Cleaver Heath Regeneration Project

Nationally, lowland heathland is a well known type of habitat occurring on acid sandy or peaty soils of low fertility. It is characterised by the presence of a range of plant species such as heather, gorse and bracken together with scattered trees such as birch, oak and pine and mosses, lichens and grasses. In prime condition it is also home to a wide range of both vertebrate and invertebrate animals.

Heathland is one of our most threatened habitats and by 1997 Britain had lost 60% of it's lowland heath, mainly to agriculture and construction. Locally on Wirral, heathland is restricted to areas such as Cleaver Heath, Heswall Dales and Thurstaston Common.

Lowland heathland habitats are typically relatively fragile and susceptible to succession by woodland trees or bracken which out compete and smother plants such as heather. At Cleaver Heath, this situation is exacerbated by the fact that the open lowland heathland habitat is surrounded by silver/downy birch dominated woodland with a ground flora dominated by bracken. Management work at Cleaver carried out mainly by volunteers, involves controlling birch, gorse and bracken growth in the areas dominated by heather, so preventing succession to dense scrub and woodland.

The site at Cleaver Heath before the gorse, bracken and birch were cleared
(photo: Ben Patterson)

In 2019 the possibility of carrying out a heathland regeneration project at Cleaver was discussed with the aim of increasing the overall amount of lowland heath habitat within the reserve. A site of approximately 0.25 hectares in area, covered in gorse, bracken and some birch and with some heather also present was selected for clearing. The plan was to employ specialized contractors to clear gorse, bracken and birch to ground level with machinery within the experimental site and then monitor the regeneration of the heather over time whilst controlling any regrowth of gorse, bracken and birch. To encourage the regrowth of heather after clearing, the additional application of fresh heather seed or heather litter from within the site containing seed would be carried out.

Although at the time, the project was supported by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Natural England, the onset of the pandemic, together with funding issues, prevented the project from going ahead. However, Wirral Wildlife received a very generous financial gift from Woodchurch High School which has now been used to help fund the project. This was carried out by experienced habitat management contractors at the beginning of February.

The work in progress at Cleaver Heath
(photo: Ben Patterson)

After clearing existing vegetation from the selected site, any unwanted regrowth of bracken and gorse occurring during the Spring and Summer will be removed and heather seed from within other areas of the reserve will be collected and applied to the new site during the coming Autumn and Winter months. Regeneration of the heather will be closely monitored and managed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Wirral Wildlife volunteer teams.

More work in progress (photo: Ben Patterson)

If successful this project will result in a significant increase in important heath habitat within the reserve.

John McGaw (Honorary reserve manager) 

30th Anniversary of the Butterfly Park: 2021

2025 is the 30th anniversary of New Ferry Butterfly Park. Over the next 5 months we will look back at the five years since our 25th anniversary. In January we began with what happened in 2020. Now to 2021...

In January of 2021, one hazel bush was already in flower.

Hazel catkins in flower at the Butterfly Park in January 2021

Guelder rose berries were still on the bush, a sign that the migratory thrushes like redwing had not found them yet.

Lots of berries on the Guelder Rose bush

A fox was spotted taking a stroll.

 

The pond froze over - we had not seen that many times in recent years.

The icy pond in winter 2021

In May we started opening on Sunday afternoons but didn’t have our usual Open Day as some Covid restrictions were still in place.

By July it was now 18 months since New Ferry Butterfly Park’s Silver Jubilee Gates design was drawn up. Due to Covid the gate costs had risen and the Park’s income had fallen. However with support from several funding sources - New Ferry and Port Sunlight Community Fund, Wirral Wildlife, The Duchy of Lancaster, Wirral Farmers’ Market Community Fund, Poulton Hall Walled Garden Trust and the recent online public Crowdfunder appeal - the money was finally raised. The first physical steps in realising this project started with the post’s foundations being dug out and strengthened and a start made on the brick pillars.

Once the brick pillars were constructed they were left for five weeks to allow the pillars to set. Whilst this happens, the final measurements were taken to make sure the bespoke gates will fit perfectly.

A finished gate pillar

In August, Howard Gibson retired as Honorary Treasurer of New Ferry Butterfly Park, after 22 years of dedicated service. We were immensely grateful to Howard for so many years of sterling work, when we could always rely on the Park’s accounts being accurate, up to date, and professionally presented in apple-pie order. When someone like this retires, particularly after such a long period of service, you suddenly realise how important a Treasurer is. It is the only position that any organisation must have. Organisations can cope without a Secretary or a Chair but not without a Treasurer. Howard was a recently retired HSBC (Midland) bank branch manager when in 1998 he was recruited by Mel Roberts, the visionary founder of the park, taking over from our first treasurer Vi Otter.

