4^th June 2006 saw the first day of the BBC linked Breathing Places campaign.  With events being held all over the UK, BTCV arranged for a public pond dipping day at the ponds created by restoration at Croft Quarry.

Arranged and advertised by Alison Albin of BTCV, it was also attended by Neil Talbot of English Nature who assisted greatly in species identification.  Fortunately, good weather prevailed and around fifty people turned up to inspect the pond dwellers.  The children thoroughly enjoyed sweeping through the water with their nets and studying the contents in white trays.  With damselflies and dragonflies floating round, both children and adults were avidly comparing larvae and insects to charts provided and discussing distinguishing features.

Under a nearby canopy, the children also had the opportunity to learn about conservation by colouring while adults were invited on a birdwatch walk around the permissive paths bordering the quarry.

It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our restoration works and reveal how quarrying is not the destructive industry everyone perceives it to be.  AI’s Landscape Supervisor, Phil Jackson spoke to a number of people about both the history of the area and how the development of the restoration will proceed.