There are few things weirder looking than the critters you’ll find during a pond dip! When I was working in outdoor education, it was one of my favourite activities for inspiring awe and wonder in kids of all ages. From alien-looking dragonfly nymphs to graceful pond skaters (or skippers to my US friends), there is so much to discover.
If you’re thinking of doing a pond dip as a parent or with your class, I’ve got lots of tips to share to help you get orgainsed, keep everyone safe and have an enjoyable time!
As always, before running any activity featured on the Wonder at the World website, please read our disclaimer here and do your own risk assessment based on your local district/county, or school guidelines.
Why is pond dipping a valuable outdoor learning activity?
There’s so much I love about pond dipping with children. Firstly, there’s a sense of discovery! Children will find and identify animals (usually invertebrates) that they may not have seen up close before. They’ll be using observation and identification skills, learning how to safely and respectfully explore habitats, and developing scientific knowledge in a hands-on way. Pond dipping can be linked to many areas of science learning, including adaptations, life cycles, feeding relationships, habitats/ecosystems, conservation, and more. Plus, it provides a wonderful opportunity to be outdoors in nature!
What do you need for pond dipping?
- Basic nets with a long, plastic handle (one per 2 children is fine)
- Shallow white trays (white works best as many pond creatures are dark in color).
- Identification sheets
- Magnifying glasses/clear plastic pots with magnifying lids
- Plastic spoons (useful for carefully lifting creatures out of the tray water and into a pot if needed).
- First aid kit
Check all equipment before starting for wear and tear, or damage that could make it dangerous to use.
Steps for running a pond dipping activity with children
- When you arrive at the pond, children should place the equipment behind where they’ll be standing and away from the pond’s edge to avoid tripping over it.
- Demonstrate a good pond dipping technique to children. When I worked in an outdoor learning centre, these were some of the key points we would cover:
- Children should stand a short distance back from the edge of the pond, with one foot in front of their body and the other slightly behind. This creates a bit of extra stability!
- A good dipping technique is to put the net down into the water and move it around in a figure-8. Children should avoid dredging the bottom of the pond where their nets can easily be filled with heavy mud.
- If you can, space the children out to avoid the nets hitting body parts! It’s a good idea to show children how to bring their net up safely and without swinging it!
- Once collected, carefully turn the net inside out into the tray to observe any animals collected. Children should check their nets to ensure nothing is trapped inside.
- Children should half fill their trays with pond water (or for younger students, an adult could do it for them). This will allow creatures to be taken directly from the pond and placed somewhere safe for observation. Tap water should never be used.
- Now it’s time to start dipping! Encourage children to spend time looking at what they see in their tray, asking questions like ‘how does it move?’ or ‘why does it look like that?’. Students may not know what the creatures they find are in the first instance, but they can make observations and note features such as the number of legs or antennae.
- Identify the pond life you find, either at the pondside or back in your classroom.
Live animals should be treated with care and respect. They should not be left in direct sun or kept outside of their habitat for extended periods of time.
How to identify what you find
There are several ways you can identify what you find:
- Pond life identification sheet (these are sometimes partially laminated for durability around water, if not, you could laminate yourself)
- Pond life identification books – most suitable for use in the classroom rather than at the pond side to keep them dry.
- Nature identification apps – use a photo ID app on a phone or tablet. These can be downloaded or may already be built into the photos app on your device. If you don’t want them dropped in the pond, these are best used in the classroom.
For UK educators, this PDF chart from Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is great: https://www.warwickshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-11/Pond%20ID%20Chart.pdf
This one from WWT is also good: https://www.wwt.org.uk/uploads/documents/1410609451_learnslselfguidedpondcreatureschecklist.pdf
After dipping
When your pond dipping is finished, all pond creatures should be returned and the trays of water emptied back into the pond (get children to do this by bending down and tipping from a corner, rather than dropping from height!! This helps avoid splashes on clothes).
Check all nets for any hitchhikers and remove any pond weed/plants that might have been caught in the holes.
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