'Bomb Pond' - The Incredible (and unexpected!) Story of Restoring a South Downs Pond

Chloe Harrison
, 30 June 2023
'Bomb Pond' - The Incredible (and unexpected!) Story of Restoring a South Downs Pond
Dr Greg Valerio

By Chloe Harrison

Project Support Officer, Wilder Horsham District

Ever discovered an unexploded WW2 bomb? Nor had Dr. Greg Valerio of Great Barn Farm, Wiston, until he started restoring and digging a pond on his land!

Greg was one of our first-ever recipients of the Nature Recovery Award and recently completed his exciting project to restore a large pond on the South Downs. We caught up with him to learn more about the journey, and the rather unexpected surprise along the way...

Dr. Greg Valerio

The site of the former pond, full of overgrown vegetation and rubbish. Greg planned to restore the site, adding vital habitat to the South Downs where the drying of former ponds has very likely led to the decline of many species, including the increasingly rare Turtle Dove. 

What motivated you to recreate the pond?

Our vision for the farm is to create an ecologically biodiverse habitat, that is both good for food production but equally ensures that nature flourishes. The previous farmer had filled in the old pond and disconnected it from the chalk stream ditch. Having a sizeable water catchment - a pond - is a very important part of ecosystem restoration.

How long did it take to restore? What was the journey like?

Once we started it took only a week, to clear the overgrowth, open up the access, remove over 5 tonnes of rubbish and metal that had been dumped in it, excavate out with a 9-ton digger the contours of the original pond and edge with topsoil.

Dramatically we uncovered a WW2 bomb in the pond, so we had to call the Bomb Squad (Royal Navy) to come and safely blow it up! So we think we will call the pond Bomb Pond. All very dramatic.

Another encouraging part of our restoration work came in the discovery that the original pond had been clay lined, so we had a lot of quality clay to work with. An old man walking down Mouse Lane said that when he was a teenager in the early 60s at Steyning Grammar School they used the lane as their cross-country course. He was delighted to see the pond restored. He remembered it being twice as large as it is now.

The site for the large pond once it was cleared and ready for water (above), and after an initial fill with water (below) before the vegetation was introduced and settled in.

What are your plans for the future – will you be doing any more work around the pond, or the site as a whole?

The pond excavation is phase 1 of our work. Phase 2 is to plant up the margins, and the borders, replacing some of the scrubs we had to remove so as to restore an undergrowth for the birds.

In terms of wildlife, we will let the pond find its own level. We did find some common newts in the restoration phase, so we trust they will take up residence.

Phase 3 for us will be the restoration of the chalk stream as much as possible and the creation of secondary areas of water catchment behind the main buildings. Hopefully, we will work in partnership with Sussex Wildlife Trust again on the chalk stream restoration.



The pond as it is now - an incredible transformation.

Are you a landowner or a community group? Do you have a project that will help expand and improve networks for wildlife across Horsham District? Then we would love to receive your application for our Nature Recovery Award! For more information on how to apply for up to £5,000 of funding, please click here.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Virginia de Zoete:

    I am absolutely appalled at West Sussex District Councils new scheme for giving money to Landowners and householders for wildlife project. Since this scheme came to my notice I have discussed it with numerous people and they all agree with me.
    I am fully supportive of saving the planet but to offer landowners, who get so many grants from the government, extra money from a fund that is cutting back on so many social projects, I think is a disgrace and if this is the new look of the District Council I for one will be opposing these ideas. Perhaps we could have regular waste collection again and street cleaning. The rubbish by the roads is terrible and getting worse which is a problem for the wild life. Horsham has a real problem with homelessness and poverty and these are areas which need looking at.
    Virginia de Zoete

    04 Feb 2024 11:54:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782891128.34680 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782891128.37180.025Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782891128.3720.0001Server address: 216.73.217.103
1782891128.3720Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782891128.3720Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/bomb-pond-the-incredible-and-unexpected-story-of-restoring-a-south-downs-pond
    [s] => bomb-pond-the-incredible-and-unexpected-story-of-restoring-a-south-downs-pond
    [1] => bomb-pond-the-incredible-and-unexpected-story-of-restoring-a-south-downs-pond
)
1782891128.37240.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782891128.37350.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782891128.37560.0022 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782891128.37620.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782891128.37810.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22476472
1782891128.37860.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22476472
1782891128.37920.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-01 07:32:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-01 07:32:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782891128.38060.0014 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='bomb-pond-the-incredible-and-unexpected-story-of-restoring-a-south-downs-pond')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 07:32:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782891128.38320.0027 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782891128.38390.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3119 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 07:32:00'
1782891128.38480.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782891128.38540.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782891128.38610.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=222 LIMIT 1
1782891128.38670.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782891128.3870.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782891128.38790.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 07:32:00' AND postSlug='bomb-pond-the-incredible-and-unexpected-story-of-restoring-a-south-downs-pond'
1782891128.40840.0205Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782891128.40910.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782891128.4110.0019Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782891128.41130.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782891128.41220.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782891128.41330.0011 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782891128.4160.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782891128.41660.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782891128.41860.002Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782891128.41860 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782891128.41950.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782891128.420.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782891128.42250.0025 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782891128.42350.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782891128.42420.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782891128.42670.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782891128.42760.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782891128.42980.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782891128.43040.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782891128.43070.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='22' LIMIT 1
1782891128.43160.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782891128.4320.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='bomb-pond-the-incredible-and-unexpected-story-of-restoring-a-south-downs-pond')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-01 07:32:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782891128.43430.0023 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782891128.43490.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782891128.4380.0032Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782891128.43910.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3119 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782891128.49240.0533 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782891128.4930.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782891128.49320.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='22' LIMIT 1
1782891128.4940.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782891128.49490.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782891128.49570.0008 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782891128.49770.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782891128.49830.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782891128.50.0017 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782891128.50080.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782891128.50140.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782891128.50180.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782891128.50410.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782891128.50470.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782891128.50660.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782891128.50960.003 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782891128.51040.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782891128.51090.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782891128.51330.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782891128.51410.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782891128.51630.0022 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782891128.51870.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782891128.51960.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782891128.52010.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782891128.5220.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782891128.52250.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782891128.52430.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782891128.52540.0011Request time: 0.1818
1782891128.52540Process time: 0.1816
1782891128.52550Memory: 1.6539