stories - issue #5
The pond is a microcosm of a bigger ecosystem, reminding us that the water that constitutes us inextricably connects us to the whole of the natural world.
We rarely ask ourselves where our bodily waters come from, and where they go, perhaps because, if we dared, our comfortable categories for what is human and what is a body might crumble.
It was in the summer that I found myself visiting OmVed Gardens, in north London, UK. Positioned on a gently descending slope, the once-derelict tarmacked land has blossomed into a nourishing urban oasis - proving the theory that we can restore nature, and that nature, in turn, can restore us. One of OmVed’s latest developments was the addition of a large pond. Situated in the lowest part of the gardens, so that it can gather excess rainwater from OmVed’s greenhouse and the rest of the gardens, it quickly began to fill with the summer storms. It was the beginning of July and just as the UK was about to emerge from the first wave of the pandemic, the pond was also emerging from the ground with a promise of restoration.
Becoming pond
An act of creation: Being able to witness the making and emergence of the pond has been as magical as seeing a seed develop into a fruit-bearing plant.
The hole was excavated and a pump system, designed to keep the water levelled, oxygenated and circulating, was installed.
The outer skin of the pond, made of clay, was carefully layered and sculpted by a digger operated with the precision of an artisan’s hand.
To avoid water draining into the soil, the surface was then covered with a natural clay pond liner.
Once the pond was filled, a selection of plants that thrive in damp soil were planted in a green line around the edges. The freshwater helped them grow and they now provide a wet habitat for wildlife.
