A new wildlife habitat pond is currently under construction at the back right corner of the A Rocha hatchery and wildlife centre in Houston.
A Rocha Project Coordinator Cindy Verbeek told Houston Today the project was originally supposed to be just a renovation, but it evolved into an entirely new endeavor. “We had to renovate the previous pond because it was leaking, so we decided to create a whole new pond and use the old one as a sunken mint garden,” Verbeek said.
“Mint love wet soil and the old pond will hold enough water to keep the mint plants happy.” Four kinds of horticultural mint will be grown according to Verbeek; regular, spearmint, peppermint and chocolate mint.
As for the new pond, the entire backyard has been created to encourage wildlife like frogs, toads, salamanders, bees, butterflies and other insects to move into.
According to Verbeek, the new habitat seems to be working already. ‘We had water in the pond over the weekend of Aug. 7 and 8 just to make sure it wasn’t leaking, and when we came in on Monday there were already water beetles swimming around and dragonflies checking out the place. We are hoping it will be a relaxing place for the community to come and enjoy, and for wildlife to thrive.”
Verbeek also said that the cost for the project was minimal. “We were able to get the lining, fabric and a mini-excavator time was donated, we already had the pump and plumbing from the previous pond and all the labour was done by A Rocha staff and volunteers. We only had to buy a few supplies that came in around $50.”
A Rocha broke ground on the project o July. 27. They’re are nearing completion, and hope to have it up and running on Aug. 25.
The wildlife centre is located at W 5th St & Tweedie Ave in Houston.
