#102 

Here the first video when we discovered this water 2 years ago. Big difference! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bN0ltucfelg.html

Much better! I have a few suggestions that might help the water stay clearer. Slightly terrace the sides and plant native grass seeds to slow erosion. That’s a cheap and easy solution. Also, the Mimosa trees on the banks should be cut in half so they don’t get too tall and fall over into your pond. The last suggestion is to plant native trees on the freshly cleared area so that the pond will be shaded in the Summer. This will help slow evaporation and prevent the growth of that nasty green algae.

Make sure you add riverrocks to the overflow or it might erode away the entire area.

I think it might be a good idea to spread some hay or grass over that bare dirt where you spread seeds to prevent birds from stealing all the seed and giving some biomass to break down and feed the grass, as that recently disturbed dirt looks very dry and lacking a ton of nutrients. That area would probably serve as a GREAT location for a fruit tree orchard, the trees could root the soil and if you turned it into a food forest with multiple layers of food - ground (squash, zucchini, tubers etc), mid range (berry bushes, peppers, tomatoes etc), taller plants (sunflower, corn, wheat), bean vines that grow on them etc, you could produce a LOT of food, close to your main area and a water source for it all. I think that's a great use of that space ^.^

A suggestion, friends: it is necessary to eliminate or reduce the amount of mimosas in this area, because in addition to the permanent risk of fires, these trees are sucking all the moisture from the soil, which ends up harming the springs that exist on the land. I recommend replacing it with seedlings of trees native to the region. Big hug!

This story around the waterpump, the knife was so funny! Good storytelling, Dave!

If you keep the trees on the edges make sure to frequently remove the leaves to prevent deoxygenation of the water

Dave your most genius idea in my opinion about this project was the "most well equipped workshop" you shipped here before starting to live here.

Best bet would be to get some aquatic plants to help keep the pond clean. I would also suggest like others to cut the mimosas on the bank to half stopping them from growing but keeping the roots in place for structural support. Looks great! Don't forget to water those seeds! Great work again as per usual guys!

The dirt from the pond should be quite fertail for planting. If you plan a garden, I would use such resources.

Might be an idea to add a bubbler pump in the summer to keep the pond aerated, you could run it from a smaller solar panel? Also you could add some native water plants, marginals to help consolidate the edges and water lilies, reeds etc.

Why wait for Winter rain, that my not come. Your water source is right there. A small electric sump pump, some hose, & an electrical source; and you can water that newly planted, bare soil everyday. Giving Mother Nature a helping hand. Good Luck. Peace ✌

Definitely put some kind of mulch down on the slope! Otherwise you will get washouts on the first heavy rain. The seeds wont grow fast enough. Best to put down mulch and then water it so the seeds can germinate already. That way by the time the rain comes there are already some roots in the ground and the mulch protects the surface against erosion and the seedlings against being washed away.

To find out where the pipes go you could fill a barrel with water and add a brightly coloured dye. Pump the water into the pipes and keep looking closely where the dye comes out.

finally some landscaping

you need to protect the overflow from erosion. it is good that you have a specific over location, but it focuses all the water through that point, meaning it will have focused erosion as well. lining the edges with bricks, rocks, or some lining like the shower would be good. also create a splash area at the bottom, so the falling water does not hit dry soil, that will cause more erosion at the base of the hill and could cause a lot more damage.

20:07 pump air through it with a smoke signal canister attached, so you can find the exit more easily

It would be great to see a map of all the waterways including the neighbor's waterfall and the ditch that you had previously cleaned (and this lagoon). I wish the waters would join together to form a fire barrier, like a ring or moat

I saw another channel that used a pump to introduce oxygen into the pond to help keep clear. They used a small solar setup to generate the power for it. A very nice solution with a small footprint.

Suggestions: Short term put in a wattle wall on the steep side, long term would be stone or brick or even blocks of recycled plastic. The overflow at the least should be lined with anything from wood to stone then upgraded to a lined spillway once you determine your best overflow level. Straw, hay, or even mimosa leaves over the grass you are trying to get rooted plus water it from the until it is well established. Reeds or other native aquatic plants to improve water quality could be added then fish to prevent mosquitos. Bamboo would end up another invasive species unless strictly controlled. Fruit trees and or native hardwood trees would do well once established. If you can determine the flow rate of the spring, especially in the driest part of summer, you might be able to create a native wetland down hill from the pond but you would probably need to put a layer of clay on the bottom of the pond to slow water seepage and shade trees to reduce evaporation and keep the water cooler in summer.

