Visitors to Court Hey Park are now able to tell the time using a unique timepiece - a mosaic human sundial permanently situated in the terrace area.

Schoolchildren from Blacklow Brow Primary, Malvern Primary and St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Junior Schools in Huyton designed and created the sundial with local artist, Alun Lloyd Jones. The sundial needs a person to stand in the centre to be the pointer (Gnomon) and their shadow then shows the time! The positioning of the sundial within Court Hey Park is mathematically calculated depending on the grid reference and true north and is correct in both GMT and BST.

It was unveiled by the Mayor of Knowsley, Cllr Murphy and the children involved. Alun Lloyd Jones was on hand to explain how the sundial works. Knowsley’s Arts Officer, Charlotte Corrie was extremely pleased with the result saying, “It really does work, you just need the sun! We hope this will become a popular feature within the park.”

A time capsule containing letters to the future by local schoolchildren, plans for the park, history of the park, Friends of Court Hey Park membership badge, ‘Knowsley’s Tomorrow’ document and an assortment of leaflets were buried near the sundial as part of the unveiling ceremony.

Knowsley’s National Wildflower Centre recently held a Green Fayre celebrating all things ecological.

A key attraction of the day was the unveiling of the human sundial as part of this year’s theme - Old Father Time! As well as the sundial, school children from Westvale Primary School in Kirkby created dandelion clocks from recycled plastic bottles.

As well as the ‘clocks’ children could make ‘White Rabbit’ ears from willow, and the real white rabbit led a procession to the sundial. Sarah Vasey, Knowsley’s Environmental Education Officer, said, “The event promotes sustainable lifestyles, including shopping ethically, recycling waste, energy efficiency, sustainable transport and allotments. There was information, handy tips and give-aways available on all these ideas and more. As well as the information tent there was also a craft marque and workshop sessions on circus skills and drumming.”

Knowsley Annual Green Fayre is a partnership between Knowsley’s Leisure and Community Services, the National Wildflower Centre and Merseytravel as part of the Green Transport Festival and Knowsley’s Cultural Festival.

Sarah continued, “The event was yet again a huge success and goes from strength to strength; we are really happy to be part of the Green Transport Festival and to work with the National Wildflower Centre.”