It has been a fairly quiet month. The wildflowers that were cut back last month in the hope of one more display which is trying its best. The sad demise of the Christmas tree has resulted in a planned replacement in October from a local specialist nursery. We received a fantastic donation from local residents Liam and Michelle of sixteen ornamental rocks and rhododendrons. We have installed two of the large rocks to the rear of the sculpture as part of the planned photo shop image. This now provides us with an understanding of how much money we have for the final component involving the purchase and installation of a bespoke eco-noticeboard which we are currently exploring. The bottle tops are coming in thick and fast and so far we have one school enlisted to upcycle the bottle tops into a mosaic but we are currently exploring other upcycling and charitable recycling options. The picture shows another potential mosaic image. All the best, FOMD

Huge thanks to: Spacecare, for their continued maintenance of the wildflower areas, which this month involved cutting them down to 2/3 inches after the wildflowers (oxide daisies) had died down. Hopefully, when we have raked the debris away we will get another display before the end of the year. They also kindly power hosed the walkway pavement and wall between Morrisons and the Halifax, in preparation for a planned plastic bottle top mosaic to be installed sometime within the next year. Maghull’s Children and Parents, for entering the rhinoceros sculpture name competition, in which the winner will be announced this month. We had nearly 60 entries, many of which were ingeniously creative, making the three judges work hard. However, we eventually chose the name ‘Rainbow’ and randomly chose the winner from the five Rainbow entries. Phil Dillan (MTC Communities Officer) is currently exploring some runner-up prizes and a permanent sign for the sculpture. Maghull Town Council Park Rangers, for partially emptying the full ‘Rainbow’ of bottle tops. We have contacted the art departments of three local high schools to explore if they would be interested in creating a large mosaic from upcycled plastic bottle tops and so far one school (previously painted flower art on the bin outside Halifax) has expressed an interest and we will be meeting them next week. Any bottle tops that cannot be upcycled are being considered for a recycling charity. St Georges and Green Park Primary Schools, for planting the mix wildlife friendly hedging in November 2019, which is looking really healthy, having grown to 6 foot high in parts. Coming up This Month: Sadly, the Nordmann (Christmas) tree, despite regular watering and feeding appears to have a terminal disease and may need to be replaced. in October. Should a donated Rockery backdrop to the sculpture be suitable we will then be able to finish the project with the final component of an ecology noticeboard depending on how much remaining funding we have available. Pictured: an example of what can be achieved when creating a bottle top mosaic. All the best, FOMD

Name the Rhino Children’s Competition. The eco rhino at Stafford Moreton Way needs a name and we are inviting local children to submit their ideas. There is a prize of a family ticket to Knowsley Safari Park for the winner plus a £30 replica rhino model. The competition is for under 16's, so please encourage them to get involved. Please see poster in previous post for the simple application details. Link to Safari Park: https://www.knowsleysafariexperience.co.uk/ Please Help Us to Continue Improving the Environment in Maghull. We need your kind donations to reach our £3/5,000 October target, which currently stands at £700. Our aim is to populate a 50x4 border with woodland themed planting at Bobby’s Wood/Woodend (junction of Liverpool Road South and Northway). More information and donations can be made at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/woodend Previous projects include: • Stafford Morton Way Wildflower Project: https://www.spacehive.com/stafford-moreton • Woodend (Stage One): https://www.spacehive.com/woodend • 9,000 Trees throughout Maghull: https://www.facebook.com/.../154530.../posts/837487836979271 • Prompting Park Lane Improvements. https://www.facebook.com/groups/154530851941643 Many thanks and best of luck, Friends of Maghull and District (FOMD)

