Vols and Vole Ponds

Thursday, February 8th 2018

The task for the Volunteers today was to work on the two Vole Ponds repairing and reinstating the dams that maintain the levels in both of them. The inlet feeder to the upper pond had been closed yesterday evening so that the water level could drop overnight, and this morning the dam between the two ponds, which had been leaking around both sides of it, was removed.

Despite the muddy conditions, the four Volunteers involved in this operation made light work of rebuilding the dam and sealing it with clay that had been excavated when Willie was working here last week. When this had been completed, the inlet feeder pipe was uncovered to allow the pond to refill.

The work on the dam for the lower pond was to face the clay bund that had been built by Willie. Stones and lengths of wood were used to put a straight edge on the curve of the clay that was holding back the water in the pond. Once this had been done, the team had a well earned break for tea and coffee before returning to check the flow through the system and make some minor adjustments.

A final task related to these ponds was to relay the slabs that sit on top of the dam that creates the pool for the Vole Pond inlet feeder pipe. With these being more stable, checking that the pipe is clear will be easier.

Two more Volunteers had been working their way through the piles of brash left from clearing around the ponds to allow access for Willie's machine, and the whole group came together to burn this up. This was a series of small tasks that helped to complete all the work on and around the Vole ponds, and the work of the group of six who achieved all of this is much appreciated.

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