What is the easiest way to convert my garden pond into a sand pit for my small child to play in rather than drown in?
I was thinking of just puncturing the membrane wait for the water to dissapear fill with soil or something cheap and drainable up till 10" deep, boards and then sand ?
//J
Can't you make up a frame & mesh to go over the pond? get the little-un in the swimming pool and teach him/her to swim.
Ours is just turning 5 in a few weeks and can now swim nearly a whole length. besides which, even if he fell in the pond he'd be able to stand up.
I was thinking of doing the same thing to our pond when we first moved in but I am very glad I didn't as a pond is so much more educational and interesting for a growing child than a bl'dy great big s*1t pit for every cat in the neighbourhood.
Only my opinion of course, and the fact that I spent many hours as a kid looking into the pond in our garden safely protected from harm by chicken wire and big sticks.
:¬)
I echo that too. We have two ponds in the garden and our children (now 18 and 19) grew up with them from birth, so to speak. Yes they can be dangerous but then so is the average kitchen, stairs etc. We spent time with our children and taught them about the pleasures of a pond, the wildlife and of course the dangers. Ironically we now have to cover the pond because of a not so friendly Heron. A child can drown in inches of water as you know; what people do not want is for that child to drown through ignorance of the dangers of water.
A sand pit is an ideal thing to have though and I am glad we installed one on the opposite side of the garden.
We had a sandpit for our kids when they were young but eventually gave up on it because every single bloody time we forgot to put the lid on when it was unattended (or if the kids lugged it off without us knowing) every cat in the neigbourhood made a bee-line for it. Of course, they kindly buried their offerings neatly below the surface, so they wouldn't be found until the kids started digging.
Didn't really like the kids playing in what was no more than a giant litter tray... :-( Don't know what the solution is unless you have a guaranteed cat-free garden - if the OP doesn't, then it's maybe a factor to consider before taking the plunge.
David
Thanks to everyone for their responses
I have considered the cat problem and also the benefit of having the pond in future, my argument for getting rid of it is that we invest very little if any time in maintaining the pond, it's just sort of there, having said that there is not necessarily anything wrong with that I guess, so I think what will happen is that I will frame it off with chicken wire and timber and perhaps eventually make a sandpit elsewhere, with regards to the cats, does that "scent off" gel that they sell in garden centres and pet supply stores actually work for instance?
//J
Sand pits are great for children. I would think that a converted pond would be ideal. they will need to be able to have water in the sand pit so I woul dmake several large holes in the membrane.
Robert
Would you not be plagued with returning frogs? I'd keep the pond and make it safe and have a lidded sandpit elsewhere.
A friend had a problem with cats and foxes in his garden (not at the same time) - he managed to get a "water gun" which swept over an area when a PIR detected movement. I don't know from where he bought it.
(I found a Heath Robinson version at
Frogs are fantastic.
Our pond (when I was a kid) was "un cared for" and far more interesting for the wild-life it attracted. And frogs eat slugs and other garden un-friendly creatures.
Every small pond is a living breathing nature reserve.
:¬)
Yes they are. We have a very unusual quite green one called Trevor (like green in a pistachio) who has been around for 4 years. He is brought indoors daily by one of the cats, runs around and hops outside
- no screams or anything.
We've been (unsuccessfully) trying to establish frogs in our pond for years.
The newts eat the spawn/tadpoles.
Easily fixed. Breed some in an aquarium and release them in the autumn.
I tried floating a plastic box in the pond, with some very fine mesh over it to allow water circulation, with the spawn in. Two interesting things happened;
- You could watch the newts patrolling round the box, waiting for dinner to be served.
- The tadpoles vanished.
Newts are certainly tenacious. It's surprising that they have become so scarce in many areas.
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