Hayley McMechan
@hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
140 followers 130 following 15 posts
📑 PhD student at UCL 🌱 Aquatic plants of ice age ponds in Norfolk,UK 📷 Loves macrophotography & wading in ponds 🤹🏻‍♀️ Project Juggler (full time student & mum of 3)
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hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Thoroughly enjoying the @ialipa2025.bsky.social conference in Aix-le-Bans. One day in and I've already met so many fabulous people. What a supportive and inclusive bunch! Loved sharing my research on ghost ponds, and looking forward to more presentations tomorrow
Reposted by Hayley McMechan
carlsayer.bsky.social
Sampling #ghostponds before & after ressurection today with @hayleymcmechan.bsky.social & the MSc Conservation & MSc Aquatic Conservation teams on our @uclgeography.bsky.social fieldcourse to N. Norfolk. Utter madness!
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Thank you. We already had someone look at it and confirm it as Roman, but always useful to know for future finds 😊
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
What a fabulous couple of days of engagement with the Freshwater Biological Association 💦 and its inspiring memebers. I left with a sense of real belonging amongst these freshwater scientists and conservationists and am totally fired up to continue my work in pond resurrection activism beyond my PhD
Reposted by Hayley McMechan
rstubbington.bsky.social
An honour to host @freshwaterbio.bsky.social at NTU. Truly inspiring speakers including @carlsayer.bsky.social @davetickner.bsky.social @louiselavictoire.bsky.social @steveormerod.bsky.social. The time to act to protect our freshwater ecosystems is NOW.
louiselavictoire.bsky.social
What a wonderful day we had at the @freshwaterbio.bsky.social 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting at Nottingham Trent University. Brilliant discussions on ghost ponds, climate change, pollution, outdoor swimming, being 'activist scientist' and the concept of riverkin. Can't wait to do it again next year!
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Waiting with anticipation to see what grows 🌱 from my ice age ghost pond muds 👻. Had a lovely time at Wakehurst place last week dividing the sediment samples into germination tanks and tucking them in all cosy under their little 45micron night caps 😴
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
And today for my PhD... I'm making 45micron hairnets for 85 fish tanks.. obviously!
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Spring is on its way 💚🌷🪻🌱
Reposted by Hayley McMechan
carlsayer.bsky.social
Our UCL #ghostponds #ghostpingo #pond restoration work featured today. Very positive news for freshwater nature recovery @hburningham.bsky.social @timholtwilson.bsky.social

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Really enjoying the beginning of my macrophyte propagule identification journey. This beautiful collection is just a few macrofossils that I picked out from a resurrected ice age ghost pond in Norfolk. Not all propagules but pretty none the less
Reposted by Hayley McMechan
timholtwilson.bsky.social
'Restoring Ghost Pingos' - a new advisory booklet about realising the biodiversity potential of backfilled periglacial ponds - norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/LostPonds. 🌍
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Cover page of 'Restoring Ghost Pingos' booklet, showing a flourishing, biodiverse pond two years after excavation.,
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
This month my palaeoecology journey begins. Yesterday my lovely #UCL team and I made a "mud masterplan" plan. I have 58 sediment samples from ice age ghost ponds to work through. I'll be seiving, picking out, identifying and counting aquatic plant macrofossil from these rich seed banks.
Reposted by Hayley McMechan
carlsayer.bsky.social
2 years at a #ghostpond
Reposted by Hayley McMechan
carlsayer.bsky.social
The most successful form of #pond conservation is the re-excavation of deliberately infilled #ghostponds. Here = 2 years of colonisation in a Norfolk ice age #ghost filled in for farming. An incredible pond results at fierce speed! @timholtwilson.bsky.social @hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
It's ok
I was just in bad signal I think. It worked when I tried again later
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
I wasn't ever on twitter! I can barely use Facebook 😂
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Perfect. Thank you. So if I click follow all that actually means I follow lots of people I don't know? Or does it add something to the conversation tab? Sorry - not really your job to explain blue sky to me 😂 but I find navigating social media harder than the PhD! 🫣
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
can you add me please Scott. I dont really understand what a starter pack is but hopefully I will once added 😂
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Hey Alice. I'm afraid the mailing list link on the website leads me to an error code.
hayleymcmechan.bsky.social
Thank you Liverpool and #BES for a fantastic couple of days. Went to some inspiring talks, took many photos of useful posters and met a load of lovely people. What a friendly bunch us nature lovers are 🤩