30th Anniversary of the Butterfly Park: Visitor Attraction

Over the last 5 months on this blog, we have recalled the events of the last 5 years leading up to the 30th anniversary of New Ferry Butterfly Park.

Since 1995 the Butterfly Park has undergone some physical changes but has continued to be a focal point for local people to visit on Sunday afternoons and as a destination for school and group visits.

Visitor numbers 2003 - 2024, showing the impact of Covid-19

2020 to 2021 saw a fall in numbers of visitors by 75% due to Covid-19 and that also had an effect in 2021-2022. However in the 2022-2023 season there were 2453 visitors in total and 366 individuals were given guided tours. In the 2023 - 2024 season the guided tours reached a total of 450 people and total visitor numbers were 2895, almost 50% of them (1,400) coming on the opening day. Since 2002 we have welcomed a total of 34,890 visitors.

Here are some photos of the Butterfly Park from our archives!

Mel digging the lime waste area prior to the Butterfly Park being open to the public

Opening of New Ferry Butterfly Park in 1995

Planting the lime hedge circa 1997

The acid grassland at the Butterfly Park in 2006

Volunteers relaxing by playing boules.
The container, in the days before it became a work of art!

30th Anniversary of the Butterfly Park: 2024

Record breaking crowds attended New Ferry Butterfly Park Open Day on 5th May, 2024. The sun came out, the butterflies were flying, and crowds of local people came flooding in. 1,400 altogether, which was the highest attendance to date. Several species of butterfly were on the wing: Brimstones, Orange Tips, Speckled Woods, Holly Blues and Commas to name a few. The best turnout of butterflies on an opening day ever.

The new feature unveiled this year was a series of six bespoke tiles on the brick pillars of the silver jubilee entrance gates. Nigel Lanceley, the Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside unveiled the tiles and spoke about the dedications behind each tile. 

Left to right: Nigel Lanceley, Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Merseyside; Freya Levy, artist who drew the gate plaques; Stephen Ross, chair of Wirral Wildlife; Charles Neame, Vice chair of Cheshire Wildlife Trust; Paul Loughnane, Honorary secretary of New Ferry Butterfly Park Committee 

Tiles were dedicated to individuals or groups who have significantly helped the Park. The tiles artworks were created by Freya Levy and as well as being turned into tiles, the art works are also available as greeting cards.

There was an array of displays from slow worms via spiders to owls and even a skunk, together with Girl Guides, jewellery, a wonderful plant sale, investigating plant pollinators, smoothies by bicycle, RECORD, children’s activities, homemade cakes and a BBQ. Being the early May Day Bank Holiday weekend, there was Maypole dancing. Guests all left with the smiling faces of having had a good day out.

A very busy New Ferry Butterfly Park Open Day in 2024

2024 was the year we decided to revamp the promotional leaflet. The front now has an illustration of the Park’s Silver Jubilee Gates, complete with the new decorative tiles inset into the supporting brick pillars. The leaflet has an email contact address, QR codes, a link to the Park’s Facebook page and another to the Wirral Wildlife website, both full of useful information about the Park and ongoing activities. These extra resources give extra life and vitality to the leaflet. Two art works within Vicky Hose’s original 2006 illustrated map have been changed, to feature creatures that visitors are more likely to encounter. One of these was first recorded breeding at the Park and Wirral in 2014. Freya Levy, an artist new to the park, has blended these images into the leaflet following style of the 2012 version.

The updated Butterfly Park leaflet

 

The map inside the leaflet, drawn by Vicky Hose with additional species added by Freya Levy

New Ferry Butterfly Park played host to an art installation which was last seen in Liverpool’s Albert Dock when it was created as part of a Taylor Town trail to coincide with the Taylor Swift concerts. It landed at the Butterfly Park in September and is a symbol of transformation and beauty. The weather on the last opening afternoon of the season could not have been more different to the day the installation first appeared. A steady downpour deterred a lot of people but some bravely came to have their photographs taken standing in front of the installation.

That afternoon we were pleased to welcome Justin Madders (second from the right in photo below). He is MP for Ellesmere Port & Bromborough and his constituency includes New Ferry. Volunteers from the Butterfly Park, Friends of Dibbinsdale and Friends of Lowfields Wood spoke to him about local environmental concerns.

The Taylor Swift butterfly artwork installation

Sunday 13th October was a warm October day - perfect weather for the second New Ferry Butterfly Park Apple Afternoon to celebrate locally grown apples.

At our event, John Bateman collected apples and manned the apple press so that visitors could taste freshly pressed juice. Many people took some juice away with them.

