John Rudge hits local news with Corfe Ave pond efforts
Environment, John Rudge, Warndon Parish North, WLD, Worcester City Council
6 October 2025
Cllr John Rudge caught in action
Cllr John Rudge has featured in the local news, highlighting his and other volunteers efforts to stop the pond at Corfe Avenue from becoming an overgrown and stagnant swamp.
Cllr Rudge and a neighbour have made it their mission to help the pond in Warndon Villages retain its importance as a habitat for a wide range of wildlife. One of the main jobs for the hard working team has been digging out the bullrushes before the pond is ‘suffocated’ so wildlife can continue to thrive there.
Cllr Rudge, a city councillor for St Nicholas ward, told Worcester News: “The pond is the driest I’ve seen it in years, since we moved here in 1996. If we had left it, it would just have turned into a swamp.
“Now we just need some rain so the pond can fill up. It has not been this dry in the last 30 years. It’s an important watering hole. There will be so much more open water there now (following the removal of the bull rushes) – the ducks will come back.
“With the water levels so low over the summer, we could get in quite far to clean the pond out. Hopefully, when water levels rise, it will be a great habitat for the ducks to enjoy as well as all the birds that come to drink there.”
As part of the work, the team made five piles of bullrushes removing an estimated 200 or so. The job took around 40 hours over the last few months.
Cllr Rudge also pointed out that the pond supports a wide range of wildlife from herons and ducks to frogs, newts, dragonflies and songbirds. The removed bullrushes were left for a while, allowing any animals sheltering in amongst them to reach safety and so help to conserve the wildlife.
The bullrushes removed by John and the other volunteers
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