THE wonder of nature has literally taken off at Inverkip Hub's community garden.

The Blooming Inverkip group took young people under their wing as two Greenock families nurtured butterfly kits and watched the larvae develop colourful wings, before being released into the world.

Bob Russell, founder of Blooming Inverkip, says the butterfly garden at the Hub has been a great success since being developed in 2019.

He said: "A lot of the plants here are pollen-rich and attract butterflies."

Youngster Zara Bonnar, 10, a pupil at St Mary's Primary, took part in the project last year and got her best friend Ailiedh Strathie and her big brother Euan, 14, involved.

Ailiedh, 10, of Ardgowan Primary, has become a bit of an expert and is up with all the terms such as 'gestation station'

She said: "Zara came to our house with a butterfly kit so we could raise them from caterpillars.

"It was really interesting."

The Tele was there to witness Ailiedh and Euan's brood 'leaving home'.

The youngsters became quite attached to their butterflies, giving them names including Sausage, Lily and Spike.

The Strathies were joined by their mum Gillian while Zara's mum and dad Michael and Zoë were also on hand.

Zoë said: "It's a good for them to learn about nature and it is giving back to the environment as well.

"It's nice for friends to do something together."