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1.5 Lost Ponds: Reinstating Ghost Pingos

A rare relict of the last Ice Age, pingos (a specialist form of pond) occur in significant numbers in the Brecks.

Delivery Lead Organisation: Norfolk Wildlife Trust

News

A pond excavation being overseen by volunteers and project staff
1.5 Ghost Pingo Excavation update – September 2023

In August 2023 four ghost pingos were excavated on two separate privately owned landholdings in the Brecks close to Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Thompson Common nature reserve. More

2023 Ghost pingos News Project 1.5
Project 1.5 Update – September 2021

On Monday 27th September, the first day of restoring ghost pingo ponds on Thompson Common began The work is being led by Norfolk Wildlife Trust on their newly acquired Watering Farm land, and is supported by Carl Sayer and colleagues from UCL, as well as local Geologist Tim Holt-Wilson, Archaeologist David Robinson and many other skilled […] More

Project 1.5
Photo of dog on Pingo ponds
Project 1.5 Update – July 2021

Photo credit: Matt Jones NWT Water levels are rather high on-site at the moment! If we were simply just digging random new ponds this would be less of an issue, but as we discussed yesterday, this is an experimental project looking to try and restore a pre-existing feature, where we are trying to excavate down […] More

Project 1.5

What is a Pingo Pond?

 

 

Norfolk Wildlife Trust: Ponds and Pingos

Walking routes - The Pingo Trail (Circular Walk)

Discover Pingo Ponds for yourself on the Pingo Trail, a fantastic 7 mile/11.2km circular walk. This is a great way to enjoy a diverse and ancient landscape in a fascinating and beautiful part of the Brecks.

Download the Pingo Trail-Stow Bedon circular walking route here:

Pingo Trail-Stow Bedon Trail route

The Brecks Pingo Search Area


Pingo-Search-Area-Breckland-BFER.pdf

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Excavation Report

Read the Norfolk Geodiversity Partnerships report on the excavations that have happened at Watering Farm.

Norfolk-Geodiversity-Partnership-reports-on-excavations-at-Watering-Farm-2022.pdf

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Overview

Aims/Objectives

The Lost Ponds: Reinstating Ghost Pingos project aims to map, understand and recreate the ghost pingos lost from the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers landscape area, enabling species expansion and movement across the countryside.

Learning from the project will be disseminated to landowners and others in the region to facilitate future pingo reinstatement.

Summary

A rare relict of the last Ice Age, pingos (a specialist form of pond) occur in significant numbers in the Brecks.

This project will aim to bring 14 lost ‘ghost’ pingos back to life; improve our understanding of pingos through citizen science; and disseminate best practice to ensure effective conservation of this unique resource; better understand the distribution of pingos within the Brecks; demonstrate how to re-instate ghost pingos and share learning related to pingos to a range of audiences.

If you’d like to get involved in this project contact us for more information or to be added to the project mailing list: bfer.admin@suffolk.gov.uk

Status

Volunteers

20 Volunteers Engaged

35%

Habitat Restoration

14 Pingo Ponds Reinstated

50%

Digital Mapping

100%
Project 1.5 Update – June 2021

June 2021 Identification began to look for sites of potential ghost pingos. The above images show the location of a potential ghost pingo which will begin excavation in August this year. Following exceptionally wet weather, these hollows are holding water, which is encouraging for the project going forward.
Project 1.5 Update – July 2021

July 2021 Water levels are rather high on-site at the moment! If we were simply just digging random new ponds this would be less of an issue, but as we discussed yesterday, this is an experimental project looking to try and restore a pre-existing feature, where we are trying to excavate down to a specific […]
Project 1.5 Update – September 2021

September 2021 On Monday 27th September, the first day of restoring ghost pingo ponds on Thompson Common began The work is being led by Norfolk Wildlife Trust on their newly acquired Watering Farm land, and is supported by Carl Sayer and colleagues from UCL, as well as local Geologist Tim Holt-Wilson, Archaeologist David Robinson and many […]
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