Howard Gibson, who retired as Butterfly Park Treasurer in 2021

The Treasurer’s role started on small scale, but developed into a much more involved role reflecting the considerable development and increased activities taking place at the park. It is busy job in the summer, sorting out weekly collections put in the donation tin and distinguishing between donations: general, wood chip, soil improver or group visits. These are accurately and clearly presented in the annual accounts. The accounts give the committee a clear picture of the financial resources and how each income stream has contributed over the year. Howard’s accounts were used to demonstrate the park is a business - we sell wood chip. This was an important point raised in court in 2009 when protecting the park’s business tenancy. Howard became an expert in VAT and claimed 20% refund on our disabled accessible composting toilet via Cheshire Wildlife Trust. This refund helped with funding the surround ground works required.

Following that year’s al fresco AGM at the Park, Howard was presented with a caricature of himself painted by Carol Ramsay. This was beautifully framed, using recycled wood, by Pam Sullivan, who created our Welcome Board. The smile on Howard’s face as he opened the portrait said it all. With such a lovely, personal and fun portrait like that the committee will all want to retire!

The framed caricature of Howard!

Since then Howard has been busy in the Park with many of his other roles such as mowing the grass, fixing and painting the site furniture and offering valued advice.

By November the brick pillars for the Jubilee Gates had been raised, filled with concrete and left to set for five weeks. The new Silver Jubilee Gates could then be installed.

Delivery of the gates to the entrance of the park

The finished gates

The end of 2021 saw relaxation of many restrictions imposed to combat Covid19 and we looked ahead to a more ‘normal’ year for our visitors.

Autumn/Winter 2024 Prize Quiz: Winner and Answers

An armadillo, the answer to clue 1. Photo: Rich Anderson, Flickr

Thank you so much to everyone who sent their answers to our Mammals of the World quiz. We really appreciate your support and welcome the money sent to us for the entrance fee.

We received a total of 147 entries, of which 56 were all correct. The winner selected in a random draw is Miss J E Milne, of Bude. Congratulations!

The answers to the clues are below.

1. Equip a herb with a weapon-o! (9) ARMADILLO

2. Sailor’s reply to an officer’s order! (3-3). AYE-AYE

3. Forbid taking in what a timid person never says to a goose. (6). BABOON

4. Brass ensemble with water bird – I slip in between them. (9). BANDICOOT

5. Prohibit high-tension starts for organised local exhibitions. (4, 4). BANK VOLE

6. A mix-up lets Barry be a pa! (7, 3). BARBARY APE

7. If you see this one in the wild, it will be a very exciting experience. (6). BEAVER

8. I heard him say something like “Cheerio, youngster!” (5). BISON

9. Courage, without any selenium, for the son of the King of France, translated. (10, 7). BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN

10. In Downing Street, did Gordon Brown bear responsibility for the Credit Crunch in 2007/8? (5, 4). BROWN BEAR

11. BR won her a makeover. (5, 4). BROWN HARE

12. Describes two US presidents in the first year of their lives. (4, 4). BUSH BABY

13. Arrived and departed shortly after, having got the hump. (5). CAMEL

14. Animal doctor chases a number of Dalmatians. (5). CIVET

15. Could this be Basil Brush, arriving at Heathrow airport? (6, 3). FLYING FOX

16. Goliath, say, with a police car. (5, 5). GIANT PANDA

17. Famous for the decline and fall of an empire. (6). GIBBON

18. British armed service, led by American soldier, gets college training shortly. (7). GIRAFFE

19. Goes round every year, selling endive and lettuce, primarily. (4, 4). GREY SEAL

20. This one stuttered “Mother, save us!”. (7, 5). HARVEST MOUSE

21. I heard “Hello, Mrs Sharples.”! (5). HYENA

22. Type of wild dog for two boys, John and Alan. (6). JACKAL

23. One of Joey’s parents? (8). KANGAROO

24. The wall in Paris. (5). LEMUR

25. You can find this one in all Amazonian forest areas. (5). LLAMA

26. Sounds like a place to play golf at the seaside. (4). LYNX

27. Chap with a shirt. (7). MANATEE

28. Mare, most skittish! (8). MARMOSET

29. Setter swallowed writing fluid and a cry of distress was heard. (5, 5). MINKE WHALE

30. Non-governmental organisation taken in by 31. (8). MONGOOSE

31. Small rodent loses its uniform; Oscar steps in to sort it. (5). MOOSE

32. Searching in the area, there wasn’t a café to be found; so she said “OK, a picnic it is then!” (5). OKAPI

33. These upset Goran’s aunt. (10). ORANGUTANS

34. This one is pro-arable culture. (5, 4). POLAR BEAR

35. Popular reptile loses two times; papas step in and see to that. (8). PORPOISE

36. 37, once Katharina has gone, rides an ancient Greek river horse. (5, 12). PYGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS

