St Andrews Park Pond Renovation

Aim: We need to renovate the pond in St Andrews Park, saving its biodiversity at the same time as making it more accessible to all.

We are a small group of local residents who carry out regular volunteer maintenance work of the pond and the surrounding area, with the approval of FoSAP (Friends of St Andrews Park) and Bristol City Council. We need your help to fund the planned improvement works, so people of all ages can continue to enjoy the pond for years to come.

Many recent visitors to the pond have noticed that the water level is unusually low. We investigated and found that pond plant roots have grown through the old pond liner in several places, meaning it is no longer watertight. No matter how much we top it up, it drains away.

Also, many of the plants have thrived so well that they are turning it back into dry land, despite annual clearance sessions by dedicated volunteers in waders and armed with secateurs.

History and Biodiversity

The pond was first designed, dug and planted by Friends of St Andrews Park (FoSAP) volunteers over a sunny week back in 1993 and has since flourished, becoming home to all sorts of fascinating creatures including newts, frogs, toads, snails, dragonflies and damselflies. It also provides a source of food and water for hundreds of the park’s birds and squirrels and is even visited by foxes, mice and bats.

Last year’s National Gene Pool survey of St Andrews Park pond identified the DNA of more than 40 species living in or around the pond. 

Consultation and Plans

We have arranged a public consultation, both online and in person in the park, to gather suggestions for improvements to the pond. These will be incorporated into the final plans, where possible. To complete the survey, please go to: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LCAXGOCX5a2Vqp5OU3W0C4eIGs5mG8kiYnpovVwWHrM/edit

Plans for the revitalised pond and surrounding area include: 

• making the gate and path fully wheelchair and pushchair accessible
• a hibernaculum for our frogs, toads and newts
• a bug hotel for the many insects and arachnids who live at the pond
• carefully decanting the water and wildlife while the pond is de-silted, re-dug and re-lined, then returning them
• a proper weatherproof information panel inside the pond area
• bird and bat boxes
• seating
• more wildflowers for pollinators

We aim to reuse materials wherever possible - for example, re-purposing the worn-out wooden sleepers to make the bug hotel and hibernaculum.

Funding the project

We are applying to grant-making bodies for financial assistance and we aim to cover some of the project costs that way. But we need donations from individuals and families to really give the pond a restoration we can all enjoy for years to come.

Please make a donation if you can, we have no overheads so every penny donated will go to the pond.

Thank you!

The Park Pond Renovation Team

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 1st September 2025 at 12:00pm