A PROJECT has been launched to restore a nature reserve in Sholing.

Spanning around 20 acres, Miller’s Pond is one of Southampton’s largest and most diverse nature reserves.

Since 1988, Sholing Valleys Study Centre has been working as a registered charity to preserve Miller’s Pond and its surrounding areas, while educating the public about the environment and its wildlife.

Construction company director, Colin Oliphant, 69, has been volunteering at the pond restoration project in Sholing.

He said: “The pond is undergoing major reconstruction.

"We’re taking away lots of overhanging trees and willows.

"The main thing is desilting the bottom because silt forms from the overhanging willow, which builds up and causes the pond to die and fish to die.

“The agreement we have now is we’re cutting back the willow overhead, cutting back some of the bank back and reinforcing the banks and creating new fishing swims.

"We’ve got a floating crane coming in with a vacuum attached to it, so we’re going to be removing the silt from the bottom. We’re going to be creating a shallow end with a platform where children can dip nets in.”

More work is being done to protect the wildlife.

Colin said: “We’re creating an area for insect life and invertebrates, so the bats and the birds that fly around can feed on them. We’re going to excavate the pond and make it deeper, which is one of the issues because we need to remove all the fish and pond them elsewhere whilst we excavate.

“We have a lot of invasive species, so the pond will be restocked with native fish, such as carp, for the public to fish, as long as they’ve got a license of course. Then we’ll take over looking after and managing everything around it.

“We’re clearing trees to oxidate the pond, we’re improving all the banks, creating a new island within it, creating places for children to come and catch newts, new fishing swims. So there’s a lot of money being spent there by Southampton City Council and the Environment Agency.

“The more the public use the area, the more the people call it their area, the better it is for everyone.

"Not only are we keeping a place for nature, we’re helping the environment. This year we’re planting another one thousand trees.

"Everything we do is aimed at the environment and aimed at education. If you teach a child about flora and fauna, they grow up with that knowledge in their head and hopefully as time goes on they will consider and respect the environment for."