Biodiversity Garden: Bridge & Pond 

The little wooden bridge in the garden spans an equally little pond. A lake it is not, but these little areas of standing water are crucial for insects like damselflies, dragonflies and hoverflies, part of whose life cycles depend on wetland areas, and they also provide a source of drinking water for larger wildlife. Little wetlands like these, no matter how small, can also be an important spawning ground for amphibians, who spend a lot of their life on land but must return to the water to reproduce. You have more than likely seen frogs and tadpoles around, but did you know we have two others? The natterjack toad, an internationally endangered species, can only be found in southwest Kerry, and the smooth newt, also known as the common newt, which is widespread throughout the country.