37. One track up Snowdon, with setter’s, or rather Shakespeare’s, Katharina. (5, 5). PYGMY SHREW

38. Motoring services company – company working for a masked mammal. (7). RACCOON

39. Did I hear you say “It’s wet outside, my love.”? (8). REINDEER

40. I heard Charlie remark that the weather had “ ‘eated up”. (3, 5). SEA OTTER

41. One of seven capital vices. (5). SLOTH

42. Seasonal publication, nothing left out – about a rugby player? (9). SPRINGBOK

43. 17th century Dutch explorer, together with a Scot, encountered Satan! (9, 5). TASMANIAN DEVIL

44. Piece of sporting equipment belonging to a hater of garlic! (7, 3). VAMPIRE BAT

45. This one can be found in Heswall, a by-product of 19th century introductions. (7). WALLABY

46. One that wanted seven maids with seven mops to clear away the sand. (6). WALRUS

47. Feature of Oliver Cromwell’s face had others grinning initially. (7). WARTHOG

48. Support for a painter’s use after whiskey. (6). WEASEL

49. Beware of this one – it’d claw you if you annoyed it! (4, 3). WILD CAT

50. Author of “Importance of being Earnest” on Honeymaker Street. (10). WILDEBEEST

Here are some notes on the ones that seemed to cause the most difficulty:

3. BABOON – According to the saying, a timid person ‘wouldn’t say “Boo!” to a goose’.

5. BANK VOLE – Prohibit = Ban; High tension = kV (kilovolts); OLE are the first letters of “organised local exhibitions”.

7. BEAVER – Hidden in the clue: “it will BE A VERy …”

9. BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN – We couldn’t allow “Bottlenosed” because it is not the correct name, and it doesn’t match the clue or the letter count.

11. BROWN HARE – An anagram.

14. CIVET – 101 is a number of dalmatians from the Disney film.  That is CI in Roman numerals. Vet is an animal doctor.

20. HARVEST MOUSE – Some entries did not spot the anagram here.  We liked “GRIZZLY BEARS” but couldn’t allow it.

25. LLAMA – Another hidden answer in this clue “in aLL AMAzonian …”

27. MANATEE – We couldn’t allow Mandrill because it has 8 letters, not 7.

29. MINKE WHALE – This was an answer that many people spelt incorrectly as Minky Whale.

33. ORANGUTANS – The clue, and the letter count, require a plural answer here so we didn’t accept ORANGUTAN.

35. PORPOISE – The popular reptile is TORTOISE; replace the “t”s with “p”s.

36. PYGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS – We were surprised at how many different ways there are of misspelling “Hippopotamus”!  And “Pigmy” is incorrect and not in alphabetical order.

37. PYGMY SHREW – The track up Snowdon is known as the Pyg Track.

38. RACCOON – Another answer that was often misspelt.

46. WALRUS – From “The Walrus and the Carpenter” – Lewis Carroll.

We have launched a weather themed quiz, It Blows It Snows. The closing date for entries is 31st July 2025. Download the Spring/Summer 2025 quiz here.

New Ferry Butterfly Park’s 30th Anniversary

2025 will be the 30th anniversary of New Ferry Butterfly Park. Over the next 5 months we will look back at the five years since our 25th anniversary.

In January we begin with what happened in 2020...

2020 wasn’t the year anyone expected. Lockdowns starting in March and restrictions on gatherings meant a strange year for everyone.

On Sunday 3rd May 2020 we should have been welcoming hundreds of visitors to our annual Open Day and celebrating the start of our new season. Luckily the lockdown hadn’t affected the flowers, trees, butterflies, bees, newts and the other creatures that make their home in the Park. The newts may even have been relieved to miss being dipped out of the pond every Sunday afternoon. That year spring was running several weeks early! Out in flower on 2nd May, when they are usually at least 2 weeks later, were hogweed, dog rose and elder. This meant plenty of nectar and pollen for invertebrates.

Dog rose in flower in early May 2020

A hawthorn tree blossoming early in the spring of 2020

Getting outdoors, even for restricted times, was a lifeline for many and the Butterfly Park did eventually open on Sunday afternoons. Around 500 people visited between mid June and mid September. A one-way system and passing places were introduced to help to keep everyone Covid-safe. There was no pond dipping or other hands-on activities but everyone appreciated being able to stroll around and admire the flowers and insects.

