Milham Ford ponds

Milham Ford Nature Park - Ponds

Please don't bring any plants from your garden ponds to Milham Ford Nature Park, no matter how attractive you might think they would be there - see 'Be Plant Wise' article.

The old ponds

The First Pond

In 1989, Mrs Audrey Hayes, Geography teacher at what was then Milham Ford School, oversaw the digging, lining and filling of the first pond.

This pond (shown in the photo on the left) is in the corner of the park opposite The Church of St Michael and All Angels on Jack Straw’s Lane.

The photo was taken on 6 April 2010. This pond has little, if any, water in it unless there has been a great deal of rain.

In 1996 Biology teacher, Mrs Joan Coleman, organised the digging and lining (by messy clay-puddling) of a second pond in a marshy area beside the hedge near the Marston Road/Harberton Mead corner.

A photograph of the second pond taken when it was newly-made can be seen on Page 15 of The History of Milham Ford School, edited by Dr Judy Webb, Biology teacher at Milham from 1987 until the school closed in 2002. (The link given has been taken from Stephanie Jenkins's Headington website.)

The Second Pond

The second pond (shown left in a photo taken on 16 September 2006) is adjacent to the lowest area of the new ponds.

Before the creation of Milham Ford Park, the New Marston Wildlife Group used to maintain this second pond (see slideshow).

When there was sufficient water in the new ponds, the pondlife was transferred to them.

The second pond is now largely overgrown

Photo taken in 2011

The new ponds

The notes below were produced by Dr Curt Lamberth, Chairman of New Marston Wildlife Group and designer of the new wetland areas

The new ponds are designed for wildlife. Visitors to the park are asked not to move to or introduce anything into the ponds, including tadpoles, frogs, fish, plants, unwanted aquarium contents or ducks.

It is perfectly normal for concerns about safety to be raised for a while after such a project as this. Please remember that the ponds are very shallow (0.5 and 0.65m deep).

Ground works for the new nature Park started in October 2008 with heavy machinery scraping off the tarmac of the former school tennis courts.

A meandering stream was excavated, taking water from the pipe that runs underground from the top of the field and delivering it into the ponds where the tennis courts used to be. (See also History of Milham Ford Park)

The water comes from the roofs of Oxford Brookes’ School of Health Care, the Harberton Heights housing development and from land above the site, as well as spring water from the Beckley Sands of Headington Hill. This surface water is separate from the soil water that permeates into the Park from the eastern side. This soil water makes the grassland very muddy in winter, and takes 1 to 5 days to permeate through sandy layers within the upper two meters of clay after rain.

There are two distinct pond areas. Both are really shallow (0.5 and 0.65m deep) so don’t try to dive in, because you’ll hit the bottom!

Photos of the stream course are on a separate page.

The upper pond area has been designed to flood sideways to a depth of 12 cm during very heavy rain to trap some of the water for a few minutes and slow down its progress to the Cherwell.

That is why it has a very broad and flat bank area.

This pond will silt up over time and may need to be excavated.

Photograph taken 4 October 2009

At the edge of the upper pond area there shallow shelves, which will be beneficial, if the water level rises, as shallow water is better for wildlife than deep water. These shelves are good places to get out if you accidentally go paddling.

Logs both in and out of the water provide a habitat for insects and a place for them to alight on.

Photograph taken in August 2009

The upper pond area and the lower (larger) pond area are separated by a slotted weir, marked on the photos (left and above) by the red arrow, which will regulate water flow.
Under normal conditions the levels of the ponds will be equal. There will only be a difference after heavy rain.
Photograph taken in August 2009

The lower pond area, which extends beyond the bridge seen in the photo on the left, is very curvy, with a backwater, so that if a pollution incident occurs, part of the pond will not be badly contaminated.

The banks will degrade and vegetate over with time.

Photograph taken on 12 September 2009

The upper part of the lower pond area, looking towards Harberton Mead.

The red arrow indicates the weir between the upper and lower pond areas

Photograph taken in August 2009

The water level is controlled by an overflow chamber that takes water back into the original drain to leave the site.

There is a trap in this chamber to stop debris going into the drainage system. The trap will be emptied periodically.

Lower section of the lower pond area (adjacent to Marston Road)

A bridge over the pond connects the pathways

Photograph taken in August 2009

	The upper pond area has been designed to flood sideways to a depth of 12 cm during very heavy rain to trap some of the water for a few minutes and slow down its progress to the Cherwell. That is why it has a very broad and flat bank area. This pond will silt up over time and may need to be excavated. Photograph taken 4 October 2009
	At the edge of the upper pond area there shallow shelves, which will be beneficial, if the water level rises, as shallow water is better for wildlife than deep water. These shelves are good places to get out if you accidentally go paddling. Logs both in and out of the water provide a habitat for insects and a place for them to alight on. Photograph taken in August 2009
	The upper pond area and the lower (larger) pond area are separated by a slotted weir, marked on the photos (left and above) by the red arrow, which will regulate water flow. Under normal conditions the levels of the ponds will be equal. There will only be a difference after heavy rain. Photograph taken in August 2009
	The lower pond area, which extends beyond the bridge seen in the photo on the left, is very curvy, with a backwater, so that if a pollution incident occurs, part of the pond will not be badly contaminated. The banks will degrade and vegetate over with time. Photograph taken on 12 September 2009
	The upper part of the lower pond area, looking towards Harberton Mead. The red arrow indicates the weir between the upper and lower pond areas Photograph taken in August 2009
	The water level is controlled by an overflow chamber that takes water back into the original drain to leave the site. There is a trap in this chamber to stop debris going into the drainage system. The trap will be emptied periodically.
	Lower section of the lower pond area (adjacent to Marston Road) A bridge over the pond connects the pathways Photograph taken in August 2009