In memory of a fishing friend … how a neglected lake was brought back to life

On the surface, Lakewood in Christchurch is just a small lake. But for angler Paul Hardie, it is a place filled with memory, meaning, and now, a living legacy.

As a boy, Paul learned to fish here, taught by his schoolmate Nigel Day. Together they spent hours by the water’s edge, rods in hand, discovering the patience and quiet joy of angling. Those days shaped Paul’s lifelong passion for fishing.

Years later, in 2011, Paul received devastating news: Nigel had died some years before when he was just 22 years old. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have found fishing,” Paul reflects. “It’s been the thing that’s carried me through life’s ups and downs.”

To honour his friend, Paul returned to Lakewood – but what he found broke his heart.

A Lake Left Behind

Once managed by the local council, Lakewood had been left to decline. Fishing had been banned, and without care the water filled with silt, dead trees and debris. What was once a lake had become little more than a series of shallow puddles.

“I just stood there thinking, ‘Nigel and I loved this place – and look at it now.’ I knew I had to do something,” says Paul, who is now aged 57 and lives near Endsbury Park in Bournemouth.

That moment marked the beginning of a mission: to restore Lakewood in memory of his friend.

Paul Hardie with a nice tench from Lakewood

A Community Effort Takes Shape

At first, Paul’s small efforts put him at odds with Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council. When caught removing branches from the lake, he was told he could only join their annual three-hour “maintenance day” – which until then had consisted solely of cutting back rhododendrons.

Paul brought 25 friends along. In a single day they contributed 75 hours of hard graft, clearing more than had been achieved in years. When he pushed for another day, the council hesitated – so Paul went to the press.

The story resonated. Fifty volunteers turned up next time, including 26 locals who simply wanted to help. From then on, Lakewood’s rebirth became a shared cause.

Over time, the volunteers put in more than 2,500 hours of labour. Their work has included:

• Designing and building their own dredger to clear silt (now used twice a year).
• Installing a concrete ramp to make dredging possible.
• Stabilising the banks and improving the inflow and outflow systems to reduce flooding.
• Planting native plants and wildflowers around the margins.
• Creating a safe island habitat with a duck house for nesting birds.
• Leaving deadwood for insects and biodiversity.
• Carrying out essential tree work and access improvements for the public.

To fund the project, the group held car boot sales, sold fishing tackle, and even made their own leaflets.

“It was never just about angling,” Paul says. “It was about bringing life back – for wildlife, for people, and yes, for the joy of fishing too.”

Nature Returns

For the first four years, no fish were stocked. The focus was entirely on repairing the habitat. Slowly, nature responded.

• Dragonflies and damselflies reappeared, skimming the surface of the water.
• Ducks and moorhens nested safely on the island, protected from foxes.
• Swan mussels and aquatic plants flourished, where once there had been nothing but bare banks.
• Invertebrate surveys showed healthy populations of mayflies, freshwater shrimp, water hoglouse, aquatic worms and damselfly larvae.

Today, anglers once again cast their lines at Lakewood, sharing the water respectfully with nesting birds and wildflowers buzzing with pollinators. For local residents, it has become a place of calm and beauty. Some have even thanked Paul for another, unexpected benefit: reduced flooding. By keeping the outflow clear, Paul’s team achieved what the authorities had not managed – protecting nearby homes during heavy rains.

More Than Just Fishing

For Paul, angling is more than a hobby. It’s a connection to his past, a way to honour his friend, and a means of inspiring the next generation. The Lakewood project now runs free fishing days for children, led by qualified coaches, teaching young people the same skills and patience that Nigel once shared with him.

And there are plans to further enhance the biodiversity of the site. Volunteers have made bird boxes which are ready to install and bee bombs (wildflower seed balls) and other native wildflower seeds have been planted in dredge material. There are also plans to have a fish exclusion zone near the inflow area to benefit invertebrates.

But beyond the rods and reels, the project has proved something bigger: that wildlife and fishing can thrive side by side, when cared for properly.

Lakewood provides free fishing for children run by licensed angling coaches

A Precarious Future

Despite its success, Lakewood’s future hangs in the balance. A new parish council chair has floated the idea of banning fishing once again, branding the lake a “wildlife haven”.

For Paul, this feels like a painful irony. “The only reason it’s a wildlife haven is because anglers and volunteers put in the work. We’ve shown that conservation and fishing go hand in hand. To ban it now would undo the very balance we’ve created.”

A Legacy of Care

Standing by the water today, it’s hard to picture the derelict puddles Paul found back in 2011. The lake is alive again – with fish, birds, insects, and the joy of children learning to cast a line.

For the community, Lakewood has become a symbol of what’s possible when local people roll up their sleeves. For Paul, it will always be more personal: a promise kept to an old friend, a place where memory and life meet at the water’s edge.

“Every time I visit Lakewood, I think of Nigel,” Paul says. “That’s why I did it. And that’s why I’ll keep doing it.”