2020 should have been a celebration of New Ferry Butterfly Park’s 25th Anniversary but that had to be postponed because of the Covid19 restrictions. In our July blogs we featured lots of articles about the history and development of the Butterfly Park and Cheshire Wildlife Trust filmed a video to mark the 25th Anniversary of the reserve. You can watch the video here.

Also in July, Angela Eagle MP and Alison McGovern MP plus Seacombe Councillor Paul Stuart visited New Ferry Butterfly Park. Charlotte Harris CEO of Cheshire Wildlife Trust was also there to welcome them along with members of New Ferry Butterfly Park committee. It was a sunny day and lots of bees and some butterflies were around. Very appropriate as there was discussion about the Wildlife Trusts ‘Take Action for Insects Campaign’ and the Big Butterfly Count.

Charlotte Harris, Alison McGovern MP, Angela Eage MP and Paul Loughnane
socially distanced while visiting the Butterfly Park

Over the previous 25 years the reserve had become a haven for wildlife thanks to the management plans and hard work of its volunteer community. Its value has been recognised by the Awards it has received. The Green Flag team visited New Ferry Butterfly Park on October 2nd to hand over the Community Green Flag 2020-21. This was the 7th Green Flag our urban nature reserve had been given. While there, the team did some filming and the video (whichincludes the Butterfly Park and Port Sunlight village) can be seen here.

The Green Flag team filming at the Butterfly Park

Flying the Community Green Flag 2020-21

That year, as part of continuing improvements in New Ferry, and to celebrate the Park’s Silver Jubilee, New Ferry Butterfly Park received a £5,000 grant from the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund (i.e. HM The Queen, Duke of Lancaster) towards the cost of new spectacular butterfly-themed gates. This award was given in recognition of the work the park does for the local community in providing a safe wildlife haven, an education space, a space for outdoor art works, and youth work with groups such as the Princes Trust, Guides and Scouts.

The design of the Silver Jubilee gates for the Butterfly Park

The aim of the new gate design was to provide a welcoming feature to the park, giving a flavour of what is beyond the entrance way. At the time a dilapidated understated standard black metal gate with barbed wire was present, which was not very aesthetic, not very welcoming and did not give any indication of the park or what it stands for. The Comma butterfly is a strong recognizable image and it, along with the name clearly stated, would be visible from a distance and on approach to the Butterfly Park.

Paul Loughnane, Secretary of New Ferry Butterfly Park, collated butterfly records for 2020. It had proved to be one of the poorest years ever - apart from Red Admirals. However two new species were recorded at the Butterfly Park, an Essex Skipper and a Purple Hairstreak. So there was a little more diversity in species but a drop in abundance. The numbers may reflect fewer recordings than usual due to Covid-19 but the wet weather in July and August will also have had an effect.

Essex skipper, a new species at the Butterfly Park in 2020

Purple hairstreak, another new entry on the species list

As the year ended. the UK had begun a massive vaccination programme but there were still restrictions in place for Christmas. We could only imagine how 2021 might unfold.

High Scores for Butterfly Park: North West In Bloom Assessor Report

The North West In Bloom assessor's report on New Ferry Butterfly Park

We have previously reported on the success of New Ferry Butterfly Park in the RHS North West in Bloom Awards. The judge’s report revealed that we had scored 93/100 points!

Our judge, Jason Lambert reported back on his visit on July 24th:

On arrival I was met by eight volunteers: Phillip, Linda, Steve, Daisy, Claire, Peter, Charles and Yan. The Park has a Community Green Flag and has had this for twelve years. This is their first time entering North West In Bloom.

There are so many activities that go on at the Butterfly Park - it's truly amazing the work that is done by all the volunteers. They also host corporate days with local businesses such as Marks & Spencer and Astra Zeneca. They also have lots of local schools that come and use the site regularly, together with Beavers, Scouts etc. Some of the volunteers go out to do talks in the evenings and weekends to other groups about the site and ecology and they provide practical support for their projects.

When I was given the tour of the site, I was amazed how the site had been transformed from a former Railway Sidings into a truly amazing space teaming with wildflowers and insects which are listed on the notice boards all around the site and are changed regularly for each season.

The Last (Concrete) Post

The EA Team by the Taylor Swift butterfly

New Ferry Butterfly Park was fortunate to have a corporate workday visit by EA Technology. The company's mission is to promote the development of resilient, accessible, low-cost energy networks globally, accelerating the transition to energy decarbonisation. The team came from the marketing department based at Capenhurst Technology Park, our contact came via Richard Ash who works more in the technical and data analysis section of the company.

