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Stenton Pond Phase 2 clearing polution from the pond.

Phase 2 began in 2023, when we invited John Ford, the current Fife Biodiversity manager, to give a talk about the condition of the Lochty Burn and Stenton Pond at our meeting. We began clearing the wetlands at the east end of the pond to create a clear channel between the outlet from the main pond and the Lochty Burn. We decided to work at the wetlands first, leaving an area under the bridge blocked until the channel to the burn was fully clear. The work in the water could not be done during nesting periods. 

This work took longer than expected, as we found that using garden rakes could not cope with the level of vegetation in the pond. We purchased a water rake designed for work clearing silt and vegetation in ponds; however, we found it was still difficult to use, even with two adult volunteers pulling this rake. Our solution was to bring in a generator and a winch and attach them to the water rake, and this let us start clearing the vegetation from the wetlands. Some of the vegetation removed from the pond was able to be used by the Fife Golf Trust, who created a new wetland and pond at the Glenrothes golf course. When we could not continue working in the wetlands, we concentrated on clearing the bank and woodlands surrounding the pond. During 2024, only around half of the channel through the wetlands had been cleared, and the remaining part of the wetlands was left to be cleared the following year.