Volunteers from Serica Energy could be found on the banks of the lower Dee at Peterculter on August 2 where it joined the River Dee Trust to tackle the challenge of invasive plants and their detrimental impact on the riverbank.
Serica rallied to the Trust’s call for help earlier this year becoming a River Dee Guardian, committing time and funding to enable vital work towards the restoration and conservation of the River Dee.
A team of eight intrepid volunteers worked tirelessly to hand-pull Himalayan Balsam, a pretty but non-native invasive plant that spreads prolifically along the lower Dee.
Claire Fleming, engagement officer for the Trust said: “We were delighted to welcome Serica for its first volunteering session as River Dee Guardians. The volunteers were not scared to get their hands dirty tackling a huge area of previously untouched Himalayan Balsam that was densely populated and at points reached heights topping eight feet. With the sunshine and humidity, it did feel like a jungle adventure!
"The team’s hard work will reduce the spread of this invasive plant downstream, and come next year, we hope to see less growing back here and more of our native species starting to come through on the riverbanks.”
Himalayan Balsam crowds out many native plant species and has an incredibly shallow root system adding no benefit to the stability of the riverbank. With explosive seed capsules it spreads very quickly. It is also very attractive to insects which has a negative impact on the pollination of native plants that better sustain wildlife.
Johnny Pike, ESG analyst at Serica said: “As proud River Dee Guardians, it was great to be able to get our team out to support the Trust’s work in removing invasive Himalayan Balsam. We look forward to continuing to get involved in great opportunities to support our river."
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.