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Newsham Pond benefits from local teacher’s legacy

A new platform has been installed at a Northumberland nature reserve thanks to a generous legacy from a former Bedlington school teacher.
Chloe Cook Newsham - Peter Ernst

Chloe Cook, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Estates Officer constructing the new dipping platform at Newsham Pond reserve. Image by Peter Ernst.

Dr James (Jim) Parrack from Seaton Sluice passed away in March 2020 leaving £33,000 to Northumberland Wildlife Trust with instructions that the money was to be spent on improvements to the wildlife charity’s reserves.

A percentage of the legacy has already been spent on renovating the weather beaten and vandalised bird viewing hide on the Trust’s Holywell Pond reserve and now it’s the turn of its Newsham Pond reserve on the edge of Blyth to benefit from the nature lovers generosity.

Last week, Northumberland Wildlife Trust estates officers battled against the elements to clear the pond on the reserve, dismantle the old viewing platform and construct a new pond dipping platform for children to use. No mean feat given the wind and rain.

The work had been scheduled for the autumn but was brought forward to last week because of severe vandal damage to the existing one.

Situated next to the railway line, the pond on the reserve was originally dug alongside it to provide water for the steam trains travelling up and down.

Newsham Pond - Steven Morris

Newsham Pond. Image by: Steven Morris.

From 1976 onwards the pond was infilled with bricks and rubble before being handed over to the wildlife charity on 1986. Such infilling made the job for the two officers so much harder than expected with bags of slates, rubble, bricks and garden rubbish having to be removed before any new work could be carried out.

The reserve is popular with the local community and home to ducks, swans and small mammals including water voles.  The new pond dipping platform will now ensure that members of the public will have somewhere to stand whilst they find out more about what lies beneath the water.

Born at Alston, Jim Parrack spent his first 18 years in the South Tyne Valley where he developed a lifelong interest in natural history. Following his degree and PHD at Kings College, University of Durham Department of Chemistry, he spent several years in industry before teaching chemistry at Bedlington Grammar School.

Chloe Cook, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Estates Assistant says:

“It was pretty hard going as the pond was full of rubble from its days supporting the railway line which, coupled with the wind and rain meant it took longer than usual to complete.

“Dr Parrack’s legacy support is so amazing as it has enabled us to improve our very popular Newsham Pond for members of the local community and visitors, needless to say his legacy is living on and is will be appreciated by future generations of nature lovers.”

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