I've had an idea about how you can secure that steep pond bank. You will need: a bunch of hessin sacks. You can usually get them for free at places that roast coffee beans. as much moss as you can find, maybe growing around the water fall or the wells. Any sort, even a mix of sorts should do. Some small wooden stakes. Split fire wood will do the job. If you are going to use Mimossa branches make sure you take the bark off so they won't sprout. Do this just before winter. Wash the sacks to remove any chemicals or coffee residue. Cut them along the sides so you have long strips. Now spray the bank with water, maybe a fine spray several times over a few days so that it's damp, but not running with water. Break the moss up in a large tub of water then dip the wet sacks into it so they get infused with tiny particles of moss. Maybe sprinkle the wet sacks with some of your seed mix too. Hang the sacks on the bank, preferably with the lower end touching the water. Secure them in place with the stakes and let nature do it's thing. Hopefully it will be wet enough over winter to let the moss grow and the seeds spout. The sacks should stop any soil washing off the bank into the pond. They will gradually rot away hopefully leaving moss and plants securing the soil and you'll have a nice green bank that won't erode away.

The name of your "scissors" is really secateurs & they are a gardening tool for pruning fruit trees & shrubs. Great video by the way Dave.

Looking Good! One suggestion would be to line the overflow at least temporarily so that it doesn't erode when it flows - it will cut that bank very quickly if there is any amount of water flowing.

Nice to see so much of Dave this video 💚

After the winter, and the water is low terrace and regrade the camp side. Promote native trees and grass. To reduce soil erosion, slow water flow and to provide shade and respite areas. Make access large enough not only for a local pump but also for a fire truck. On the opposite side of the bank continue to cut, clear and terrace. Replant with native trees. Use cut and dead wood for terraces, steps, water flow control features. In fall, start to rebuild the banks starting from the low side, going to the high sides. Either use cut or dead wood as piles. Get appropriate stumps from the mill or land. Lay mesh baskets filled with stone along the bottom of the base/lagoon of the steeper side. Starting at the spillway and going to the spring or top side. Depending on resources, do a layer each year. Until the upper grade is met. If larger rocks are cheaper and readily available, stack on the camp side bank. Use cement or limecrete to anchor in place. Observe the 2 pond hoses to determine if one is entry and the other is exit or both are exits. Create a shallow peppled wading area alongside the pond with aquatic plants to filter. Grade it so water will slowly flow from the high side to the low side or spillway. Natural circulation will filter the water. In time add one or two bridges to span each bank. Rather than one even deep pool or pond, I would create a stepped series of varying sized ponds at different elevations. Sort of a cascading waterfall effect, adding oxygen to each level. Also the babbling creek creates noise, filters water, slows the water flow. Use mixed available materials for the terraced ponds. Rocks, fallen trees, large stones. Again starting from the shallower spill way side and gradually building to the upper spring level. Annually each year, continuè to clear and reuse cut wood and fallen debris to rejuvenate the pond area. A potential hospice for the frogs, salamanders, birds, other native plant and animal life.

That’s definitely a pond you are digging, but I love the lake-energy optimism.

Maybe if you try to pressurize the pipes, you can follow the air bubbles.

Suggestion on the overflow... The gutter when in use is likely to collapse when the flow gets too great, a better overflow solution is a spillway, which is less susceptible to water erosion

It's so cool, that you could get the lost and found clippers to work again!

Huge upgrade for the Kamp! The lagoon is so far, and the well is busy supplying the residents. Great to have this vital water source, I'm sure the local wildlife will also appreciate being able to access it too.

You could water in those seeds, give them a head start on winter. By the time the rains come you could already have some ground cover. You guys do amazing work. It is good to hear someone say they will observe to see how the work changes things before moving forward.

