Seashore Safari

Tuesday 15th May

Come and join in delving into the rock pools on New Brighton shore to see what is hiding under water - maybe starfish, sea anemones, shrimps, worms, seaweeds. Also find out about Fort Perch Rock and its history, why it is there and what is now inside. 

All ages welcome. Stout footwear advised.

Meet 4pm, in front of Fort Perch Rock, Marine Promenade, New Brighton.

New Ferry Butterfly Park Open Day

Click on the image to view it at a larger size.

Dibbinsdale walk

The weather obliged (for once) for our bluebell walk through Dibbinsdale Local Nature Reserve (part of Dibbinsdale SSSI). Pete Miller, recently retired Ranger for the area led 15 visitors through the woods from Bromborough Rake station - a little-known end of the LNR, but some of the best woodland flora. We were able to see the last of the celandines and wood anemones, and the start of the massed native bluebells, with many other woodland specialities including sanicle, wood sorrel, golden saxifrage, ramsons, barren strawberry, violets and, on the flood plain, bright yellow kingcups. We also met some of the invaders - the relatively innocuous pink purslane, and the real problems of Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam.

Pete had many tales to tell, including the problems of creating new pools in the flood plain, when one large machine had to be rescued from the mud by an even larger one! Age range went from 2-year-old Lucy, who much enjoyed the puddles, to nearly 90 years young. We were very pleased that Caroline Lancelyn Green was able to come along and add to Pete's tales of the history from her own knowledge of the Lancelyn family archives. Did you know that one William de Launcelyn was fined for cutting down trees on his own land, but in contravention of the medieval Forest Laws? The family had to all chip in to pay the fine - plus ca change!

Woodland Management The Traditional Way

Paul Loughnane led a fascinating walk around Thornton Common, explaining its history as common land and why it survived enclosure, and the current management. Wirral Countryside Volunteers have managed the Common on behalf of Wirral Borough Council for over 20 years. They have opened up the ponds, at least one of which now supports Great Crested Newts and several dragonfly species. They have also pollarded trees, laid hedges and made a woodland ride, attracting orange tip butterflies to breed. Management of this site and Thornton Wood has won several awards, including the Dragonfly Award from Mersey Basin Campaign. From there we went down the road to Tom's Paddock (a grassland Local Wildlife Site, just showing cuckoo flower and orchids), into Foxes Wood (CWT reserve and part of Dibbinsdale SSSI). Bitter-vetch was just in flower - an uncommon species in Wirral and western Cheshire. Bluebells, moschatel and golden saxifrage were flowering. Across the road and back via Little Thornton Common into Thornton Wood, another CWT reserve, also managed by Wirral Countryside Volunteers. Here we were treated to excellent displays of native bluebells, wood anemones, wood sorrel, ferns, kingcups and other woodland plants. We visited the coppice coups, which are cut on rotation every 6 years to provide stakes for hedge laying and sticks for beans. Paul explained the process, and the increased yield each time they have been coppiced, following  a long period of neglect.

Open Evening at Comma Project

Official Opening of Comma Project

Last Friday Harriet Harman MP and Alison McGovern MP officially opened the Comma Project at its location on 66 Bebington Road, New Ferry. As well as serving as an information centre for New Ferry Butterfly Park, it will be a venue for free workshops from now until September.

There are more photographs on the Butterfly Park's Facebook page

Here is a video from the opening.

Do come and see us there and watch the blog for details of the next workshop.

Flower planting at Birkenhead Park

As part of Cheshire Wildlife Trust's 50th birthday celebrations, four families enjoyed planting 50 wildflower plants on 14th April at Birkenhead Park. The Park Rangers are developing a wildflower meadow on an area disturbed when lake spoil was stored there during the restoration of the Park. This has left a heavy clay soil with poor drainage - good for damp loving wild flowers such as the ragged robin, marsh woundwort, cowslips and bugle which were planted. Thanks to the clash with a certain football match, it will be mostly ladies who have the pleasure of looking in future years and saying "I planted those!"

Anne Litherland, Senior Ranger, said "We are very grateful to Cheshire Wildlife Trust for helping to move this project forward. Because of the historic landscape, most of the Park is very formal, and this is one chance to have a more natural area." The wildflowers, attractive in themselves, will also provide nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other insects. Funding was provided by Cheshire Wildlife Trust and Wirral Borough Council Tourism Dept, under their Year of Coast & Countryside initiative. Look for the wildflower meadow next to the Royal British Legion Birkenhead Branch building.

The remaining wildflower plantings for CWT's 50th birthday will be on 9th September at Dawpool, Wirral Country Park, and on 15th September at Bidston Moss former landfill site. On 11th November 500 native bluebells will be planted at New Ferry Butterfly Park.

Anyone is welcome to join in the planting - to book email us or telephone 0151 327 5923.