Open Evening at Comma Project

Official Opening of Comma Project

Last Friday Harriet Harman MP and Alison McGovern MP officially opened the Comma Project at its location on 66 Bebington Road, New Ferry. As well as serving as an information centre for New Ferry Butterfly Park, it will be a venue for free workshops from now until September.

There are more photographs on the Butterfly Park's Facebook page

Here is a video from the opening.

Do come and see us there and watch the blog for details of the next workshop.

Flower planting at Birkenhead Park

As part of Cheshire Wildlife Trust's 50th birthday celebrations, four families enjoyed planting 50 wildflower plants on 14th April at Birkenhead Park. The Park Rangers are developing a wildflower meadow on an area disturbed when lake spoil was stored there during the restoration of the Park. This has left a heavy clay soil with poor drainage - good for damp loving wild flowers such as the ragged robin, marsh woundwort, cowslips and bugle which were planted. Thanks to the clash with a certain football match, it will be mostly ladies who have the pleasure of looking in future years and saying "I planted those!"

Anne Litherland, Senior Ranger, said "We are very grateful to Cheshire Wildlife Trust for helping to move this project forward. Because of the historic landscape, most of the Park is very formal, and this is one chance to have a more natural area." The wildflowers, attractive in themselves, will also provide nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other insects. Funding was provided by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Wirral Borough Council Tourism Dept, under their Year of Coast & Countryside initiative. Look for the wildflower meadow next to the Royal British Legion Birkenhead Branch building.

The remaining wildflower plantings for CWT's 50th birthday will be on 9th September at Dawpool, Wirral Country Park, and on 15th September at Bidston Moss former landfill site. On 11th November 500 native bluebells will be planted at New Ferry Butterfly Park.

Anyone is welcome to join in the planting - to book email us or telephone 0151 327 5923.

Wirral Countryside Volunteers - Events & Newsletter

Click on the images below to read the news and events programme from Wirral Countryside Volunteers.

Further details can be found on their website:

http://pcwww.liv.ac.uk/~jpl/wcv/

Footpath Clearance Days

Robin Tutchings, Wirral Rights Of Way Officer, is calling for volunteers to help keep Wirral footpaths in good order.

The work is not difficult and simply involves walking various public footpaths cutting back encroaching vegetation before it gets a chance to take hold. Work is supervised and lasts a maximum of 3 hours. Robin supplies gloves, hedging shears and loppers. He is always glad to see new faces. You may simply wish to attend a venue local to you, or a footpath you have not walked before. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

Volunteer Path Clearance Days: May – July 2012

All events take place on Thursday Mornings from 10am to 1pm

May:

10th: Grange Hill, Old Grange Road.

17th: Caldy Hill, Kings Drive / Thorsway.

24th: FP43 Thurstaston, Dungeon Wood (meet opposite Thurstaston Church).

June:

14th June: Brimstage, Talbot Ave / Brimstage Road.

28th June: Raby, Crossway.

July:

5th: Thingwall: Lower Thingwall Lane.

12th: Grange Hill, Old Grange Road.

19th: The Beacons, Heswall, meet in car park in Beacon Lane, accessed from Telegraph Road. 

For more details, telephone Robin Tutchings on 0151 606 2480 or 07795 367 276.

Burbo Bank Wind Farm Consultation Events

Can you help at the Comma Shop?

Volunteers are needed to help in meeting and greeting visitors and telling people what the project and the Butterfly Park itself is all about. For more details of this please contact Carol by email.

As we said on an earlier blog post, we have secured funding for a 6 month empty shop project within New Ferry. The shop at 66 Bebington Road, New Ferry,  is called ‘The Comma Project’ after one of our most regular resident butterflies. We will host 6 artists over 6 months. Each artist will produce a nature/environment based body of work within the space over the course of their mini-residency.

We will also hold workshops for local people and a series of talks and walks to encourage people to plant butterfly friendly plants in parks, gardens and green spaces as well as in back yards, hanging baskets and window ledges throughout New Ferry. Watch the blog for details of workshops.

DON'T FORGET 

The Official Opening of The Comma Project and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will take place at 11.40am on Friday 20th April – all welcome.

Official Launch of Comma Project

Poetry workshop

Wildflower planting at New Ferry Butterfly Park

2012 is the 50th Birthday of Cheshire Wildlife Trust. It is also Wirral Borough's "Year of Coast and Countryside". To celebrate both, Wirral Wildlife set up 5 wildflower plantings to make a lasting contribution to our local area.

On March 11th scabious, harebell, yarrow and meadow cranesbill were planted on the lime meadow at New Ferry Butterfly Park.

The next wild flower planting is on April 14th at 2pm in Birkenhead Park.

Plant cowslips, bugle, ragged robin and marsh woundwort in the wild flower meadow at Birkenhead park.

Come along to Birkenhead Park Visitor Centre at 2pm.

Please book to be sure of your plants, either with the Rangers (0151 652 5197, or email) or with Wirral Wildlife (0151 327 5923 or email).  Bring a trowel if you have one!