If you plant Bamboo directly to the well it will raise the watertable & clean the water. If you would pollard the Mimosas they would develop deeper roots & thus collect more soil from eroding down in the pond; additionally pollarding would retain more carbon in the soil, preventing erosion even more. Pollarding is easier than coppicing, just don‘t pollard too high. I love your approach. Plant more water, then everything will be easier ;)

Put a pipe, 150mm diameter, in your overflow and bury it. Otherwise your dam wall will erode as water passes through the overflow trench. A best practice is to establish a spillway. This protects the dam wall. A spillway is grassed shallow sloping path, wide 2 to 4 meters. It can be higher than the overflow pipe so that when the pipe is overwhelmed, when there is very heavy rain events, water does not over top the main dam wall and erode it. Hope this helps

That was great to watch, ty. Make sure that animals can climp up if they fall into the water - humans too :)

Always a treat to see the general team working. Really looking forward to how this site will look like in a year or so.

Antonio is such a legend! He has everything!

1 suggestion. Use the cut trees and make a bridge in the middle - its nice and relaxing to sit there during summer OR just make something like a que terrace on the side (like the Yogaones you already made).

Hi all! To make the back wall stay in shape you could use mimosa trees to build a retaining wall. If you sharpen one side and ram it into the ground at the edge and do that with a lot of them you will have a pilling that can hold back the soil. However, this is a lot of work and it is not sure how well mimosa wood can withstand rotting. You could also use old sheet metal from the junkyard and try to recreate the sheet pilling you can see in many harbors. If all that is too much work I would at least start planting native trees as soon as possible at this edge so that eventually the can hold up the wall with their roots instead of the mimosas.

To clear the water, and more so keep it clean you can use a pond aerator, they work really well

Pipes are inspected either with handpushed endoscope cameras or robots with inspection cameras. Any septic tank cleaners either does it or know how does pipe or drain inspection. Another is pipe finding/tracing services where they have a radio emitter that is pushed through the pipe and followed on the surface. Might be diy'able, but it's a specialized skill

you should put a drainage pipe through the overflow and cement it into place to keep from eroding your dam away in high rains.

Congrats to yet another great project!! Maybe i can suggest one or two things: in gardening (i'm a swiss gardener) we usualy stamp or roll over freshly sown meadows - for the wind or birds don't steel the seeds, even just wettening helps keep them in the ground; maybe some fruittrees at the banks would be nice, for they give shade and fruits; i would cut the mimosa on the upper side to about hip-hight (lessens the weight; the soil-protective rootsystem stays in the ground and maybe it grows back (don't know mimosa to well); for the spillway: maybe some bigger stones on the ground could protect it from being cut by the overflowwater (if that becomes an issue); i'm wondering: would the pond be deep enough to allow a diving board? 8D ...as always: keep up the great work - you're amazing!

Great to see the spring flowing.👍

I love how these folks just jump into it with simple hand tools on some of these projects and just get after it! 🤗

Ist eben eine Felco , ein Qualitätsprodukt 🙂

You should use the mimosas to make a wooden barrier on the opposite side of the pond (y) That could look nice and make a good area for insects

Connect a water pump to one of those pipes and look if maybe a small stream starts going around the ruin

I vote for "Sketchy Lagoon" as the name. It will be useful now as a storehouse of water near Basekcamp. We love the restoration of the small pruning tool. Nothing discarded before its time. Great to see so much ongoing progress from the team. And, of course, the Frog Rescue Team!

I love that you guys saved the frogs and salamanders. Well done..

That excavated swampy soil should make amazing growth! Be sure to plant native trees in it!

Felco Sicsors made to last! Swiss quality ;-) Greetings from Switzerland.

You could really use one or two small floating aerators. You can get solar models. They will keep the water from getting so stagnate. Also, plant native water's edge plants (reeds and cat tails where I live) around your pond for wildlife habitats and to solidify soil. You could really make quite the nice pond there, and your local wildlife will thrive.

Alot of that soil dug up would be amazing addition for your gardening crew!

So glad they saved the life living in it. If you raise chickens, they love that duck weed floating on top. Growing, remove it, dry it out and you have free food they will absolutely love!

The frog team is a great example of why I watch this channel, you guys are all so thoughtful.

Is anyone else going to be really bored on a Monday at 3pm while we wait for Season 4 😂

Felco secateurs, quite a good brand.👍🏻 Lining your pond with some of the red and/or white clay that was dug out may have helped to seal the bottom so water loss is reduced.

Very nice. I so wish I was you 20 years ago. Love how well you all work together. ❤❤❤😊

To find out where the pipe goes add some airpressure on one side and check at the old ruine if the air comes out there.

