Thank you, Dads!

Thank you, dads! And thank you grandads, uncles, father figures, in fact everyone inspiring a freshwater fever in future generations.

Many of the staff here at the Freshwater Habitats Trust can tell you how their dad created opportunities for them to explore and discover nature, and freshwater wildlife in particular:

Becca, our Communications Officer, recalls how her dad drew her into a world of freshwater by stopping to look over every bridge, damming and re-engineering streams on beaches, and turning an old Belfast sink into a mini pond. She has been talking about water and wildlife ever since, and is raising two more pond lovers the same way.

Jo, our Office Manager, was hard to find at her childhood home as she was often hidden in the bushes, hunting slow worms to show the grandfather-figure who lived across the road.  She remembers that her dad dug a pond in the garden of every house they lived in, and she spent many an hour quietly observing the life in those ponds. Something that still brings great happiness to her life.

Hannah, our People, Ponds & Water Officer in Wales, says her dad also dug a pond at every house she lived in, took her fishing for newts with a worm on a string in the village pond, and helped her pursue her interests in all pond wildlife, leading to a soul-nourishing career in freshwater conservation.

Thea, Administrator for our People Ponds and Water Project, remembers her dad encouraging walking up hills, into flower beds & forests, or along coastline to spot as many animals in the air and on the ground as possible. As a young child she spent hours in the garden discussing the houses and lives of the creatures she found in the soil and their small pond. With the large library of identification books and outdoor guides – accumulated since during her grandfather’s time in his own garden – Thea’s family never cared about the mud, dirty clothes or the odd trip and splash into larger ponds.

So we just want to say thank you, dads. Thank you, on behalf of our freshwater wildlife, future generations, and our happy hearts.