much time to get into the pond to remove some mud. The banks of the pit were strong and firm and allowed for easy sediment removal, which turned out to be much more than was expected!