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| Some of the flower sculptures outside the container at the Butterfly Park |
For two Sundays in September, we were pleased to welcome some giant flower sculptures to New Ferry Butterfly Park. They were loaned from the Eco Art In the Park project, a collaboration between Wirral Environmental Network, artist Alison Bailey Smith, Wirral Unplugged and Wirral Council’s Eco Schools programme to highlight the importance of pollinator food plants.
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| White clover (left), dandelion (middle) and spear thistle (right) sculptures made by Alison Bailey Smith from repurposed materials |
Alison Bailey Smith has created nine giant sculptures of plants made using repurposed materials such as garden hose, food packaging, yoga mats, light fittings and toothpaste tubes. The eight wildflowers and one grass depicted by the sculptures are all found in Wirral. Alison was supported in making the flower bases and welding them by Wirral Met Engineering and Construction Departments.
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| Sculptures of marram grass (left), poppy (middle) and bluebell (right) |
Wirral Unplugged designed a Pollinator Passport, a free activity booklet to encourage learning and play around Wirral’s local plants and the fascinating insects that pollinate them. Students from the University of Liverpool worked on the look of the passport and produced social media posts and newspaper articles to publicise the project.
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| Devil's-bit scabious (left), rosebay willowherb (middle) and creeping buttercup (right) |
Find out more about the artworks and view the Pollinator Passport on the Wirral Environmental Network website. The flower sculptures can also be booked via the website for visits to schools, parks and local organisations, whether for public or private events.
https://wirralenvironmentalnetwork.org.uk/eco-art-in-the-park
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| Detail of a leaf and petals revealing the source materials |
