Every year our Rangers drain the large pond at Stryt Las Park in Johnstown.
They do this to give the lake bed a good clean and remove the fish which are netted by Natural Resources Wales and relocated to another pond or a lake that needs stocking. The fish are removed to prevent them from eating the rare and protected Great Crested Newts that live on the site.
Litter in the lake is unsightly and often dangerous to the many birds that live on the lake at Stryt Las. Traffic signs, bikes, thousands of cans and bottles and the ever present shopping trolleys have all been removed from the mud in previous years.
Whilst the pond is cleared the ducks and swans that live on the lake at Stryt Las are free to fly to other ponds, as they often do, returning at a later date.
Once the fish have been caught and the rubbish cleared, the lake will be allowed to refill naturally, over the coming weeks.
The ranger has asked that visitors to the park do not feed the ducks. Feeding the ducks and swans encourages the birds to be less fearful of people, which makes them more vulnerable, especially to dogs, a particular problem while the lake is drained.
Feeding the ducks also encourages rats!
