After the Government announcement about plans to control TB in cattle by culling badgers, you may be interested to read the information on this Wildlife Trust webpage:
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Leafhopper Identification Workshops
Saturday 20th August
National Museums Liverpool, 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To book please email Tristan Bantock
Click on the image below for more information.
Drawing and Photography Workshops at Butterfly Park
Saturday 16th July
11 - 3 p.m.New Ferry Butterfly Park
Drawing Workshop
FREE Drawing Workshop for artists to meet, have a tour of the Butterfly Park Nature Reserve and art trail and then spend time either alone or in groups drawing within the park.
We hope to concentrate on the history of the park through drawing. The site is based on the old railway sidings of Bebington Station where industry once thrived in the form of an old water treatment plant and former brickworks. There are still relics of the past to be found on the site and the industrial waste left behind by humans provides a rich and varied soil base for plants to thrive that would not usually be native to this area.
The workshop will take a very relaxed format whereby artists are encouraged to investigate the space and draw whatever appeals to them. Workshop leaders will be wandering throughout to offer advice. We will all then meet up over tea and cake to present our drawings to the group and offer constructive criticism and advice to each other.
Bring own paper and drawing equipment and a packed lunch.
The workshop is free but as the Butterfly Park is run by volunteers and these events are non funded, any small donations, though not necessary, would be appreciated.
The Butterfly Park will be closed to the public on this day. This is an outdoor event and as such weather dependent. Booking required via email to Carol Ramsay
Sunday 17th July
11 - 3 p.m.
New Ferry Butterfly Park
Photography WorkshopFREE Digital Photography Workshop for amateur and professional photographers to meet, have a tour of the Butterfly Park Nature Reserve and art trail and then spend time either alone or in groups taking photographs within the park.
We hope to concentrate on nature and wildlife photography as there are many beautiful and unusual types of flora and fauna at the park. The industrial waste left behind provides a rich and varied soil base for plants to thrive that may not usually be native to this area, thus attracting many new species of butterflies and insects to the site.
The workshop will take a very relaxed format whereby participants are encouraged to investigate the space and photograph whatever appeals to them. Workshop leaders will be on hand throughout to offer advice. We all then meet up for discussion over tea and cake to present our images to the group (as seen through digital display panels on your cameras and possibly through a laptop) and offer constructive criticism and advice to each other.
Bring own camera equipment and packed lunch. There is no electricity on site so no place to charge cameras, batteries etc.
The workshop is free but as the Butterfly Park is run by volunteers and these events are non funded, any small donations, though not necessary, would be appreciated.
The Butterfly Park will be open to the public this day. This is an outdoor event and as such weather dependent. Booking required via email to Carol Ramsay
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Wirral Council's Free Insulation Scheme
Janet Thorning, Education Officer for Wirral Council, has asked us to pass on details of a scheme to encourage people on the Wirral to insulate their house:
Free insulation is available to those living within the Wirral Council area. If you own your home, or rent privately and can get landlord's agreement, check out the Wirral Free Insulation programme. It's funded by the Council and British Gas, and managed by Wallasey-based energy efficiency charity Energy Projects Plus.
What is covered by the scheme?
- Cavity wall insulation
Generally, houses built after 1930 have cavity walls. If yours have not been insulated, you can have it done - for nothing.
- Loft insulation
If you have less than 150mm (6") insulation in your loft, you could have it topped up free of charge. If you're over 70 or have health problems that mean you can't get into your loft to clear out the space, the scheme can arrange to do that for you at no cost. If you're not in that category, the scheme could still do it for you, but you'd have to pay. If a small section of your loft is boarded over, you might still be able to have the rest done.
Uninsulated cavity walls can let around a third of the heat in your home escape, and an uninsulated loft can let around a quarter of it out. That adds up to a massive heat loss - bad news with fuel prices rising. Now's the time to get the work done, before next winter, and while there's still money in the kitty for the scheme.
To find out more, ring the free advice line 0800 512 012. Once you've registered your interest, a surveyor will arrange to call to check suitability, and you'll be put on the list to get the work done by Hillserve contractors.
Friday, 1 July 2011
Good news for future of Butterfly Park
On 29th June 2011 Judge David Hodge at Liverpool Crown Court confirmed that we will not have to vacate our lease at the New Ferry Butterfly Park.
Cheshire Wildlife Trust's chief executive Dr. Janel Fone said: “The New Ferry Butterfly Park continues to be a highly-valued community wildlife resource and we welcome this decision by Judge David Hodge, not only for the biodiversity at the Park but also for the local community that enjoy spending time there. We are of course disappointed that we have had to take these steps to secure the future of the Butterfly Park. The wildlife benefits of sites such as New Ferry Butterfly Park within the wider urban context cannot be underestimated, and we hope we can now work towards safeguarding the nature reserve for future generations.”
Although Cheshire Wildlife Trust could still be issued with a notice to quit, Judge David Hodge said: “The only grounds on which I can conceive it succeeding are on redevelopment of the site, and there may be difficulty in securing planning permission in view of the nature of this land.”
Common sense about Ragwort
Monsanto, Barrier Biotech Ltd, Ragfork, The British Horse Society and Warwickshire Council have been caught out by the Advertising Standards Authority displaying inaccurate and misleading information on their websites and in leaflets about Common Ragwort, a British wildflower important for wildlife conservation. All the organisations have agreed to remove information that wildly exaggerated how many horses die from Ragwort poisoning or made false claims that landowners have a legal obligation to 'control' it.
Advertising codes are laid down by the Advertising Standards Authority to ensure advertising is legal, decent, honest and trustful.
Monsanto, an agricultural company who sell a range of ragwort herbicides made false claims on their website stating that "landowners have a legal obligation to control Common ragwort and prevent its spread". This is not true. A land owner may be ordered to control ragwort if there is a significant risk to livestock and they have not followed the Government's 'Ragwort Code' but there is no automatic legal obligation.
Defra state that "The code of conduct does not seek to eradicate ragwort. Ragwort as a native plant, is very important for wildlife in the UK. It supports a wide variety of invertebrates and is a major nectar source for many insects".
Ragfork a company selling a ragwort removal tool, claimed that "It is responsible for the deaths of up to 6,500 horses and ponies in the UK each year." They conceded there was no evidence for this and removed the statement from their website. In fact numbers are so low that the Government have stopped recording them. In the UK Government figures for 2005 record just 13 deaths.
Matt Shardlow, Buglife Chief Executive said "At least 30 insect species are entirely reliant on Ragwort and about a third of them are scare or rare. Ragwort is also a critically important nectar and pollen source for hundreds of species of butterflies, bees, moths, beetles and flies, helping to maintain what remains of our much declined wildlife. While it can be harmful to horses in large amounts the main threat is dried ragwort illegally sold in hay and this is where we should focus efforts, not on spraying the countryside with more pesticides, or ripping plants out of roadside verges.