What
This Winter, the Natural Neighbours team, led by our Founder Jules, successfully installed a brand new pond garden in a previously disused playground space.
Where
Hackney Marsh Adventure Playground (before and after pictured above) is one of the many communities we proudly partner with in Hackney to bring nature back into young people’s urban lives.
Why
Pond Wildlife 🐸
With more than half of the UK’s ponds now lost, creating new wildlife ponds has never been more urgent. Urban rewilding efforts like ours provide essential stepping stones for frogs, newts, dragonflies, birds and more.
Even small water features can quickly become lifelines, allowing species to migrate, feed, drink and breed, even in highly fragmented city landscapes.
A healthy pond typically has both shallow and deeper areas. Shallow edges warm quickly and are home to tadpoles, newts and drinking birds. Deeper areas provide cooler, stable water for overwintering frogs and dragonfly larvae.
Education 🔍
Pond dipping isn’t just fun for kids; it’s educational gold dust.
The ponds we built at Daubney Primary School, Robin Hood Community Garden and Hackney Marsh Adventure Playground offer young people first-hand experiences with species identification, food webs and life cycles.
Rather than learning about nature through textbooks, kids often learn most effectively outside, hands in the water, gaining real knowledge and developing curiosity for the natural world.
Mental Health 😌
A wildlife pond offers a calm, ever-changing focal point for young people.
With increasing concern around childhood stress and screen fatigue, ponds provide a peaceful refuge that promotes calm, mindfulness and connection.
The sight and sound of water as well as the humm of life can lift young people’s spirits, reduce anxiety and inspire curiosity.
What Achieved
What can you do?
You don’t need a big garden or fancy equipment to get started. Even turning over a bin lid or repurposing an old sink can make a huge difference for wildlife.
Ponds tick all the boxes. Let’s bring these superheroes and the wildlife they support back to our cities!
“All children should have access to the calming and stimulating wonders of nature in their everyday lives”
– Hackney Mayor Caroline Woodley, while visiting the pond at our partner site Daubeney Primary School on Thursday, 1st May 2025.
