Make me an island

Most of the time, anyone living in the country with a very wet field would try and reclaim the land, filling and draining it to make it arable.



But Michael and Helen McDonnell, who live on the outskirts of Kilcullen, went the other direction, by turning the soggy section into a pond and an island.

And in the process, they have turned that little patch of their property into a wildlife and wildflower haven that they didn't quite expect.

"I always wanted a pond," says Michael, who with Helen has transformed over the last nine years the green field site where they built their home, by planting hundreds of trees of many varieties.

"This particular part of the land was always impassable for machinery, but a couple of years ago we had a dry August and I was able to get a machine in to make a path through it. We'd previously found that the drainage problem was because a tree had been blocking a culvert, so I cleared that. Then we dug out the pond and built an island in the middle of it."

Michael and Helen transplanted dozens of small trees which they had 'thinned' from other planting around their home, and hoped that over the coming years they could turn it into something of interest.

"But we were very surprised this year when a profusion of wild flowers came up, without us doing anything," Helen says. "I think it was because we disturbed the earth, and all the dormant seeds came to life."

The pond has also become an attraction for the local wildlife, which already includes badgers, hares, and a heron on the Corbally link of the canal which adjoins their property.

"A pair of wild ducks have already raised their first family at the pond," Helen says.

Both have always been interested in growing things, and using working with nature to make their presence blend with the natural landscape. They grow their own organic vegetables and fruit, and a chicken run keeps them supplied with free range eggs.



When planning their home, they proposed a reed bed for dealing with waste instead of the more common septic tank. "The planners were sceptical at the time, but we put it in anyhow," Michael says. "Now the Council brings out people regularly to show it to them."

Brian Byrne.