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| Astra Zeneca team 2025 |
Most seniors get an annual influenza vaccine, possibly manufactured locally by Astra Zeneca, Speke, Liverpool. New Ferry Butterfly Park got its annual Astra Zeneca (AZ) booster in August when ten AZ employees and a coordinator from Employee Volunteering came - they worked on four projects.
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| Restoring the Butterfly Park boundary |
Our founder Mel Roberts’ former residence, adjacent to the park has been sold and restored for the rental market. The new owners removed the dilapidated fencing and all the fencing was handsomely restored apart from a small wedge at the end of the garden which was cut short leaving a bit of an undetermined boundary. The AZ team solved this under the direction of our in-house volunteer, Peter Martin, by putting in two concrete posts, two gravel boards and two wooden fence panels to make the park safe. AZ also provided funds for the material for this project; they can come again. They worked carefully around the 25-year-old crab apple tree on the boundary not to damage its roots. There was a small gap left in the new fencing, but the gap is going to be bridged with a bespoke panel made to measure by Timber Kings, Prenton.
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| A sunken bath planted up |
A bath donated by a volunteer during the pond restoration project last year was sunken into the ground by the M&S Bank team in July. The AZ team filled the bath with soil and water with a thin layer of compost placed on top. This newly created wetland area was then planted up with plants used by butterflies. There was bugle, a great spring nectar source used by eleven species of butterfly found at the park and lady’s smock, the larval food plant of both orange tip and the green veined-white butterflies. Also added were Common Sorrel a larval food plant for the Small Copper and Devil’s bit scabious, a great end of season nectar sources used by ten species of butterfly found at the park. Another addition was Common Fleabane which is used impressively by sixteen butterfly species at the park and is the favourite nectar source of the small copper butterfly.
In dry summers it is great to keep some nectar and larval sources in good condition. Very soon three small copper butterflies were recorded adjacent to the sunken bath. In this dry summer, sheep’s sorrel, one of the larval food plants of the Small Copper, were starting to dry out in the coal dust areas and became unsuitable for larval survival. On a well-drained railway site, which the park is, the wetland areas provide welcome respite in dry summers.
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| The bracken removal party |
For the first time for some years, bracken was cut at the park as it is starting to advance over the railway ballast areas. Paths were created in Charlie’s Field by mowing with scythes. A couple of employees loved using the scythes, especially when they cut close to the ground as it was much easier and gave a much better cut. Hilary gave an engaging lunch time tour to give a bigger picture of the park and how all these projects contributed to the continued success of the park. One of the AZ staff who came from Bebington and had never heard of the park will be coming again, another link made. We look forward to another booster next year.
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| Scything in Charlie's Field |
(Photos by Mike Elderton and Hilary Ash)
Paul Loughnane
Reserve Manager, New Ferry Butterfly Park
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