Local apple varieties on display at the Butterfly Park

John Bateman supervising the juice making

The amazing efforts of all our volunteers was recognised by RHS North West In Bloom.

In July, Jason Lambert, an RHS Judge, came on a visit. Volunteers from different areas explained what they did and we gave him a comprehensive tour of the Butterfly Park. He admitted to being very impressed by what he saw and told us that assessment of entries would take place in July and August. We wouldn’t know the outcome of this until the Awards Ceremony in October.

On October 30th, three volunteers set off to the venue at Bolton Wanderers FC stadium to await the results.

There are 5 levels of award, one to five. Imagine our delight when, on our first time of entering, the Butterfly Park won a Level 5 - Outstanding award.  However, that wasn’t all. We were presented with a certificate and trophy as winner of the NWIB Gardening for Wildlife (Biodiversity) award.

What an accolade for New Ferry Butterfly Park and a fantastic end to 2024.

Left to right: Phil (NFBP chairman), Linda (representing NFBP volunteers),
and Steve (representing Wirral Countryside Volunteers), with the RHS judge
at the North West In Bloom award ceremony

New Ferry Butterfly Park's Outstanding award!

The NWIB Gardening for Wildlife (Biodiversity) award

30th Anniversary of the Butterfly Park: 2023

The 4th May 2023 saw New Ferry Butterfly Park hold its 12th Opening Day. This marked the start of the 28th season of being open to the public. Despite the drizzle, there were 567 guests on the day. They enjoyed the BBQ, delicious homemade cakes, a magnificent plant sale, stalls of local talented crafters and children’s craft activities, including making badges and sowing seeds in newspaper pots. It was a first sight for many of the revamped wildlife demonstration garden dedicated to the park’s founder Mel Roberts. There was lots of information and inspiration to get people started on their own wildflower adventure.

Caroline Lancelyn Green,
guest of honour at the 2023 Butterfly Park Open Day

The guest of honour for the day was Caroline Lancelyn Green. Caroline is a long-term supporter of the Park. She and her family host fundraising garden parties at nearby Poulton Hall from which the park has benefited. Caroline, who is delightfully theatrical, rose to the occasion and came along in a wonderful butterfly scarf which she unfurled to applause.

Caroline came to unveil the latest feature at the park, a new information lectern dedicated to the industrial heritage of the park. This lectern was made possible by a legacy from the late Frank Cottrell, a former chair of Wirral Wildlife and a former Cheshire Wildlife Trust Trustee, combined with donations made in his memory and funding from the Wirral Wildlife. Hilary Ash read a tribute to Frank and said, “He would be wryly amused to be now part of the history of the park.” It was Frank who persuaded the Cheshire Wildlife Trust to take on New Ferry Butterfly Park.

The industrial heritage information board

Sunday 8th October was a warm October day - perfect weather for all things appley. Volunteers at New Ferry Butterfly Park organized an afternoon to celebrate locally grown apples.

A selection of the apples on display at the apple afternoon in October 2023

The first Apple Day was organised on 21st October 1990 by Common Ground to celebrate apples and orchards. Many traditional orchards were being dug up and the country became reliant on imported apples despite about 3,000 apple varieties having been grown in the UK. The aim was to bring the wide variety of local apples to the attention of the public.

John Bateman collected apples and manned the apple press so that visitors could taste freshly pressed juice. We had 21 varieties of apples picked from Brimstage and Upton Hall School orchards plus two varieties from the NFBP committee chairman’s garden. What wonderful names these old varieties have – some dating back to the 17th century. Some varieties like Peasgood’s Nonsuch are named after the person who raised them. Others like Lord Lambourne are named after a person. Catshead is named because of its shape, Red Love for the colour of its skin and flesh and Bee Bench after the tradition of taking bee hives to orchards to pollinate the flowers.

The apple juicing equipment

2023 was also the year we had to reline the pond.

The previous year we realised that the pond had a leak. Water levels had been low all season but even the autumn rains didn’t raise the water level. The pond liner, all 350kg of it, cost us over £3000. It was (slowly and carefully) moved into position at the end of the pond, attached to ropes and a winch, and very slowly unrolled into the pond, rolled along the base, then up the other side. At which point we heaved a sigh of relief and had lunch! We were eventually able to run in 4000 litres of water from our 4 big tanks plus all we had stored in buckets, barrels and an old bath. Some pond weed went back in and a number of newts, diving beetles, dragonfly larvae and doubtless other life. So it was beginning to look like a pond again, ready for a resumption of pond dipping.

