Virginia Teenager's Backyard Pond Project Evolves into Thriving Wildlife Ecosystem Over Nine Years
In 2017, a 14-year-old Virginia girl, Maggie, initiated a backyard pond project for a high school agriculture class. What began as an ordinary assignment has since transformed into a permanent and thriving wildlife ecosystem on her family's property. The pond, a roughly 12-foot circle dug by hand, is now surrounded by intentionally chosen plants. Maggie's father, photographer Steven David Johnson, documented this transformation for the National Wildlife Federation's spring 2026 issue. The initial landscape was a patchy lawn, but through Maggie's research and the efforts of her parents, Steven and Anna Maria, the area was shaped with soil, rocks, and plants to create shallow shelving and cover. By spring 2018, the pond was filled, and American toads appeared within weeks, indicating the immediate success of creating a suitable breeding ground where none existed before. The project, which cost an estimated $160 initially for the liner, plants, and tools, and about $100 annually for plants, demonstrates a sus... 
