WITH the weather getting warmer it seems that spring has most definitely sprung. The signs are certainly obvious in Simmons Park, Okehampton, with new flowers blossoming and wildlife in abundance – if you know where to look.

The ornamental water gardens by Chalet Treloar in the park is crucial to two of the park's more shy inhabitants — the common newt and frogs. On first glance it may seem as though there are neither frogs nor newts in the pond but park keeper David Whitfield knows where to look.

David said: 'I get people saying that we don't have newts here, but we do; they just do a good job of hiding! We have a healthy population of common newts, though I've never seen a great crested newt. Our newts live in one of the tanks just off the pond, hidden away. Don't ask me why they like it in there but they do.'

With spring now here, a sight nature lovers expect to see in ponds across the country is frogspawn. With frogs needing a shallow pool with easy entrance, exit points to spawn and near to their homes, hidden on the hill behind Chalet Treloar, the ornamental pool in Simmons Park seems perfect for them.

Yet the levels of frogspawn and frogs in general is hugely down compared to two decades ago. A disease called the ranavirus, which also affects other amphibians such as newts, is thought to be responsible for the decline. It is believed the disease may have spread into Britain through the commercial importation of bullfrogs, goldfish and other animals.

'The ranavirus is similar in a way to myxomatosis in rabbits but it has absolutely devastated the number of frogs across the country,' said David. 'I have three ponds at home, and a few years ago I would not be exaggerating if I said we had around 1,000 frogs in our ponds. This year I've been lucky to see about 20.

'It is like any disease, as the frogs become resistant and the population starts to recover, the virus changes, you get another strain and it starts all over again.

'We do have frogspawn in our water gardens here in the park, but after a while it sinks to the bottom of the pond and turns a similar colour to the silt at the bottom. So it's harder to spot but it's there.'

The ornamental pool was an original feature of the park when it was laid out by Sydney Simmons in 1907. Taken from a natural spring near Klondyke Road, the water is fed to the ornamental pond by a piped supply to the cascading waterfall which helps keep the water oxygenated. During the lower rainfall summer months, water is recycled from the lower gardens to the top of the cascade by a recycling pump, which was installed in 2002. David was hired as park keeper that year when the park was brought back to its former glories through a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Before that huge project the water feature and other aspects of the park had been neglected and become overgrown.

'When I arrived the whole pond was completely overgrown, nearly six feet high. The fountains didn't work any more, and it took about twelve months to rebuild and replant.'

Only the royal ferns that surround the pond and the topiary conifers are original plants that were around the pond when the conservation work began in 2002.

The primulas, daffodils, crocuses and other plants near the pond, such as gunnera and bamboo, are among a huge variety of plants planted and looked after by the park team.

Each year hundreds of new bulbs are planted throughout the park to ensure a colourful spring display.

There is also ongoing maintenance undertaken by David and his team to ensure the water feature looks at its best all year round.

David continued:?'Each year we clean out the pond at around Christmas time and we remove around a tonne of silt which gradually washes down through the waterfall. Over time it settles and needs clearing out once a year normally.'

Another project currently ongoing for the park staff is tree cutting.

Around every three to four years we have a tree survey done, where we examine each of the trees in the park to make sure they are safe for a public space. At the moment it is more a case of taking branches off rather than lots of felling. We also have a big planting programme to replace any lost trees — it is all about making the park safe and enjoyable for the public.'