In August we helped children at Pensby library to make paper
trees, giant flowers and mobiles with bees and butterflies to help them learn
about the importance of pollination.
The desk was decorated with examples of what they made.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Year of Coast and Countryside - September events
2012 is the 50th Birthday of Cheshire Wildlife Trust. It is also Wirral Borough's "Year of Coast and Countryside". To celebrate both we have organised a programme of guided walks exploring Wirral's wildlife and its local history. We have also set up 5 wildflower plantings to make a lasting contribution to our local area. More details on:
Tuesday 4th September
Thurstaston Common - Lowland Heathland
Enjoy lowland heathland at its peak flowering time, with heaths, heathers and gorse in flower. Discover how this landscape was formed, how it is conserved, and meet the current managers, both human and animal. We are fortunate to have one of the rarest habitats in Western Europe on our doorstep.
Leader: Jon Twigg, National Trust warden.
Meet: 2 p.m. Royden Park, outside the coach house and toilets. Grid ref: SJ246858.
Free, no need to book. Rough ground so wear stout footwear.
Sunday 9th September
Wild Flower Planting for Cheshire Wildlife Trust's 50th Birthday
Plant 50 wild flowers at Dawpool Nature Reserve, on the Wirral Way at Thurstaston. Betony, bird's-foot trefoil, viper's bugloss, ragged robin and ox-eye daisy, to help future years' butterflies and bees with nectar, pollen and caterpillar food-plant. Attractive flowers for people to enjoy as well.
All ages welcome! Plants funded by Wirral Borough Council as part of the Year of Coast and Countryside.
Leaders: Wirral Ranger and members of Wirral Wildlife
Meet: 2 p.m. Wirral Country Park visitor centre, Station Road, Thurstaston. Grid ref: SJ 239834.
Wear stout footwear. Tools provided, but bringing a trowel may be helpful.
Saturday 15th September
Wildflower Planting - Bidston Moss
Plant wild flowers at Bidston Moss, to add to the wildlife on the former landfill. Thanks to the Forestry Commission, Wirral BC and the Friends of Bidston Moss we have 120 plants to put in! Cowslip, ragged robin, sweet cicely, fleabane, meadowsweet, betony and bedstraw, to help future years' butterflies and bees with nectar and pollen. Attractive flowers for people to enjoy as well. All ages welcome!
Leaders: Forestry Commission and members of Wirral Wildlife.
Meet: 2 p.m. on Wallasey Bridge Road, by the signed footpath onto Bidston Moss (adjacent to the Household Waste Recycling Facility exit) Grid reference: SJ 297907.
Very limited parking in front of the Materials Recycling Facility thanks to Veolia (gate between the entrance and exit to the Household Waste Recycling Facility), but parking available in local streets, and Bidston North station is 10 minutes walk away.
Wear stout footwear, fairly steep slope to climb. Tools provided, but bringing a trowel may be helpful.
Booking not essential as we have so many plants.
Thursday 20th September
Stones and Birds
Discover some really ancient history, and modern wildlife. Join local geologist Hilary Davies and a Wirral Ranger to find out about the nationally-important geology of the clay cliffs at Thurstaston, and where their variety of pebbles have come from. Watch out for birds as the migrants come back from their breeding grounds; leaders will help distinguish the redshanks from the dunlin from the curlew.
Meet: 10 a.m. Thurstaston Visitor Centre, Wirral Country Park. Grid reference: SJ239834.
We will walk down the Station Road steps and along the beach: stout footwear required.
Free, no need to book.
Wirral Countryside Volunteers - Autumn Events
Wirral Countryside Volunteers have announced their autumn programme of events. Everyone is welcome, no experience is necessary. Just bring your enthusiasm, stout footwear, gloves, waterproofs and some lunch. For more information, visit their website or Facebook page.
September
Sunday 16th
West Kirby RAF camp
Scrub removal from wildflower grassland.
Meet: Lay by on Saughall Massie
Road Oldfield Lane
Time: 9.30 a.m.
Saturday 29th
Cutting woodland ride and glade, plus bonfire.
