Seasonal Booster from AstraZeneca

An AstraZeneca team of a dozen employees came to work their restorative magic on New Ferry Butterfly Park. They came from the Speke site, where seasonal influenza vaccines are produced. After short briefings from Penny Underwood (from Employee Volunteering) and Paul Loughnane (the Park’s secretary), the AstraZeneca team split into groups and busily got involved improving the park.

Three of these fit young people rapidly removed brambles from behind the Brick Pit Coppice, so it is now possible to access a large, coppiced ash stool to assess it for ash dieback.

Removing brambles from behind Brick Pit Coppice

Another three equally strong employees used root slaying spades to remove encroaching blackthorn from the grasslands surrounding the pond, whilst another four took up scythes and mowed the herb rich, aromatic smelling calcareous grassland. It was easier and more effective than they thought and proved enjoyable.

Getting rid of blackthorn in the grassland near the pond

Scything fun!

The scything team

The final pair of employees got down and dirty building a pond dipping platform. Yes, they became covered in clay as they smeared a layer of clay along the pond edges to protect the pond liner and built a dipping platform of breeze blocks topped off with paving stones, using a spirit level to ensure a true level.

Getting covered in clay while building a pond dipping platform!

Getting the clay to the right consistency

Making sure the paving stones are level

Following lunch Hilary Ash gave a tour of the site and expanded on the reasons for the projects carried out that day.

A lunchtime tour of the Butterfly Park

Following the tour, some took on lighter duties such as bringing in the trail posts and composting the dead plants left over from plant sales. The pond group continued to complete the task. At the end of the day the twenty empty buckets which contained the soaking clay, and the temporary safety cordon were all removed from around the pond. Four thousand litres of rainwater from the park’s water butts were released to fill the pond, no need to call the fire brigade to help fill it as on previous occasions. The pond area was transformed and with its clay surround looks much more natural than the previously exposed membrane. The pond will fill a little more throughout the winter season with the rainfall and the rainwater harvested from the tool container roof.

This corporate workday really gave a great boost to the Park as we were able to finish the long ongoing project of restoring the pond, and start tackling the more vigorous projects of removing the blackthorn and bramble. The pond has been much missed during this last season by our visitors, as the Park is one of the few places you can just turn up on summer Sundays and see what lives in the pond using a net. Thanks go to John Bateman, New Ferry Butterfly Park Treasurer and AstraZeneca employee, and Sarah Edgar of AstraZeneca, who were instrumental in organising this corporate workday, as well as our own experienced volunteers who led the various projects. AstraZeneca in addition to providing employees also kindly purchased the breeze blocks, sand and cement for the pond dipping platform project to progress. We hope to get another seasonal shot from the Speke AstraZeneca team next year.