Dock Saunders Pond Westminster Ponds ESA
London, Ontario, Canada
As a Kettle Pond this water is only filled to my knowledge with rain water and storm water drainage from the surrounding area. There are likely a few springs in this region as the area has been heavily influenced by glacial deposits. It does drain out into Tumbleson Pond which overflows into a marsh and then drains to Dingman Creek a tributary to the Thames River.
A great amount of pedestrian traffic visits the dock and the surrounding trails here, but the area is also influenced by significant transportation pressures due to the presence of Wellington, Commissioners and Southdale Roads. Two of London's busiest intersections lie within 500 m of this marsh. Considerable garbage is blown into and collected in the area, several camping sites set up by homeless people have been identified and removed over the last years with the accumulation of syringes and related drug paraphernalia.
As many people visit this dock from surrounding hospitals and passers through the information centre, great amounts of garbage accumulate here. It is heartbreaking actually! Limited garbage containers on site are often found overflowing. Much of this finds its way into the water.
Location created by
Jennifer Trampleasure H3-ELP Environmental Leaders Project TVDSB
- Group: Water Rangers and Freshwater Alliance : Lake Erie Guardians
- Site ID: Site 2
- Lat: 42.9484442
- Lng: -81.2257862
- Waterbody Type: Pond
- Timezone: America/Toronto
Latest photos
There is some garbage in the water and some plastic bags and cups in the bushes.
There continues to be a large amount of litter found in the water and under the dock at this site. Hopefully the HELP Env. Leader / Volunteers will be able to work with UTRCA and Antler River Rally to clean the mess up.
Avid birders on the dock this am mentioned seeing two green herons in the area and that they were watching the barn swallows being fed. I have not seen any of the green herons here, but I will keep my eyes open. Barn swallows love to build their nests under the dock. There was actually a real lack of wildlife this am. Rain started during testing here. Aside from the dragon flies and toad, I did not see other wildlife here. Perhaps the on coming hard rainfall had something to do with that.
In terms of water clarity - the water is covered here by lily pads and underneath many other varieties of flowering water plants. I can measure .75 m depth here and for the most part the water is clear, but full of plant life.
Lots of lily pad coverage. Litter in the water continues to be an issue at this site. Fishing lures can also be seen in the off shore bushes.
Several Barn Swallows were seen feeding in this area with a likely nest site under the dock.
A Heron was seen flying away.
Spotted an Oriole nest from a nearby tree.