During Invasive Species Week (12 – 18 May) we hosted STV News on a visit to the the River Urie to see giant hogweed and the work we’re doing to tackle it
The Urie in Aberdeenshire has one of the worst giant hogweed infestations in our project area, with around 30 km of river bank covered by this invasive non-native plant. With the help of dedicated volunteers (including Callum, who joined us for the interview!) we’ve been tackling the problem since 2023, starting at the source of the infestation and working steadily downstream.
During Invasive Species Week (12 – 18 May) Project Officer Jan Simpson and dedicated volunteer Callum met with STV News on the banks of the Urie to see the giant hogweed present along the river.
Jan said: “Giant hogweed causes serious problems both for the native biodiversity and with risks to people, who come into contact with it, it’s got a toxic sap.
“Where the ground isn’t disturbed for other reasons, for example farming, giant hogweed would take over and cover massive areas.”
“The problem with giant hogweed is that each plant has thousands of seeds, and the seed bank becomes a problem. So in areas like the Urie, we will clear these plants; they’ll be sprayed this year, and then will die off. But there’s probably the better part of ten years’ worth of control needed here, in order to really get the problem under control.”
Volunteers put in 488 hours on the Urie last year alone, helping project staff and contractors tackle the invasive and toxic plant.
Callum told STV news: “When I was a wee boy there weren’t these enormous great big hideous hogweed plants, shading out everything.
“I hope to spend at least another ten or 15 years working in river catchments up across in Deeside and on Don side doing what I can to restore the river that I remember.”
Thank you to the team at STV – we’re delighted to have this opportunity to share news of this work and raise awareness of the issues caused by giant hogweed.
You can read more about this story here on the STV website.