That soil pulled from the pond bottom should be excellent for growing plants. Next let's see some creative reuse of those old pipes!

My compliments to the machine operator he’s really good

Another classic Project Kamp!

Connect vertical pipes to the two pipes so they will stay accessible. In the dryer part of the year send water into them and see if any wet spot appears on the land. Observe if an unlimited amount of water flows out or if they are clogged. In the latter case push water into them with a pump or try to clean them with a pressure washer with a drain cleaning accessory. Even if they are broken at some point, water should pop out somewhere telling you where to continue

We did something very similar with mini terraces. Feel free to ignore this but it becomes a much more efficient system if you backfill with soil, plant ground covers and short shrubs and mulch the entire lot. Mulch is the short term protection for erosion but the plant roots will bind the logs you laid together with the rest of the soil.

30:18 hearing all those happy birds sing about the food the kind human puts on the ground for them, made me crack up!

What a successful and necessary project….can’t wait to see it after those legendary Winter rains.

If the pipes still flow, one way to figure out where they lead to could potentially be to add some (eco friendly) dye to the water. This is a technique I've seen used to map out underground caves and river systems. Then it's easier to identify where the pipe and water re-emerges. Great video, love to see some digging finally!

A tower garden, also called a window farm is a system of vertical hydroponics, which includes an A-Frame hydroponic system, hydroponic wall and cascades of bottles. It can be used for growing various crops like strawberry, lettuce, Swiss chard, herbs, spinach, kale, broccoli and flowering petunia.Food forests, on the other hand, are stable, self-sustaining, diverse ecosystems. They are an important food source for pollinators and serve as a habitat for many animals and don't require pesticides or fertilisers.A hydroponic greenhouse allows growers to produce healthy food in less time and with far greater yields. Yes, hydroponic greenhouses grow crops faster and maximize the use of space. But they also rarely loose crops to problems like pests and contamination.Hydroponics is put forward as a solution to combat climate change, to reduce the environmental damage and species extinction caused by overexploitation and intensive farming. It also allows for a more rational use of water, an ever-scarcer resource.Although almost any crop can be grown hydroponically, the most common are leaf lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, watercress, celery and some herbs. One key factor in system design for a particular crop is how it is supported in the nutrient solution.

Just to note that all that charred/burnt wood is a handy resource: charred wood is far more resistant to rot than unburnt wood. Could be handy if you wanted to have posts that wouldn't rot quickly (such as keeping the uncut bank of the lagoon from collapsing for example).

Dave has one of the best work ethics !! He is a true leader. He can do things all by himself

I did a quick Wikipedia dive and a body of water formed by a spring is called a Seep. Lagoons are coastal. Otherwise, officially, pond and lake are just smaller and larger bodies of water. I have seen the differences defined as that a body of water's a lake if you can't see the bottom (though I've seen puddles that I couldn't see the bottom of because they were just so muddy, so I'm not sure on that).

The dirt out of there is been filtering all the woods swell in the swelling air, decaying it, and making a really rich soil. Take it out, pop it up somewhere and let it dry. And then you have a really good soil for gardens.

I love what you guys are doing with the place. I like how you share it with the world to teach, and make a bit of extra money on the side to fund even more land restoration. smart peoples, doing good works.

You could re-enforce the bank with Watling made from the cuttings. Drive some as piles then weave the thin limbs in and out.

I'd recommend using some of the mimosa wood to further terrace the slope, and a similar retaining wall could be build along the steep back edge. Like other people have said, planting some native trees will help long term with erosion, and adding some native water plants to the edges of the pond can help stabilize them and the roots can reduce the sediments entering the pond. If you ever got ducks, theyd likely eat some of the little algae like plants on the water's surface (duckweed).

A couple of suggestions. Use the cut trees to build a barrier on the steep side of the pond to prevent erosion. What about a nice layer of river rock or gravel at the bottom .

Thanks for your vid 😇💟💟💟 Love and bless you all guys and girls in divine light, good work 👍😁 did you put the Froggy's and the salamanders back the animals are going to thank you, you could build a sauna next to it and cool down in the Laguna.

If you have enough slope below your pond, get a long enough section of the green spiral pump suction hose to use as a siphon so that no pump is needed. Use a valve at the end of the down hill end of the hose, and connect the top end to a piece of ridged pipe long enough to allow the open end to be moved around the pond from the shore. Then place the upper end along the dam and fill it up with water, then quickly set the open end of the pipe into the pond, and then open the lower valve. Then voila, you have a pump that requires no power. You can maneuver the upper end to chase the deepest sections of water.

