John Sisk & Son has been installing new slip roads on the nearby M58 motorway, and so wanted to do something special for the local environment. The company has been incredibly generous: contributing an excavator and a dumper with fuel and operators for a week. This has been invaluable in helping us make Lunt Meadows an even more incredible refuge for wildlife.
John Sisk & Son helps create homes for wildlife at Lunt Meadows
The family-owned construction company is giving back to the environment by helping us create vital new wildlife habitat at Lunt Meadows in Merseyside.
A new pond in progress at Lunt Meadows with help from John Sisk & Son
As well as donating equipment for use on the reserve, John Sisk & Son has so far helped us add five new ponds and has enlarged a further two existing ponds. These are a superb addition to the site and are primarily for the benefit of the incredible range of dragonfly and damselfly species that call Lunt Meadows home. From black-tailed skimmers and broad-bodied chasers to large red damselflies and banded demoiselles, 13 species of dragonfly currently breed at Lunt Meadows and we’re hoping the new ponds will encourage even more.
Of course, more insects also means more food for hungry bats, while the new ponds will also help boost the number of aquatic invertebrates, amphibians and wetland plants at Lunt Meadows.
Lunt Meadows isn’t just a wonderfully wild place full of incredible wildlife – it’s also the perfect spot for we humans to relax, take a walk with loved ones and appreciate the magical natural world on our doorstep. With this in mind, we want to help people feel even closer to the wildlife at Lunt Meadows, and the new ponds created by John Sisk & Son are just the ticket.
The new ponds will also help boost the number of aquatic invertebrates, amphibians and wetland plants, and will benefit hungry bats
Great diving beetle by Jack Perks
Smooth newt by Margaret Holland
Marsh marigold by Richard Burkmar
Daubenton's bat by Dale Sutton/2020VISION
Banded demoiselle by Mark Hamblin/2020VISION
Broad-bodied chaser by Mark Robinson
Black-tailed skimmer by Scott Petrek
Many of the existing ponds are quite distant, making it hard to see lots of the dragonflies, but the new ponds are located along the main path which means it’ll be much easier for people to watch these winged wonders resting, feeding and breeding. Come spring, we’ll seed the ponds with flowering wetland edge plants and pop in some fencing. In time, as the ponds develop, we may even add a pond-dipping platform so families can discover the weird and wonderful world beneath the water.
John Sisk & Son’s incredible work doesn’t stop there, either. The company has also helped us with drainage, patching up the access track and capturing drone footage of Lunt Meadows to help us with survey work.
Two new pools created at Lunt Meadows with help from John Sisk & Son
“We have been working closely with Sefton Council since early 2017 to design and develop the M58 project,” said John Sisk & Son. “We are delighted that this has now started on-site. We are committed to delivering this project to a high standard and on time, and will be working with the local communities and stakeholders to ensure we contribute to social value and leave a positive legacy. It has been a pleasure working alongside Adam and his team at the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside at Lunt Meadows in producing dragonfly ponds for the Nature reserve.”
So far, John Sisk & Son has donated time, equipment and expertise in the region of £5,000 and our visitors, staff and volunteers couldn’t be more grateful. We can’t wait to see what new life the ponds bring to the reserve, and the delight this increase in wildlife brings to those who so love Lunt Meadows.