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A natural swimming pool is a magical
addition to a home where you can observe nature throughout the
seasons and be closer to the wildlife you share your land with.
Some of the creatures you will attract are insects like water
beetles and dragonflies; birds will visit the pond to bathe, feed
and collect nesting material and amphibians like the frog and newt
will take up residence.
Your pond will become a stepping stone for the wilderness where local
native flora and fauna will find your pool and flourish. A conventional sterile pool will typically cost
around £50,000 ($80,000) but a 180 m2
(2,000 ft2) organic
pool like the one above only cost David about £6,000 ($10,000) to
make. You can find out how he did this in his DIY manual which is
free to download from his website here:
Organic Pools DIY Manual. He has also produced a 90 minute
DVD that takes you through all the construction steps. David is currently building a natural pool with Ben Law at
Ben's woodland
roundwood cottage in Prickly Nut Wood.
There is a much simpler and cheaper way to create a pond but it
can take several years before it will permanently hold water.
Gleying is an old method that mimics the way ponds form in nature.
The goal is to produce an anaerobic layer in the soil underneath
the pond which prevents water from percolating through. Here are
some tips for
gleying a pond using pigs. |