The team of ten arrived on an inclement day but dodged the heavy showers and got stuck into the tasks. Hilary Ash led lighter jobs such as plug planting marginal plants around the recently restored pond, including some ladies’ smock to boost the orange tip butterfly populations at the park. This group also collected apples, built a bug house and bagged up wood chippings.

Planting pondside marginals

Steve Yandell led a group who laid down stone aggregate and topped it off with sand, this was in areas were the water was pooling on the paths, making it safe for all. After completing this task they tackled a substantial amount of encroaching bramble on the upper level of the park. One volunteer removed old painted paving stones and filled in the resulting holes. He also smoothed out the area behind the pond dipping platform, levelled the area under the water butt taps for easier filling of watering cans and scythed half the acid grassland within the gates.

Howard, Peter and Brian lead another group on the compost bin reconstruction. This involved taking out the concrete bases holding the wooden uprights of the old compost bins which had stood there for two decades. Then they installed eight upright concrete posts separated by gravel boards. Digging the holes was quite a job as levels had to be checked and angles square, whilst pouring in the postcrete to set the posts in position. They were determined to get the job done so, after Hilary Ash’s post-lunch tour of the park, the compost bin team were eager to get back to the job and worked furiously up against the clock until 4pm to get the job completed and the last post in.

Breaking up the concrete bases of the old compost bins

Removing the old concrete

Thanks to the EA marketing team for all their help, they gave us a real boost and got many projects we never get round to completed. We cannot wait until our next event to start filling these compost bins! We hope the team enjoyed the variety of challenges the park provided them with. Thanks also to our team of eight in-house volunteers who brought this day to fruition.

Getting the angles of the posts square

The last post is completed!

Paul Loughnane

New Ferry Butterfly Park Reserve Manager

North West in Bloom Awards for Butterfly Park

The RHS run many schemes to encourage and acknowledge gardening in the widest sense. Wirral is in the area known as North West in Bloom (NWIB).

Last year Phil Putwain, chairman of New Ferry Butterfly Park, broached the idea of applying for an award as it is open to small, volunteer led community groups.

An initial visit from an RHS judge was made in January and we were encouraged to submit an application. This involved creating a portfolio with information about the three areas that would be assessed: community participation, environmental responsibility and gardening achievement.

Common blue butterfly at New Ferry Butterfly Park.
Photo: Roy Lowry

New Ferry Butterfly Park has always been run by volunteers and been involved with the local community. The initial idea came from Mel Roberts who lived in a house overlooking the site. Over a thousand people came to our Opening Day in May, we took 450 people on guided visits and had 1050 visitors on Sunday afternoons this year. In total we have counted 34,890 visitors in the last 21 years.

About 50 volunteers are actively involved in practical management, wardening and hosting groups. Volunteers also do outreach events to publicise the Butterfly Park, going to schools and other organised events and giving talks.

Environmental responsibility is a keystone of our nature reserve and, as well as maintaining varied habitats within the site, the plants and insects are well and regularly recorded. Butterfly transects are carried out to give a reliable record of species found and changes over time. Monthly photography of the site and wildlife provide a valuable record.

Mel's Garden - a demonstration garden growing pollinator plants

Gardening achievement has been interpreted based on our identity as a nature reserve. We have Mel’s Garden, our demonstration garden growing pollinator plants, and similar plants are sold on Sunday afternoons.

In July, Jason Lambert, an RHS Judge, came on a visit. Volunteers from different areas explained what they did and we gave him a comprehensive tour of the Butterfly Park. He admitted to being very impressed by what he saw and told us that assessment of entries would take place in July and August. We wouldn’t know the outcome of this until the Awards Ceremony in October.

On October 30th three volunteers set off to the venue at Bolton Wanderers FC stadium to await the results.

There are 5 levels of award, one to five. Imagine our delight when, on our first time of entering, the Butterfly Park won a Level 5 - Outstanding award.  However, that wasn’t all. We were presented with a certificate and trophy as winner of the NWIB Gardening for Wildlife (Biodiversity) award. What an accolade for New Ferry Butterfly Park!

New Ferry Butterfly Park's Outstanding award!

Our certificate for the NWIB Gardening for Wildlife (Biodiversity) award

The NWIB Gardening for Wildlife (Biodiversity) trophy

All our volunteers deserve the greatest congratulations for their continued support of the Butterfly Park. The awards are testament to everyone's dedication. 

What a great end to this year's opening season!

Linda Higginbottom
Volunteer Co-ordinator