Shaun Hancox, hailed as the ‘Picasso of ponds,’ is transforming a boggy field in Somerset into a thriving freshwater haven. Currently resembling a construction site with an orange excavator sculpting clay soil, the scene will soon teem with life once rain fills the depressions. Plants, invertebrates, and amphibians rapidly colonize these new ponds, creating explosive biodiversity.
Britain’s Pond Crisis
According to the Freshwater Habitats Trust, Britain has lost at least 400,000 ponds over the past century. Many of the remaining half-million are overgrown, degraded, or polluted by nutrients. “Everyone realizes we’re in a sorry state with freshwater, and it needs to be addressed,” says Hancox, owner of Creative Wetlands, who has dug scores of ponds for charities and rewilding projects nationwide.
From Golf Courses to Wildlife Sanctuaries
Hancox honed his skills shaping golf courses and landfill sites for his family’s groundworks company. “My original job was a shaper on golf courses. We traveled all over, building bunkers and drainage – everything not good for wildlife. Now I want to give back,” he explains. Building golf courses taught him to read landscapes: “A golf ball rolls like water moves. When creating a wildlife pond, you shape it to hold water effectively, much like designing a fairway to shed water into drainage systems.”
Creating Ponds for Great-Crested Newts
At Heal Somerset, a 185-hectare former dairy farm being rewilded by the charity Heal Rewilding, Hancox is digging four new ponds, including a 30-metre-diameter double-bowled pond. These ponds target great-crested newts, which lack suitable breeding sites on the farm. Within a year, the ponds fill with damselflies, dragonflies, and provide food and shelter for birds like moorhens and house martins.
The ponds are isolated from river systems to avoid nutrient pollution, relying solely on clean rainwater or groundwater. This allows delicate aquatic plants to thrive. Pete Case of the Newt Conservation Partnership praises Hancox: “You can fiddle with rivers all you like, but pond creation is the simplest, cheapest way to bring clean water back. But it takes thought about placement.”
Ensuring Long-Term Success
The Newt Conservation Partnership, funded by housebuilders via the NatureSpace partnership, ensures new ponds are maintained for 25 years. Landowners receive annual payments to manage the habitat. Case emphasizes that newts spend two-thirds of their life on land, so surrounding habitat quality is critical. “If you don’t get that right, they won’t do well.”
The Art of Pond Building
Hancox creates “a pond within a pond within a pond, like a Russian doll.” This design ensures a large pond in winter with shallow ephemeral areas, but as water dries in summer, aquatic life can retreat to the deepest part. Heavy clay soils, ‘tread in’ with the excavator, form an impermeable seal to retain water year-round.
He uses a laser level for precise pond edges but also relies on dowsing rods to locate old field drains. “I swear by them,” Hancox says. He breaks and blocks these drains to prevent the new pond from losing water.
Speeding Up Nature’s Return
Jan Stannard, CEO of Heal Rewilding, notes that while wild pigs and beavers create ephemeral ponds, Hancox’s work accelerates the return of life-giving water. “It’s the massive equivalent of a pig rootle,” she says. Ponds inspire volunteers: “Wetlands and ponds seem to be a gateway for people into habitat restoration.”
Hancox reflects: “I’ve worked on golf courses, landfill sites—you name it. Now, looking at my work, I know something will benefit. It’s so satisfying seeing dragonflies, toads, snipe come in so quickly. You couldn’t have a better job.”
