Every new New Naturalist is worth a look and this one is a hefty 614 pages of information, illustrations, photographs and graphs about smallish waterbodies, written by two acknowledged experts. It has to be said that the New Naturalists have regained their ability to produce well-illustrated books with clear colour photographs and fairly clear graphs which is what one should expect from a book that is still fairly expensive.
I enjoyed Chapter 3 the most, on the history of Britain’s ponds but Chapter 4, on how the biology of ponds differs from other freshwater bodies, was a close runner up. We also learn about the wealth of wildlife that inhabits these small wetlands and there is a convincing case made for pond creation being a valuable conservation measure in the wider countryside and in parks and gardens too. Issues of management and non-management are discussed.
The cover? That’s a very good cover and Robert Greenhalf has established himself as a worthy successor to the great Robert Gillmor. I’d give it 9/10.
Ponds, Pools and Puddles by Jeremy Biggs and Penny Williams is published by William Collins.
Buy direct from Blackwell’s – a proper bookshop (and I’ll get a little bit of money from them)