What an amazing month: 1.1 Recycling Rhinoceros Sculpture, was unveiled on the 6.6.21 by the new Mayor of Maghull (John Sayers) and the philanthropic Castle Foundry MD and creator (Chris Butler). With presentations from John, Chris, myself and Frank Kennedy (Friends of the Earth). The icing on the cake was that the representatives from the primary schools that collected the majority of the bottle tops were the first to insert them into the sculpture, from a jungle themed cardboard box, decorated by Bumbles children’s nursery. It was a fantastic day and really well received from the local community who have nearly filled the whole rhinoceros up. We are incredibly indebted to so many people and organisations and hope to create a You Tube video and send individual letters to express our gratitude in the near future. We are particularly grateful to the property maintenance company (Spacecare) who must have spent in the region of £1000 for the free installation of the hard landscaping. 1.2 The unveiling was covered in the media by the Liverpool Echo and the Champion Newspaper, and somehow received mentions in Washington USA and Germany! 1.3 Currently: 1.3.1 In collaboration with Maghull Town Council (MTC) we are running an eco name competition for the rhinoceros, with a family ticket to Knowsley Safari Park and the original model used to upscale the sculpture (closing date 12.7.21), also covered by the Champion Newspaper. 1.3.2 Exploring a backdrop to the sculpture, which may involve large boulders and/or shrubs/bulbs. Depending on costs, we then hope to purchase and install a ecology noticeboard, to complete the project. 1.3.3 Any surplus bottle tops in the future is being considered for a community art mosaic installation. 2.0 Wildflowers. The 102 m² of wildflower turf that was planted in November 2020, has had two consecutive waves of colour, involving purple Nat weed and oxide Daisy. The Nordmann and holly trees have required a lot of TLC in the form of daily watering! 3.0 In summary, in July we hope to have made some progress on the backdrop and name of the sculpture, have plans for the mosaics & noticeboard, and created a thank you video. Many thanks and best wishes to one and all, FOMD 4.0 Please Help Us to Continue Improving the Environment in Maghull. We need your kind donations to reach our £3/5,000 October target, which currently stands at £700. Our aim is to populate a 50x4 border with woodland themed planting at Bobby’s Wood/Woodend (junction of Liverpool Road South and Northway). More information and donations can be made at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/woodend Previous projects include: • Stafford Morton Way Wildflower Project: https://www.spacehive.com/stafford-moreton • Woodend (Stage One): https://www.spacehive.com/woodend • 9,000 Trees throughout Maghull: https://www.facebook.com/groups/154530851941643/posts/837487836979271 • Prompting Park Lane Improvements. https://www.facebook.com/groups/154530851941643 5.0 Pictured: SMW project viewed from the Home Bargains perspective, foreground showing weeded, wood chipped and planted border, and other aspects of the project in the background eg trees, wildflowers, and community art bin.

The unveiling (6.6.21) of the recycling rhinoceros on Stafford Moreton Way organised by the Friends of Maghull & District (FOMD) & and supported by MTC is covered by the Champion newspaper this week https://www.champnews.com/papers/pdf/SS2421.pdf#page=9, and earlier by the Liverpool Echo (13.6.21) which somehow got ‘recycled’ and has appeared on German news media and a Washington news daily!! Thank you for everyone’s brilliant support and compliments about the sculpture and wildflowers. If you would like to help or obtain further information about our current project to raise funds to stock a huge border with woodland themed planting at Bobby’s Wood/Woodend (at the junction of Liverpool Road South and Northway) please watch the short introductory video or donate at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/woodend In addition, there is a 6 min thank you video to acknowledge everyone who have supported the work we have undertaken to date at Woodend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6dsg4oiMsw All the Best, FOMD

Since the community funded Wildflower turf was planted on Stafford Moreton Way in the November 2020 dormant growth period, the 102 m² of wildflowers are really starting to deliver, with a purple bulging display of Nat weed in May, and currently being superseded by a beautiful white tidal wave of tall Oxide Daisy en masse (see video). Oxide Daisy is known for attracting bees, beneficial insects, birds, butterflies/moths and other pollinators. It’s nectar-pollen-rich-flowers, has seeds for birds and is a caterpillar food plant. The Wildflower turf was generously planted for free by the brilliant Ashworth Hospital Gardeners supported and organised by the Friends of Maghull and District (FOMD). FOMD raised £6500 from our community as part of a series of initiatives to improve the local environment in this busy area, including 1500 bulbs, 12 trees, 28 m of mixed wildlife friendly hedging, eco-sculpture and future eco-noticeboard. Please Help Us to Continue Improving the Environment in Maghull. We need your kind donations to reach our £3/5,000 October target, which currently stands at £680. Our aim is to populate a 50x4 border with woodland themed planting at Bobby’s Wood/Woodend (junction of Liverpool Road South and Northway). More information and donations can be made at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/woodend Previous projects include: • Stafford Morton Way Wildflower Project: https://www.spacehive.com/stafford-moreton • Woodend (Stage One): https://www.spacehive.com/woodend • 9,000 Trees throughout Maghull: https://www.facebook.com/.../154530.../posts/837487836979271 Many Thanks and Best Wishes, FOMD

Naming Competition for Eco-Community Rhino. Prize: *Knowsley Safari Park Family Tickets. *Replica Rhino Model. We want you to submit a name for our full-sized Recycling Rhinoceros on Stafford Moreton Way, Maghull. The sculpture has been designed to collect plastic bottle tops to highlight the importance of recycling and endangered wildlife, whilst being an engaging friend to the community. Consequently, the name should draw on these elements. Closing Date: 12 July 2021. Submissions to: • Maghull Town Council, Hall Lane, Maghull. L317BB. • Email: info@maghull-tc.gov.uk Please include: age under 16, your name, telephone and email address. PS The rhinoceros sculpture in Wales is affectionately known as Edith!