Raised Pillars, Raised Gates, Lowered Flag

The new gates at New Ferry Butterfly Park

At New Ferry Butterfly Park the brick pillars have been raised, filled with concrete and left to set for five weeks, and now the new Silver Jubilee Gates are installed. Take a walk or train ride to have a look. Painting of the galvanised gates will be undertaken by Carol Ramsay, who has been Artist in Residence at New Ferry Butterfly Park.

Installation of the Silver Jubilee gates at New Ferry Butterfly Park

It was Carol who inspired the Park’s committee to get involved in artworks. She organised the first Open Day in 2010, which pre-Covid became an annual event attracting 900-1000 visitors.  From 2010, our artworks have developed over the years and are very much part of the character of the park. There is a certain pleasing symmetry of Carol being involved in the gates. Pam Sullivan, another artist with a longstanding association with the Park, will be producing six unique decorative tiles for the gate pillars, which reflect what can be found in the Park. There will be a grand opening of the gates on 1st May 2022 at 11am. The Park’s art leaflet will need updating, as the gates are the most ambitious and durable art work installed to date!

The back of the Silver Jubilee gates at New Ferry Butterfly Park

During the period of the gate construction some temporary gates were installed which were not as secure, resulting in the Park suffering some vandalism. Damage was done to the Imago Hut, which is now being repaired. It just shows you why secure gates are required. We were alerted to intruders on three occasions by local residents and Merseyrail Security, so when the intruders entered and the park’s volunteers arrived 10 minutes later, the culprits knew we were on to them and were soon dissuaded from intruding again. Many thanks to our neighbours for alerting us to these evening visitors. The new gates are more secure as well as being aesthetically pleasing.

The Silver Jubilee gates at New Ferry Butterfly Park,
with Green Flag behind at half mast in tribute to Frank Cottrell

Frank Cottrell recently donated £1,000 toward the Silver Jubilee Gates. That generous donation is similar to what is raised on a bustling Open Day, or from the Crowdfunder appeal to raise funds for the gates. In 1993, Frank was instrumental in getting the Cheshire Wildlife Trust to underwrite the lease of “Alma Street Goods Yard” as the Butterfly Park was known then.  As Chair of Wirral Wildlife, he went over the heads of Cheshire Wildlife Trust staff and got the Cheshire Wildlife Trustees on board. At the time, urban nature conservation was a new direction for the Trust. Frank retired as a Butterfly Park warden in 2017, when he was 94. Frank took delight in how the park has progressed over the years and how it has engaged large numbers of people with wildlife. Thank you Frank. The Green Flag at the Butterfly Park is flying at half-mast in respect for Frank, who died recently (see tribute to Frank Cottrell).