23 September 2015
New Ferry Butterfly park is a Cheshire Wildlife Trust
reserve and an oasis of green tranquillity in a densely populated
urban area. Originally abandoned railway sidings, its industrial
past has been put to good use as a home for wildlife.
On the thin, nutrient-poor soils which overlie old railway track
beds, there are now carpets of wild flowers, including bird's foot
trefoil and wild carrot. The lime waste from a water softening
plant has been used to create calcareous grassland with hosts of
yellow cowslip in spring and purple marsh orchids in summer. Up to
26 species of butterfly have been recorded here, with 18 or 19
species breeding on site depending on the season.
The site's community Green Flag Award recognises and highlights
that people in New Ferry are benefitting from a green space of the
very highest quality. Last year's Green Flag Award judge's report
was used in support of a successful grant application to gain an
eco-loo for the park, to cater for the park's 2,500 visitors who
come each season.
The Park's honorary secretary Paul Loughnane said, "We are
absolutely delighted to receive a Green Flag Award for the second
time from Keep Britain Tidy and that we were one of only 25 sites
in the county nominated for a pollinator award, which shows our
habitat management for butterflies has also benefited an increase
in bee populations here."
Malcolm Plant, Chair of the Cheshire and Peak Branch of
Butterfly Conservation said, "We recently held a butterfly
identification workshop at the park and were delighted that we had
selected the park with the large number of the butterfly species
resident in Cheshire and the Wirral seen. This is definitely a
regional hot spot for butterflies and a superb example of how a
piece of land can be effectively managed for the benefit of our
wildlife."
The Green Flag judge who awarded the park an overall score
within the top banding, said. "This is an exceptional
site that deserves the Green Flag. The Wildlife Trust have
transformed what was once a discarded industrial railway siding and
station into an extraordinary biodiversity site catering for not
only butterflies but a wide selection of other insects and small
mammals. The Trust has realised the value of the different soil
composition, which industry has left, to develop plant species
which would not natural be in that location. This in turns
increases the diversity of invertebrates and other animals in the
site. The enthusiasm and the knowledge of the volunteers are
excellent and they just want to share it with the
visitors."
The park celebrated their achievements with a flag raising by
Lord Lyndon Harrison who 20 years ago declared the Park to the
public. This was followed by a celebratory BBQ for those involved
in the park now and during the past 20 years.