Fordingbridge Conservation Group is organising working parties in the coming weeks on the Bishop’s Pond Conservation site, which is at the corner of Normandy Way and Cottage Mews, Fordingbridge, SP6 1RJ.

The group’s annual general meeting was held in September, when future plans for the pond were discussed. Some of the proposals have already been implemented. The group has erected several bat boxes, kindly made and donated by the Avon Valley Shed team; tidied and thinned out the wildflower bank, ready for further seed sowing this autumn; removed some overhanging branches to allow more light on one side of the pond and built a hibernaculum.

The latter is an underground refuge that various pond dwellers, including reptiles and amphibians like frogs, toads, newts, lizards and snakes, use throughout the winter to protect themselves from the cold. Amphibians and reptiles are regular visitors to gardens, especially those with log piles, sunny spots, ponds, bogs and compost heaps. Local people are invited to build their own hibernaculum. All you need is a shallow pit about 50cm deep and 1.5m across, some large and small bricks or stones, logs or branches and two or three drainage pipe offcuts for access. There are many online guides for construction – see your local Wildlife Trust, RSPB, or YouTube sites for diagrams and detailed instructions.

Other creatures that hibernate during winter in Britain include bats, hedgehogs, dormice, some butterflies and moths, and many insects, including bees. You can help them find somewhere safe to over winter by leaving some areas in your garden ‘untidy’, with longer grass, and piles of twigs, logs or stones, or making a ‘bug hotel’ out of logs, sticks and leaves.

The next work parties (weather permitting) are scheduled for:

Tuesday 1, Saturday 12 and Sunday 20 November, and Tuesday 6 and Saturday 17 December, at 2-4pm.

Visitors are welcome to explore the conservation site on those dates and find out more about its flora and fauna, its history and the plans for its future management. Volunteer help is always welcome, just head along and take gardening gloves and secateurs if you have them. Children are welcome to help if accompanied by an adult.

Visit www.fordingbridgeconservation.uk which has a gallery of current photos.