• PHOTOS:   
• The Orphanage  | 
• PROPOSED RESTORATION SITE  | 
• The model pond  | 
• Diverse ecosystem  | 
• Human effluent input  | 
• Becoming cleaner  | 
• The road  | 
• Becoming cleaner  | 
• Dung Worms  | 
• Termite mounds  | 
• IN SIEM REAP  | 
• No shade  | 
• Invading plants  | 
• Roadside pond  | 
• Pond vegetation  | 
• Shaded pond  | 
• Shaded pond  | 
• Lotus marsh  | 
• CONSTRUCTION BOOM  | 
• Expanding city  | 
• Raising and lowering the land  | 

The Orphanage

The Cambodia Adventist School near Siem Reap

PROPOSED RESTORATION SITE

The basic idea:

• About 2ha in area. Now it is a marsh, not a pond.

• Dig a pond with sloping sides

• Restore the pond ecosystem with organic fertilizer, and household waste •Monitor the development of the ecosystem

• Reforest the surroundings with indigenous vegetation from Tonle Sap.

• Students and agencies use as study site

• Apply similar technique to other farms or urban ponds

The model pond

The idea came from this pond, which is a few meters away.

Diverse ecosystem

The pond is clean and healthy.

It cleans and has been colonized with many species of fish and plants.

Human effluent input

The pond receives a large amount of kitchen waste.

Tim Maddox believes this initiates a process which cleans and maintains the productivity and diversity of the pond ecosystem.

Becoming cleaner

Another pond, in the process of cleaning itself.

The green color is the result of eutrophication.

The resulting algae traps sediment, which sinks and provides nutrients in addition to cleaning the water

The road

The road was built by taking soil from both sides. As a result, the left is now a gully.

The right side is a depression, that has become a marsh.

It is this marsh that Tim proposes as a nature restoration area, with a shallow pond at the center.

Becoming cleaner

The Roadside gully in the orphanage.

The water disappear completely in the dry season. The children are removing the last of the fish.

The gully was dug when the road was created.

Originally planted with Acacia, indigenous species have grown.

The mini-forest is an important habitat for birds, bees and other wildlife that are normally associated with farm life (for example pollinators)

Dung Worms

A worm hole

The soil in the area is poor and not suitable for agriculture without modification.

The only input of nutrient is cow dung.

Huge worms target the cow dung and consume it quickly, then disappear.

Termite mounds

Termite are the other main inhabitant.

They create islands which eventually grow into a mini forest.

This picture is taken in Siem reap, near the airport

IN SIEM REAP

Many new canals have been dig in Siem Reap.

This canal was made along side a road.

The soil for the road came from the canal.

They provide new and dynamic ecosystems.

No shade

The same canal, but with less shade.

And for some reason, no surface vegetation

Invading plants

Some plants are starting to invade.

Roadside pond

Outside a school.

Water is clear, with many species of fish and vegetation.

The children throw trash into the ponds, but it does not seem to affect the ecosystem.

The pond is full of small fish.

Pond vegetation

Same pond from the other side.

Vegetation is rich and varied.

Shaded pond

in a residential area, slowly drying out with the approaching dry season.

Advice fror the group

Same pond from the other side.

Lotus marsh

Near an intersection in Siem Reap

CONSTRUCTION BOOM

Siem reap is a boom town.

Expanding city

On the outskirts, near Angkor University.

Many farms are being converted to hotels and apartments.

Raising and lowering the land

Because of the flooding, builders dig soil from one place, to raise the land in another..

This process creates ponds, and waterways, in addition to more raised building space.

Money matters

Tim explains a little of how the orphanage is funded

At the model Pond

This is the pond on which the project is based.

The water is clear and rich in aquatic life. It is right next to a kitchen which provides for large numbers of people for several months of the year.

Tim believes the kitchen waste feeds rather that poluutes the pond ecosystem.

Forest in the gully & the Khmer Rouge

Tim shows the gully with its reasonable forest cover.

He also talks about the Khmer rouge and how they destroyed the ecosystem in a failed attempt to convert this area into farmland.