Sunrise Trail - Viewpoint S4 Canterbury Environmental Education Centre

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	The Eastern Pond You are now standing behind one of the artificial hills (or bunds) surrounding the substation. At the bottom of the slope is a small pond surrounded by reed beds. This has a very different set of animals to the main lakes. Greater crested newts live here and water voles can also be seen swimming along the banks. The reeds also make good breeding areas for reed warbler, sedge warbler, reed bunting and moorhen.
Time traveller This area was bought by the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1959 to build this substation for Canterbury. Before building could start the area had to be levelled, so lots of material was brought back to fill in some of the lakes. The substation was sunk slightly into the ground and then the hills and ridges were built to act as a screen. What is a Bund? A bund is a hill made by humans. On the reserve these make important habitats for plants and animals. You are standing near to Butterfly Bank which is a sunny south-facing slope. This bank is mown twice a year to stop scrub like hawthorn taking over. The plants found on Butterfly Bank include wild carrot, willow herb, ox-eye daisy and several types of vetches. During the summer the vetches can be heard cracking and popping when they are dispersing their seeds. The bank also supports a type of willow (Salix viminalis) which is very flexible and used for weaving shelters and baskets by visiting groups. These plants attract different types of butterfly and other winged insects. Back EIS: August 1998