http://www.cwf-fcf.org/pages/nww2001/projects/project27_e.htm

Build a Dragonfly Pond

They're among the glimmering jewels of the bug world. They're also among the
most successful, having survived in much the same form for over 300 million
years. Long past the glory days when these insect glitterati had wingspans
like crows, they still dazzle us with their aerobatics. Able to hover
motionless, then suddenly dart in any direction in pursuit of insect prey,
dragonflies have been dubbed "mosquito hawks." Even more hawklike are their
spectacular, but little known, migrations. Species native to Canada, such as
common green darners and wandering gliders, engage in long-distance flights
that involve many thousands of individuals.
Despite their strengths, dragonflies cannot easily cope with the loss of
their habitats to our ever-encroaching developments. They spend most of
their lives underwater as nymphs. Without the wetlands and fast-flowing
streams in which they develop from eggs into adults, the insects we see
flashing over meadows and marshes would vanish. Their survival depends on
our efforts to conserve their habitats. We can also help by building ponds
with their particular needs in mind.
 Find a partially shaded, level site. Dig a hole at least 3 x 3 m
across with a gently sloping, terraced bottom ranging from 5 to 70 cm deep.
 Remove any stones or other sharp objects and cover the bottom with
a 5-cm-deep layer of sand, old carpets, or other padding material.
 Lay down a liner of 45-mil EPDM material or butyl rubber extending
30 cm over the border.
 Weigh down the edge of the liner with rocks and cover the entire
bottom with soil.
 Fill the pond with tap water. Let it stand for two days before
adding plants if your water is chlorinated.
 Select a variety of native plants that meet the needs of dragonfly
young. (Keep in mind that they start out as eggs attached to submergent and
emergent vegetation, then hatch into nymphs that also live among aquatic
plants.) Suitable submergent plants include water-weeds, eel-grasses,
pondweeds, and water celery. Reeds, sedges, rushes, cat-tails, arrow-heads,
blue flags, water-Iilies, marsh marigold, water plantain, swamp milkweed,
and water-milfoil are recommended emergent plants
 If you cannot find a local supplier of native pond plants, obtain
permission to transplant stock from sites with abundant vegetation.
 Use a shovel to remove common plants in small clumps with soil
surrounding their roots. Do not uproot entire bunches. Keep the plants damp
and relocate them immediately.
 Push roots about 5 cm below the surface, firmly packing soil around
them. They can also be planted in pots, then submerged at varying depths in
the pond to serve as egg-laying sites.
 Plant a lush perimeter of native grasses, meadowsweet, wild ginger,
Canada lily, and cardinal flower around your pond.
 Place several stakes, about 1 m high and 2 m apart, alongside the
pond as perches for resting dragonflies.
 Don't be too fastidious about cleaning. Freshen the water during
dry spells or if it turns stagnant.

350 Michael Cowpland Drive
Kanata, Ontario K2M 2W1
Tel.:1-800-563-WILD
(613) 599-9594 (Ottawa Area)
Fax:(613) 599-4428
E-mail: info@cwf-fcf.org
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