A wildlife pond which was dug by teenagers from a youth club was officially opened last week at special event.

The pond at the Hilldrop Community Centre in Hilldrop Lane, Holloway, was created by teenagers from the Zone Youth Club to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Wild Places Project, a community initiative which aims to educate people about the local environment.

Sejal Patel, project co-ordinator with Wild Places, said: “The pond took about two weeks to dig and all the kids really got involved.

“We also had a speaker from the ecology centre come round during the dig and the kids learned about the wonderful biodiversity of the local area.”

Mayor of Islington Phil Kelly was on hand to officially open the event which featured poetry recitals and performances from the Zone Youth Club, which is based at the Bridge School in Carleton Road, Holloway.

An award ceremony was also held to recognise the hard work carried out by the teenagers in digging the pond.

Arctic explorer Dwayne Fields handed out the certificates and afterwards regaled the teenagers with stories about his North Pole adventure.

Ms Patel, who helped organise the event, added: “It was a really good inter-generational event and brought the whole community together.

“A great day was had by everyone in attendance.”

The Wild Places Project is a community initiative which offers people of all ages in Islington a chance to learn about the local environment.

It’s run by the Octopus Community Network, supported by Islington Council and funded by Natural England.

For further information about the Wild Places Project call 0207 263 7095 or visit www.octopuscommunities.org.uk