Since their arrival in June this year, Benji and Balu have been making themselves at home in their new 3,500 metre square habitat here at the Sanctuary!
One particular feature of their habitat – the ponds and stream – has captivated their attention since day one, much to the delight of our webcam viewers and visitors alike. In their previous life, Benji and Balu had only ever experienced water from a bucket in the corner of their cage, so being able to submerge themselves in these ponds has been an incredible experience for them. Their pure enjoyment has been clearly evident, and they have been seen spending hours just frolicking in the water. With the recent spate of warm weather, the ponds have also been an essential way for the bears to keep cool.
Photos: The bear pond under construction in October 2024, and the completed bear habitat in June 2025. (Credit: Enya Rogers/Chris Boyce)
The ponds were key to the planning and building of this habitat, as we know that bears living in the wild love water, and our aim was to make this habitat as naturalistic as possible for Benji and Balu. One of our main challenges was working out how to keep the ponds filled with fresh water in a sustainable way, without incurring a huge overhead or drawing unnecessarily on the water system, and with the recent hosepipe ban, this would have become impossible.
Our partners at Southern Water came on board to help us resolve this by proposing a rainwater harvesting system. This system essentially harvests the rainwater from the roof of our Wildheart Café and Shop, diverting the rain into two giant storage tanks which hold around 50,000 litres of water. This water then feeds into the ponds as and when it is needed, keeping our bears happy whilst reducing the demand on local water resources and saving money for the Sanctuary.
Photos: The rainwater harvesting tanks (with a member of our team for scale!) and Benji exploring his new habitat. (Credit: Enya Rogers/Chris Boyce)
In addition to this, Southern Water has also created a SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage System) Safari at the Sanctuary, which gathers rainwater from the highest point of the Sanctuary and utilises gravity to create a number of water features including a rainwater curtain, water for our children’s mud kitchen, an educational wall to inspire new generations to use water responsibly, and wetland plant areas at various locations across our site. There are some new permeable pathways too! These interventions will slow the flow of water into the environment – all whilst promoting biodiversity at the same time.
The Sanctuary’s CEO, Lawrence, said: “rainwater harvesting systems mean we can reuse rainwater elsewhere at the Sanctuary, cutting down our costs and putting that money into what really matters – the welfare of the wildlife we rescue.”
These projects have been facilitated by two generous grants from Southern Water’s Water Efficiency Team and the Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force, which has supported our charity’s water saving and sustainability goals. The work has been carried out by local contractors, Groundhogs Ltd, experts in Sustainable Drainage Systems, and EcoProd; leaders in providing water-saving products; both of whom have done an incredible job.
Photos: Aerial view of the SuDS Safari in progress, and directing water to permeable paving. (Credit: Southern Water/Enya Rogers)
Until now, it was estimated that around 18 million litres of rainwater fell on the Sanctuary grounds in any given year, a large percentage of which entered the sewer network from the Sanctuary. With the SuDS rainwater harvesting, SuDS Safari and other planned interventions, this will massively impact the outflow resulting in less pressure on the sewer network, at the same time reducing the risks of flooding and storm overflows.
Joanne Wood, Partnerships Delivery Manager at Southern Water, added: “It has been so exciting to help the Sanctuary and its amazing animals. Managing the water cycle better here will in turn help the environment beyond its boundaries, reducing the number of storm overflows and flooding incidents which will all contribute to healthier rivers and seas on the Isle of Wight.”
Photos: The SuDS Safari under construction and after completion. (Credit: Enya Rogers/Lawrence Bates)
The implementation of these vital projects has inevitably required unsightly build works around the Sanctuary over the past few months which has understandably attracted some negative comments from our visitors. We would like to thank our visitors for your patience whilst these build works have been going on, and hope that understanding the reason for these will help everyone to appreciate just how committed the Sanctuary is to becoming more sustainable, whilst also improving our overall visitor experience.