You should also add a aerator, even if no simpler then solar air bubblers, (they are not expensive) will keep the water from stinking and help get oxygen into help the plants and bacteria thrive. Dredge it to get rid of the sediment, it keeps your water funky and stinky. Looks like it just really needs to be dredge out from all that awesome sediment. Which is great for plants etc. The comments of plenty of water plants on the sides will absorb the nitrates made from decaying matter as food, and produce oxygen into the water as well. Just some type of aerator to keep it from getting stagnant.

Looks great! you might consider making one part of the pond- maybe a third or so a "wildlife protection area" and put some structure- a jumble of branches, etc. for the salamanders, frogs, and other wee beasties. The rest you can use for Kamp and Kampers.

Loved so much the voice off of Antonios water pump ❤

If you have rocks from the area, try and line the walls with rocks to help with erosion from collapsing in.

Everyone did a great job! Lovely to see everyone working so well together to achieve a common goal! Bravo!

In our area we are using coir log ( net made from coconut fibers) to stabilize the river bank. And on top of it we plant heavy rooter plants and weed and after long time the coir will degrad and the soil will naturally stablize

To find where your pipes go. connect a drum to the lake end and fill with water that has a coloured dye in it. A drainage company should be able to provide you with non-toxic dyes for that purpose. if not make/buy food colouring, will result in the same but may cost you more to get enough volume. simply drain the tank and watch all possible exit points for your dye. Also before the lake is full of water, mark the pipe locations with rods you paint white/orange. Thus if you need to locate them in the future it will be easier. Also as you have a drone. creating a top down map with marked features will help, although nothing beats a static marker. I hope that helps D

Cleaning up stuff like this is satisfying to do but also satisfying to watch. One of my favorite channels right now

Dude just repositioned his own digger by doing a pushup. LOL, amazing.

Nice to see base camp from the cleared bank.

29:43 One last remark. This style of gutter will get you into trouble. It should very broad area in which it can overflow with a very shallow slope and planted with some type of deep rooting plant. This gulley you dug will completely erode away very quickly. Especially as it has steep walls channeling the water thereby increasing water speed. It will get deeper and wider and collapse the sides like this!

I recommend making a small area where the wall is even less steep. It can make a big difference for wildlife if they can stand on the edge of the water or just in a few cm. This way birds and other smaller animals that don't live in the water can make use of it, especially in dry seasons this can make a huge difference. Maybe not to large of an area because of evaporation which happens faster when it is shallow but just like half a meter

The way you've landscaped this pond means the wild life will be able to drink from it. You should put up a night vision camera and see who comes to visit.

A plumber will have a radio transmitter that can trace that pipe

Cool project. I'm glad you guys were able to save some critter friends!

Lovely work guys! Maybe you could fill in all those miniterraces you did on the steep slope with compost and plant some endemic species to favour the natural regeneration and avoid erosion. It looks as if the wood is not decomposing at all. You may want to look into adding microbiology to your forest systems to make them more functional.

You need to use some of that mimosa wood to make leaky weirs on the various waterways on your land. Not to block the water, but to slow it down and let more soak in. That'll not only combat erosion, but make your land more fire resistant as a bonus. The mimosas would be great for that purpose.

I usually don't leave comments but at art school today we talked about making charcoal. I know you got a ton of dry mimosa - maybe it's an idea to use some of it to make charcoal? (Not every tree lends itself well to making charcoal, but in those cases you can make charcoal powder, which is also usable in art.) Some folks use charcoal for makeup too but don't ask me too much about that I don't know if it's good to smear mimosa charcoal on your face.

i had a weekend job when i was at school working for a large horticultural company and one of my jobs was to clean and sharpen secateurs, loppers etc , this took me back.

Don’t you just love the wisdom of the elderly!! ❤

I love this series.suggestion ; the mimosa cuold be oxidized to charcoal and is storable underground where its made thus avoiding the fire risk .the charcoal can be used1) to improve the soil fertility,2)as heating fuel in winter,3) to make fired earth bricks.great series .watching from East Africa 👍👍

You want to find out where that pipe goes, hook the pump to it, pump water in it and see where it comes out.