Natural Swimming Ponds: Beauty, Recreation, and Habitat with No Chemicals

Focus on Sustainability Webinar Series – Season 3 – ELA Members FREE

A low gurgle emerges from beneath the Mentha aquatica as clear water begins to make its way from the bog downstream between smooth boulders and over gravel. Liquid fingers catch the sun’s rays, bending them and throwing them in every direction. The blooms of iris, hemerocallis, and lobelia bob in the gentle breeze over the bog, where the water collects. The stream rushes over a broken slab of granite in a shimmering sheet adding its high-pitched notes to the chorus of gurgles above as it drops into the pond. Alighting on the edge, a female robin takes a drink, startling a small frog sunning on a warm boulder, while further along sparrows take turns flitting from a Dappled Willow to bathe. The splash of a Frisbee is followed by another splash as a dog wades into the water and momentarily disrupts the serene calm.

This entire sensory scene takes place at a natural swimming pond designed and constructed by Trevor Smith in Massachusetts. It is the embodiment of residential ecology combining habitat creation and rain harvesting, along with human interaction. It is 100% chemical free, low maintenance, and provides year round interest unlike a regular swimming pool. And although a swimming pond costs more than a rubber lined pool, it costs less than a gunite pool of equal size and comes with a tremendous number of additional benefits.

In this webinar, Trevor Smith will explain design considerations, mechanical and bio-filtration options, water flow and circulation, rainwater capture for recharge, construction methods, and will Trevor will also discuss how to sell this new concept to your clients.

Trevor Smith is the owner of Land Escapes, a full service ecological landscaping company in the Boston area that specializes in Garden Design, Eco-Rain Recovery, Water Features, and Living Wall Installations. Trevor is also the President of the Ecological Landscape Alliance. You can reach Trevor through his website: www.everydaygetaway.com.