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I've been building, not so much a garden pond, as a playground pond. And the first problem with playgrounds is that they are all-over tarmac. The obvious site for Ivydale Primary School's new pond was a sunny, but extremely bleak corner next

the situation every 10-20 years, inject with pesticide where necessary and replace timber when appropriate. There should be a fair few centuries of life and deathwatch yet in the place.

bucketBuilding a bug box for insectsBuilding a hedgehog houseMaking a bird boxInstalling a window bird feederMaking a bat boxBrowse a variety of plants that are attractive to wildlifeView a selection of spring flowering bulbs

pleasing than a plank of wood). The holes need to be at least 10 and preferably 20cm deep, with a diameter of 4-8mm. Mind you, if you live in Leicestershire, drill holes 15mm across and you might get the massive carpenter bee, Xylocopa violacea.

action to prevent it happening again. So I have:Winterkill can happen when ponds freeze over for a long period. Noxious gasses build up and literally suffocate any frogs which happen to be there. Frogs (usually males) often choose to spend the winter

.Wooden wine crate1.2m length of 15cm x 2cm untreated timber25mm galvanised nails1m length of hosepipeJig saw, drill and hammer25mm drill bitall year roundA couple of hoursStart by making the tunnel for the hedgehog house. Cut the timber into four 30cm lengths

periodically.Find out more about stag beetle conservation.Attracting insects and wildlife to your gardenFlowers to attract bees and other insects.Wildlife-friendly plantsBuilding a bug box for insectsMaking a bee hotelBrowse a variety of plants

and they then point it out to some of their friends. They gain a modicum of kudos from knowing a 'hawk' when they see one.Then it drifts away over the buildings and is gone. Well I never. I know it's a common bird, but I usually associate it with roadsides rather than

some previous owner has thoughtfully laid a path or hidden some building debris. If I get through the crushed brick, a further 10 cm down I meet solid London clay. With a frozen crust, I thought I'd have a task before me.The ground was not as hard as I

spiders of hollow tree trunks, logs, root cavities, rock piles, caves and other small sheltered voids. Here they build a silken funnel that expands out into a tatty hammock, a bit like a threadbare handkerchief. The spider sits patiently in the funnel