Meet: Wirral Rugby Club Car Park (Grid Ref: SJ 323813).
Time: 9.30 a.m.
October
Sunday 7th
Willaston Meadow
Scything a wildflower grassland.
Meet: Public car park nr Pollard Inn (Grid Ref: SJ 279778).
Time: 9.30 a.m.
Sunday 14th
New Ferry Butterfly Park
Scything a wildflower grassland.
Meet: Butterfly Park
Time: 9.30 a.m.
Tuesday 23rd, Saturday 27th, Sunday 28th and Monday 29th
Thornton Wood, Lamperloons Coppice
Hazel coppice. Including bonfire on 27th, 28th and 29th.
Meet: Bridge over M53 on Thornton Common Rd
Time: 9.30 a.m.
November
Sunday 11th
New Ferry Butterfly Park
Establish bluebells under hazel coppice. Celebrate 50 years of
the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.
Meet: Butterfly Park
Time: 9.30 a.m.
Thursday 22nd
John Masefield
Meal (6.30 p.m.), group meeting (7.30 p.m.) and social (9 p.m.)
Meet: John Masefield, New Ferry.
Time: from 6.30 p.m.
Sunday 25th
Hedge laying training day.
Meet: Old Clatterbridge Road, CH63 4JB.
Time: 9.30 a.m.
December
Sunday 2nd
Hedge laying & hedge trimming.
Meet: Reserve entrance, Gilroy Road (Grid Ref: SJ 225875).
Time: 9.30 a.m.
Sunday 9th
New Ferry Butterfly Park
Hedgerow management.
Meet: Butterfly Park
Time: 9.30 a.m.
Monday, 20 August 2012
Heritage Walks at Butterfly Park
 |
| Pond dipping at New Ferry Butterfly Park |
This year, New Ferry Butterfly Park will be participating in Wirral's Heritage Open Days. The events give access to buildings of interest and also provide a range of walking tours and activities to focus attention on our local history, heritage and culture. For the full programme, take a look at the Visit Wirral website.
There will be two opportunities to take part in the guided walk around the Butterfly Park:
Sunday 2nd September and Sunday 9th September
2 p.m.
The walk will explore the industrial heritage of this former railway goods yard (brick making and railway operation), and the natural history now it is an invertebrate nature reserve. This short walk is only about 600 m long but there is much to see. The walk will take 1.5 hours, with pond dipping and other children's activities available.
Admission is free but donations are welome.
The park is signposted from Bebington Road and the access is between Aldi and the railway bridge. Some parking is available inside the Butterfly Park.
The lower half of the Park is disabled-accessible.
Booking is essential; a maximum of 30 places are available for each day. Contact Paul Loughnane (0151 645 8937) or Hilary Ash (0151 327 5923).
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Comma Project Open Evening
Pamela Sullivan will be presenting her Favela art installation at a viewing on Thursday 16th August from 6 to 8 p.m.
New Ferry Comma Project, 66 Bebington Road, Wirral.
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Parkgate BioBlitz
A BioBlitz is an event to organise a large number of people to record all the species they can find within a given area over a short period of time.
On Friday 31st August and Saturday 1st September there will be a BioBlitz at Parkgate, covering the different species and habitats found in the area. Click on the poster above for more information.
For further details contact Adam Britt by email or telephone him on 07841 249760.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Pond Dipping In The Rain
It must be the image to characterise this summer - pond-dipping in the
rain! Fortunately it turned out to be a passing shower and 37 people enjoyed
lots of pond creatures, including efts (baby newts), water boatmen,
back-swimmers and some fearsome-jawed water beetle larvae and dragonfly larvae.
The sun came out while we led a guided walk and brought quite a number of
butterflies and bees with it. Both are suffering from the weather and all over the
country, numbers are well down on what we usually expect. However, we have seen
most of the species we would expect at this time of year on New Ferry Butterfly
Park - Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Comma, Red Admiral, Skippers and Whites. The
missing one is Painted Lady, which usually migrates up to here in June - no
doubt they all decided to stay somewhere drier.
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