Friday, 31 July 2020

The Tale Of The Dipping Pond


Mel decided we really could do with a pond, mainly for educational use, but also as a water source for wildlife. So in 1995 we got a grant to pay for a JCB to dig the pond. We had done a trial dig and thought the area was simply clay. However, when the JCB got about 4ft down it hit a stone pavement, presumably where the coal merchants’ huts had stood. The current ground level had been made up some time before Mel moved in in 1975, as it was already vegetated when he arrived. We tried to puddle the existing clay to line the pond, having a very wet and muddy afternoon.

Puddling the clay to line the pond

Filling the pond


However only the bottom held water, because of the pavement and the soil tipping above that, so we got another grant and bought a liner, and the pond was filled by hosepipe from Mel’s outside tap in 1996 (no water meters then). This was left running all night - Barbara Roberts remembers trying to sleep with it running. Two buckets of water from a good pond at Willaston brought in some initial mini-beasts, and the beetles, dragonflies and so on flew in. Frogs moved in from a bath-tub pond in Mel’s garden. Some pond plants were bought with grant money and Barry Porter MP “planted” them – actually handed them to Mel, who was standing in the pond in waders, to plant.


Newt from the pond


In 1998, Mel became aware of 3 ponds about to be filled in, which had small numbers of smooth newts. One was on the sewage works site at New Ferry shore, another in Birkenhead, and there was one more. In total 7 adults and bunch of larvae were put into the pond, so small numbers, but a variety of sources seemingly gave us good genetics, because they bred rapidly, eating out the frogs over a few years. However the newts are a major attraction, and between adults and efts are there to be caught all summer. They are remarkably tolerant of pond-dipping!


An eft

In 2005 the pond developed a leak and the water level fell drastically.


As many as the pond creatures and plants as possible were removed and kept in buckets of water. A new lining was put in place with the help of a work party from Scottish Power.






A new dipping edge was cemented into place and then the Fire and Rescue came at 4.30 p.m. to fill the pond. They decided to do it straight away but got called to an emergency so came back an hour later to finish it.





Here is the hard working team.


In July 2018 the drought led to an incredible drop in the water level in the pond. It was a summer without pond dipping.




As soon as the rain returned the pond was teeming with life again and attracted a pair of ducks.


The pond returned to its glory.


Monday, 27 July 2020

What You Might See At The Butterfly Park


Comma on michaelmas daisies
Comma on michaelmas daisies

Surveys of the wildlife started with Mel’s butterfly records and photos. It appears from Mel's booklet (1991) that Barbara Greenwood, then Hon Recording Officer for Wirral Group of Cheshire Wildlife Trust, carried out a survey of the Park in 1984.  So there was some early conservation interest from what became Wirral Wildlife.


Small tortoiseshell
Small tortoiseshell

Hilary did a further plant species list in 1991 and Mel got Liverpool Botanical Society to visit to do a fuller one. By 1998, we had decided roughly how to manage the main parts of the Park, and Hilary wrote the first formal management plan. From 2002 we started the detailed butterfly records which still continue. Various other records arrived as we got specialists to visit.

Peacock on dandelions
Peacock on dandelions

Paul Loughnane organised and led the practical workdays, which became monthly from September to April once we had the Park in reasonable order. Paul is also secretary of Wirral Countryside Volunteers (WCV) and the relationship between the two organisations became closer in 2003 when the group relocated their tools to the park. 

WCV's tree nursery
WCV's tree nursery

The WCV have a small tree nursery on site, and the Park benefits from their expert work coppicing, hedge-laying and scything, and training others in these skills.

Paul Loughnane, secretary of Wirral Countryside Volunteers (WCV)
Paul Loughnane, secretary of Wirral Countryside Volunteers (WCV)

Paul scything at the Butterfly Park
Paul scything at the Butterfly Park

Coppiced poles
Coppiced poles

Other training courses developed e.g. Hilary’s on grasses and later on wildflowers, ones on bees led by Carl Clee and Tony Parker, ones on butterflies joint with Butterfly Conservation.  Since March 2018 apple grafting courses have been held ran by Dave Ellwand of Wirral Tree Wardens followed by apple pressing in October. 

Apple grafting course run by Wirral Tree Wardens
Apple grafting course run by Wirral Tree Wardens

Meadow creation study day
Meadow creation study day

All our terrestrial insects have found their own way there, helped by management e.g. planting alder and purging buckthorns, which eventually persuaded visiting brimstones to breed in 2014 (some 12 years after a local Cub group planted the main alder buckthorn row). 

Brimstone caterpillar
Brimstone caterpillar

Brimstone butterfly
Brimstone butterfly

Later on, for several years Manchester University brought first year students to the Butterfly Park to see nature conservation in action. The local branch of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management visited twice to see and discuss habitat creation and management for invertebrates. 

Bumblebee

Damselfly

Bird's foot trefoil

Dragonfly


We did not envisage, in the 1990s, that by 2020 insect conservation would have become a major topic, as the extent of insect decline nationally and internationally has become apparent.

Saturday, 25 July 2020

Out and About at New Ferry Butterfly Park in July


Here are some photos from Hilary Ash that show some of the wildlife that was seen in New Ferry Butterfly Park in July.

1. Caterpillar on bindweed – it’s good that something eats this plant! The flowers are attractive but this is another Victorian garden escape that can over-run an area.

