Himalayan balsam is a widespread problem across the River Tay catchment. It infests many rivers and tributaries and is so prevalent that it is difficult to know where to begin – with only a short control window available to us in late July and early August, it is essential to target key locations to be effective.
The River Ericht is a picturesque tributary of the Tay which runs through Bridge of Cally village and Blairgowrie and Rattray town before meeting the River Isla. Himalayan balsam is present on the Ericht, with the infestation beginning in Blairgowrie.
This is an ideal location to begin control work as the upstream source is in a town where there are volunteers willing to help and relatively easy access to the riverbanks. There was a lot of local interest in tackling Himalayan balsam – and an enthusiastic community who were determined to get on top of the problem.
Biodiversity Blair is a group of local volunteers in the Blairgowrie and Rattray area who are working to improve the environment for native wildlife. We began working with the community group in 2024 to tackle Himalayan balsam infestations in and around the town. Local volunteers started pulling balsam, organised through Biodiversity Blair, while the Initiative helped to supplement these efforts through SISI volunteer days.
In 2025, we began working with corporate groups to help bolster the efforts of the local community. Groups from the Marine Directorate and Scottish Water joined us for Conservation Volunteer Days to pull Himalayan balsam and learn all about the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative project. This year, we were very pleased to have the Marine Directorate join us once again and to have the Environment and Forestry Directorate out with us for the first time.
In addition, Biodiversity Blair has organised volunteer days with Blairgowrie High School, the Dundee Conservation Volunteers, and A. Proctor Group Ltd. Altogether, visiting groups, project volunteers and Biodiversity Blair have put in hundreds of hours of control since work began in 2024.
The combined efforts of these various volunteer groups have made significant progress – together we have fully controlled the uppermost infestation on the river and control work has now moved further downstream. Biodiversity Blair have also been pulling balsam in other locations around the town, helping to supplement the main target sites and preventing the plant from spreading any further.
It has been wonderful to work with this dedicated community group and local volunteers and to have so many hard working and enthusiastic folk joining us from the Marine Directorate, Scottish Water and the Environment and Forestry Directorate. Thank you to everyone involved!
