A once overgrown and dried-up pond outside Unit 330 has been brought back to life in a restoration project led by the Park in partnership with the community interest company Greener Growth.

The initiative forms part of the Park’s wider commitment to enhancing biodiversity and creating healthier, greener workspaces.

During the restoration, Greener Growth Founder and Director Jo Metcalfe highlighted the cultural and ecological importance of reviving ponds, something made more poignant by the region’s history.

“In the 1950s, after the war, the Government actually paid farmers to fill in ponds to increase food production. We weren’t aware of biodiversity then, and around  75% of ponds in East Anglia were lost. It was catastrophic for wildlife, especially amphibians”.

This project helps reverse that legacy. Instead of filling in the area, the Cambridge Science Park chose to reinstate the pond with a new liner, sustainable planting, and a carefully selected mix of aquatic species. The restored pond now features miniature bulrushes, purple loosestrife, water lilies, irises, and oxygenating plants such as elodea densa.

Metcalfe explains that the pond is already showing promise as an amphibian haven:

“This little pond is a perfect opportunity, almost like a hatchery. Fish in the other lakes and ponds on the Park would eat amphibian eggs, but here they’ll thrive”.

During the restoration, the team also discovered several dehydrated newts, all of which now have a far healthier, safer habitat in the rejuvenated pond.

In keeping with Cambridge Science Park and Greener Growth’s ethos, nothing removed from the pond went to waste. All plants taken out during the restoration were saved, reused, or replanted elsewhere. Large bulrushes were relocated to a bigger pond, better suited to support them.

Around the pond’s edge, species-rich wildflower turf has been laid, featuring over 30 varieties of meadow plants from cowslip to ragged robin.

Jane Hutchins, Director of the Cambridge Science Park adds: “That small patch of wildflowers will be stunning in spring with dragonflies, mayflies, pollinators… all of it will come back”.

The project also included a staff wellbeing session with employs from Endomag, where Greener Growth taught them how to create mini wildlife ponds, bringing hands-on conservation to the workplace.