Caterpillar on bindweed


2. Cinnabar moth caterpillar on ragwort. A good year for this declining moth.

Cinnabar moth caterpillar on ragwort


3. A common blue butterfly roosting on purple loosestrife. Holly blues are out now as well.

Common blue butterfly roosting on purple loosestrife


4. A comma butterfly that must have had a narrow escape - it has lost part of its hind wings.

Comma butterfly


5. Speckled wood


Speckled wood


6. Red valerian


Red valerian


7. Rose bay willowherb

Rose bay willowherb


8. St John’s wort

St John’s wort


We were very pleased to welcome Cheshire Wildlife Trust's chairman Bill Stothart and his wife Catherine (far right on the first photograph) for a visit to New Ferry Butterfly Park on July 21st. The weather obliged with plenty of butterflies and bees to be seen.

Cheshire Wildlife Trust's chairman Bill Stothart and his wife Catherine visiting the Butterfly Park


Cheshire Wildlife Trust's chairman Bill Stothart (right) visiting the Butterfly Park

Thursday, 23 July 2020

The Butterfly Park and the Community



Maypole dancing at Open Day
Maypole dancing at Open Day

New Ferry Butterfly Park opened its gates to visitors in 1995 and since then it has become a real part of the community.

Plant sale at Open Day
Plant sale at Open Day

Under normal circumstances, the New Ferry Butterfly Park Opening Day on the first Sunday in May has become a feature of the local New Ferry calendar, attracting between 800 and 1000 people in recent years.


Cake sale at Open Day
Cake sale at Open Day


A busy Open Day
A busy Open Day

Local people regularly visit on Sundays from May to the beginning of September when we are open from 12 – 4 p.m. We have three guided trails with leaflets: a Nature Trail, Art Trail and History Trail.

Nature Trail leaflet
Nature Trail leaflet

As well as these, pond dipping is supervised by the wardens and everyone is thrilled to see the newts and other water creatures.

Local schools, especially St John’s and Grove Street, use the Park for class visits in the summer term. Many uniformed organisations and other groups, varying in age from toddlers to the more mature like U3A, visit each summer for guided tours.

School children on a guided tour of the Butterfly Park
School children on a guided tour of the Butterfly Park

In 2012 New Ferry Butterfly Park was awarded an Empty Shops Fund grant. This was a grant from Wirral Council to encourage the use of vacant shop premises for creative activity to reinvigorate the town centre and help economic recovery. The idea was also to raise awareness of the Butterfly Park. The shop at 66 Bebington Road, New Ferry was called ‘The Comma Project’ after one of our most regular resident butterflies. It hosted 6 artists over 6 months and each artist produced a nature/environment based body of work within the space over the course of their mini-residency. Each artist took a four-week-long slot between April and September, doing free community art workshops with their art linked in various ways to the Park. Carol got our MP Alison McGovern to open it on 20th April. Alison brought along Harriet Harman MP, then Deputy Leader of the Labour party, who just happened to be visiting the area that day. A class of school children from Grove Street School were involved. Plenty of press publicity resulted.

The window of The Comma Project in New Ferry
The window of The Comma Project in New Ferry

The opening of The Comma Project
The opening of The Comma Project

Harriet Harman MP at the opening of The Comma Project
Harriet Harman MP at the opening of The Comma Project

Here are some photographs of the work that was produced.

Ian Broadley’s bug creations
Ian Broadley’s bug creations

Gerald Curtis creating poetry with Brownies
Gerald Curtis creating poetry with the Brownies

Pam Sullivan’s favelas made by visitors
Pam Sullivan’s favelas made by visitors

Julie Dodd’s paper trees
Julie Dodd’s paper trees

Julie Dodd with her paper trees
Julie Dodd with her paper trees

Andrea Bassil’s painted paving stones
Andrea Bassil’s painted paving stones

In 2015 Merseyrail commissioned two decorative panels for the tunnel linking the two platforms of the station, and we helped the artist with information on the history and wildlife.

Panel in the tunnel at Bebington station
Panel in the tunnel at Bebington station

That same year Alex Rowan came to New Ferry Butterfly Park with his Scout group. He really enjoyed it. In school, he was asked to draw a poster for travelling somewhere by train and he picked the Butterfly Park. He was one of the winners. The poster was put up on Merseyrail stations and was part of their calendar.

Alex Rowan's poster
Alex Rowan's poster

Since 2016 Forest Church services have been held in the reserve.

Forest Church service
A Forest Church service

Apple pressing and apple grafting sessions have been established.

Apple pressing
Apple pressing

Local organisations like Unilever, Liverpool John Moores University Conservation Society, SP Energy Networks and Prince’s Trust have taken part in Workdays.

SP Energy Networks' workday
SP Energy Networks' workday

Chester Wild Society
Chester Wild Society

Debbie McCall with her prize elm cuttting
Debbie McCall with her prize elm cuttting

Liverpool John Moores Conservation Society
Liverpool John Moores Conservation Society

Justin triumphs over the birch tree
Justin triumphs over the birch tree

The Park is a site for training courses each year when Hilary Ash runs courses for Cheshire Wildlife Trust on Identifying Wild Flowers and Identifying Grasses.

At the time of the Comma Project, Carol Ramsay, Project Manager said …”there is no reason why, in the future, New Ferry can’t have enough butterfly attracting plants within its open spaces to attract many more butterflies to the area. Maybe one day New Ferry could become a town of biodiversity, a Butterfly Town”.

Now, in 2020, the butterfly has become a symbol of New Ferry used on the shop stickers "# I love New Ferry", the colourful wall mural "Vanessa" by the former co-op and the butterfly mosaic on the site of the explosion. 

The butterfly wall mural in New Ferry
The butterfly wall mural in New Ferry