Newts bring in funding for Whiteparish (From Salisbury Journal)
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Newts bring in funding for Whiteparish
9:00am Sunday 19th August 2012 in News By Corey Ross
Sophie Crew from Wessex Water presents a watermark cheque to Whiteparish Parish Council.
A POND in Whiteparish has been awarded a Wessex Watermark Award thanks to a colony of great crested newts.
Sophie Crew from Wessex Water presented a watermark cheque for £450 to the parish council last Monday, which will help pay for the hire of a long reach excavator to remove silt and debris from the bottom of the pond.
The pond, which is next to the site of the proposed new community centre, is a result of clay extraction in the early 20th century and the parish council arranged for it to be surveyed.
Once the newts were discovered thoughts turned to creating a better habitat for the newts to breed and mature in.
Parish councillor Linda Palmer said: “We need to create not only a water habitat for the newts but a terrestrial habitat too. This means planting native low growing shrubs around the pond area. Plus we will be building six hibernacula as there are so few suitable frost-free sites for the newts to hibernate in.
“Obviously the costs have mounted as this is no ordinary pond restoration, so everyone involved with this project is delighted that Wessex Water is supporting our efforts to restore the pond and encourage Whiteparish’s great crested newt colony.”
