Regular visitors to Shanklin's Big Mead will have witnessed a startling transformation in the past couple of months.
The park's duck pond had been left in a sorry state, losing its primary source of water, with the lack of wildlife a damning indictment of its condition.
Worse still, the ongoing evaporation of water threatened to make it uninhabitable.
Since 2019 Shanklin Town Council have been working alongside the Isle of Wight Council to resolve issues with the pond.
To date, each council have put in around £5,000 for the removal of the silt, with the town council putting another £2,500 aside for remedial work.
Local residents Sharon and Brian Cooper subsequently contacted Councillor Adrian Whittaker for permission to play a part in remedying the issues this summer.
The couple created a Go Fund Me campaign, raising more than £2,000 to go towards finding the natural stream and returning the pond to its former glories.
Sharon explained:
"My husband and I got talking to Adrian and some local walkers, who said how sad it was that the pond had been left to get into such a sorry state.
"The three of us decided to see if we could find the natural stream that used to feed the pond as it had long since dried up."
Little did the trio realise the full scale of the mission, with 152 fish needing to be moved before they could begin cutting back all brambles, trees and shrubs alongside volunteers.
Grant Scarsella, Lee Jefferies and Sharon's son Robert soon joined the fray and located the pipe, which had been destroyed by the roots of a tree.
Sharon continued:
"Diggers were then needed to remove approximately 600 tonnes of silt — inside of which we found a range of unusual items!
"These included a samurai sword, a kitchen knife, a lovely 1940s bus stop and not one but two terrapins alive but buried in the silt."
Following weeks of tireless work, the heavens opened and helped to fill the pond.
Sharon, Bryan and Cllr Whittaker paid tribute to everyone who helped with the restoration, saying:
"We would like to give a massive thank you to all the helpers who came to support us.
"We'd also like to thank Seb Barclay for donating and making the duck houses, Dan from West Side Beach water activities for the loan of a kayak, to everyone that donated plants for the pond, Jewson in Sandown and everyone who contributed to our fundraiser.
"Finally, thank you to the locals for their support and patience while the work was done.
"It has been rewarding to help on this project and bring pond life back to the Mead.
"The future plan is for the six main people to keep the pond looking as it is now through regular maintenance."
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