Ponds in Poitou Charentes from an article in Living Magazine.
Living in this part of France with water on demand at the turn of a tap, it’s easy to forget
that as little as 20 to 25 years ago there were many people in small hamlets
that only had the well to supply their needs. Pumped domestic water for many is
a relatively recent phenomenon in rural France . The further we go back, the more people depended on other
means to provide and store water for themselves and their livestock which
included different types of ponds, troughs and containers depending on the
purposes they would be required for. In turn, these often provided an important
habitat for a range of species, amphibians, reptiles, insects and plants.
Sadly, many have been lost for one reason or another or have been altered to
satisfy our desire for ornamentation.