Adding buckets of water back to the pond

Adding a pond dipping platform to a refilled pond

A New Artwork Representing New Ferry Butterfly Park

On 22nd March Cheshire Wildlife Trust hosted the first day of an 'Action for Wildlife' weekend at Birkenhead Park.

The artist Luke Crump was there and created hexagonal canvases representing the various groups at the event.

This is the New Ferry Butterfly Park illustration. Isn't it fabulous?

The completed artworks made a fantastic mosaic representing the wonderful nature volunteer work taking place in Wirral.

Thanks Luke for taking the time to create this unusual artwork.

Take a look at more examples of Luke's work:
https://lukecrump.com/

The Woodland Inspectors Call

 

Bluebells in Entrance coppice in Thornton Wood

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust reserves of Foxes Wood and Thornton Wood are both units that lie within Dibbinsdale Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and as such are inspected by Natural England to assess their condition. The lowest point of these woods converges at the hump backed bridge at the bottom of Thornton Common Road, near Raby Mere.

They are designated as part of an SSSI because they are classed as an ancient woodland and the question is do they still match this criteria? Do they match up to the natural communities of species that one would expect in a semi-natural woodland? Two Officers from Natural England, came to carry out a condition survey. I was delighted to be invited to take part in the survey to understand the process. Pre-determined quadrats were taken, five in Thornton Wood and four in Foxes Wood. (See map for the locations of the quadrats and woods.)

Location of quadrats in Thornton Wood and Foxes Wood

Once in the centre of the 100m² quadrat, the following measurements were recorded:

• percentage of canopy cover and species composition
• extent and species composition of under storey
• spread of age and classes of trees
• presence of over mature trees
• extent of dead wood, standing and fallen

The sapling species composition arising is also recorded and the regeneration of Sycamore. This has to be less than 50% and Beech, Laurel and Rhododendron have to be less than 10% of the quadrat to pass. The species of plants on the woodland floor were also assessed with 95% of the coverage needing to be native species to pass.

A packed lunch was enjoyed in the freshly cut Entrance Coppice where the woodland inspectors were impressed by the dense bluebell display and the several butterflies fluttering in the coppice. This survey was in mid-May when the days are getting warmer but just before the canopy opens and shades and cools the coppice floor. Wirral Wildlife spring walks are held in the woods in late April to catch the primrose and wood anemone in flower. However, it is too early to catch the woodland butterflies. Sadly, none of the four coppice areas in Thornton Wood were included in these predetermined quadrats. Luckily one clump of wood anemone was picked up in the survey, which is one of the largest clumps in Thornton Wood, approximately 2m diameter. The extensive area of Variegated Yellow Archangel in the southern tip of Thornton Wood could hardly be missed and was picked up in the survey.

Foxes Wood passed on 14 of the 16 criteria, failing due to Ash die back affecting more than 20% of the canopy and the presence of Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS). In Foxes Wood the INNS are Himalayan Balsam, Pink Purslane, Yellow Archangel, Fringe Cups, Sycamore, Beech and Scots Pine. Thornton Wood passed on 13 of the 16 criteria, failing due to Ash dieback affecting more than 20 % of the canopy and INNS such as Himalayan Balsam, Variegated Yellow Archangel, Pink Purslane, Sycamore and failed a further criteria because in one quadrat 60% of the regeneration of the trees in the quadrat were Sycamores. Very few ancient woodlands in England are in favourable condition, largely because of INNS and Sycamore.

Although the official results for both woods were “declining unfavourable”, the part of Foxes Wood managed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and local volunteer, Tom McCullough, was in good condition and one quadrat passed all the categories. It did not even fail due to Ash die back as there are no Ash trees in that part of Foxes Wood, this area being dominated by oak. However, most of Foxes Wood which is not under CWT management was in an unfavourable declining condition. There are a few honey pots of biodiversity in Thornton Wood, in particular the coppice areas where Primrose, Greater Stitchwort, Barren Strawberry, Wood Anemone and Wood Sorrel occur. It is hoped that these areas are improving as nutrients are cropped at each coppice cut. 

Some of these favourable areas within the woods can be viewed on a guided spring walk with the Wirral Countryside Volunteers on Saturday 26th April at 9.30 am. Places are limited so booking is essential via the Ticket Tailor link below:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/wirralcountrysidevolunteers/1468284

Note: there are no defined paths in the wood and it is steep in parts so stout footwear is required.


Paul Loughnane
Thornton Wood Reserves Manager and Secretary of Wirral Countryside Volunteers