River Dee Guardians Ithaca Energy joined the River Dee Trust at Inverdee on July 26 to remove invasive Himalayan Balsam from the riverbanks on the well-known stretch between the Bridge of Dee and the King George VI Bridge in Aberdeen.
A determined group of volunteers from Ithaca’s Wells team tackled a particularly dense and very tall growing area of the invasive plant that spreads prolifically along the lower Dee.
Keilidh Ewan, Education Officer at the Trust explains why it is important to remove this invasive species from our riverbanks: “Himalayan Balsam crowds out many native plant species and negatively impacts the local ecology. It also has an incredibly shallow root system adding no benefit to the stability of the riverbank making it susceptible to damage and erosion when the river floods.
"This species in particular spreads very quickly thanks to its explosive seed capsules. This means we have a short window during the summer months to remove these plants before their seed heads mature.
"Fortunately, volunteers like River Dee Guardians, Ithaca Energy, enable us to make a real difference. The team from Ithaca managed to clear an impressive area that will make future management at the site much easier.”
The Trust’s work to remove Himalayan Balsam and other invasive non-native plants, including the notorious Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed and the fantastically named American Skunk Cabbage is made possible thanks to support from the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI).
To learn more about how your organisation can become a River Dee Guardian and enable world-leading conservation on your doorstep, contact claire@riverdee.org.