New Ferry Butterfly Park facts for kids

New Ferry Butterfly Park is a special place in New Ferry, England. It's a nature reserve that covers about 2 hectares (or 5 acres) and is looked after by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. This park is a fantastic home for many different kinds of plants and animals, especially butterflies!

The park is built on land that used to be old railway tracks. The soil here is quite thin and doesn't have many nutrients. However, special waste from a water-softening plant was used to create a unique type of grassland. This is called a calcareous grassland. It's perfect for wildflowers like wild carrot and even rare bee orchids.

Other parts of the park have soil mixed with coal dust. This has created an acidic grassland. Here you can find plants like common bent, sheep's sorrel, and bird's-foot trefoil.

The park is home to at least 397 different species! This includes many types of butterflies, moths, bees, and spiders. Twenty-six different kinds of butterflies have been seen here. Sixteen of these butterfly species actually breed and raise their young in the park.

In recent years, the park has also shown off amazing outdoor sculptures.

A Park with a Past

The Cheshire Wildlife Trust (CWT) started looking after this land in 1993. The owner at that time was the British Railways Board. Later, in 1997, a company called Frithmere Ltd. bought the land.

Saving the Park

In 2009, New Ferry Butterfly Park faced a big problem. Frithmere told the CWT that they had to leave the site. This meant the park was in danger of closing down! As an idea, Frithmere suggested a landfill site as an alternative. But many people wanted to save the butterfly park.

In January 2010, a secret report was sent to the Wirral Council. Thousands of people signed petitions to support the park. The report suggested that the council should use a special power called a compulsory purchase order. This would allow the council to buy the land and stop the park from closing.

A Legal Victory

On June 29, 2011, a court made an important decision. The court said that Frithmere's notice to make the CWT leave was not correct. The judge warned Frithmere that it would be very hard for them to succeed in closing the park. This was because the land is so important for nature. The judge even said it would be difficult to get permission to build anything new there. This was a big win for the park!

Visiting the Park

Even though the park has a short-term lease, which makes it hard to get big grants or build a full visitor center, it still has some facilities. There's a composting toilet and an indoor space in a cargo container.

The park welcomes visitors during certain times:

• May to September: Sunday afternoons from 12 PM to 4 PM.
• October to April: The second Sunday of each month from 10 AM to 4 PM.

You can also arrange guided visits at other times by checking the Cheshire Wildlife Trust website.