St. Charles is living up to its billing the Water Garden Capital of the World, and it’s got the Pond Stars to prove it.

Part of that whole Water Garden Capital thing comes from the fact that Aquascape‘s main headquarters, Aqualand (we are not making this up), is located in sleepy, enchanting St. Charles, IL. And four of the employees there are the stars of the new National Geographic WILD reality show.

The stars are Greg Wittstock, who owns Aquascape, and his employees, Ed Beaulieu of Sugar Grove, Brian Helfrich of Downers Grove and Chris Hanson of Naperville, according to the Aquascape website’s “Pond Star Show Overview.”

What’s the show about? Well, it’s kind of like Ghostbusters, only with koi. When you want to invigorate the surrounding ecosystem, who you gonna call?

“The Pond Stars — a group of some of the world’s best pond builders, who can turn any barren plot into an attractive, inspirational and even, healing oasis,” the website says.

“From the wetlands of Northern Florida to the mountains surrounding California’s San Gabriel Valley, Nat Geo WILD’s latest series introduces viewers to a new type of behind-the-scenes adventure and a number of furry, feathered and scaled critters.”

According to an excellent article in the Kane County Chronicle, the show also features some episodes shot right here in Kane County, including Kaneland High School.

Next Airing: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9

The Pond Stars come out of their shell in Atlanta tackling two wild projects in just five days. The first job is for an environmental center, creating a pond specifically for rescued turtles. The turtle pond will be used as an outdoor classroom for an upcoming kids camp, IF the team can finish in time. The second project is for the birds, literally. Greg and his guys build a 35-foot waterfall and 600-gallon, underground reservoir that will have wildlife flocking to this suburban backyard.

Read More

• Kane County Chronicle: National Geographic’s ‘Pond Stars’ reality series features local hosts
• VIDEO: The guys are testing the new Koi camera and Chris has to learn to channel his ‘inner fish.’ via O-Fishally Having Fun | Nat Geo Wild.