Pond and Stream Restoration
After dipping, digging, packing, then lining the pond with lime, it filled up from the underground spring and rain. A green heron fishes at the edge. Dozens of frogs lay their eggs to hatch into tadpoles which the blue heron dives in to enjoy. Whirligig beetles skim in circles, their eyes half above half below the surface of the water. Bats swoop from the elms and wheel above the pond at sunset. A buck and doe water themselves. After sundown, owls claim their hunting ground.
That’s how our Sanctuary is made: we offer shelter and provisions; our wild ones find their way home.
Fitz Pond
Tom FitzGerald
When AT&T illegally cut down more than 50 trees on my property, when they were preparing to bulldoze my front gate, I climbed up on the bulldozer to stop them. I knew that calling the police would be futile. When AT&T’s representatives tried to bully me into signing a paper, I refused. My parents taught me that it is both futile and dangerous to placate a bully. I could find no one to represent me to help persuade AT&T to restore the damage. AT&T would not answer my calls. No attorney would help me. No one except Tom FitzGerald. Once Fitz agreed to assist me, a representative from AT&T arrived at my farm the next morning to meet with Fitz and me.
With the modest funds I eventually received, I was able to restore my pond and to move my driveway from the blind curve to a safer entrance. Fitz has worked fearlessly and courageously for decades to protect the natural resources of Kentucky. He is a recipient of the world-renowned Heinz Award for his work in the protecting the environment. I have named the pond Fitz Pond honor of the Fitzpatrick family, which built the homestead, and Tom FitzGerald, whose efforts are directly responsible for its transformation.
Aerial map of the farm.
To send a check, email wildlife@cdcollins.com for address.