NatureScot employees are allocated one day per year to spend on a volunteering opportunity or activity of their choosing. In August 2023, Liz Colmer and a group from the Inverness office chose to spend their day with us and joined Project Officer Trudi on the banks of the River Beauly to tackle Himalayan balsam – an invasive non-native species. The gang cleared a woodland area, helping to preserve the native flora found there and prevent this highly invasive plant from reinfesting the riverbanks.
On Wednesday 9 August, myself and some NatureScot colleagues; Megan, Cat, Lucie, Kat and Susi and Susi’s daughter Lucy met at the Beauly Fisheries Office to meet with Trudi Clarke, Scottish Invasive Species Initiative Project Officer – Cromarty, Ness & Beauly catchments.
We were meeting to go Himalayan balsam bashing. This opportunity was organised by Susi Hodgson and advertised on the NatureScot intranet. I have often wondered what I would do with a volunteer day and so when this opportunity to help in my local area appeared, I couldn’t pass it up.
A short way from the Lovat Bridge, in some riparian woodland by the River Beauly, was our location. As we were walking in, we spotted a roe deer bounding across the field and Trudi spotted a kingfisher a bit later.
We started with a brief introduction from Trudi; Himalayan balsam is an invasive species, it spreads fast, dominating and blocking the light of other native plants and its shallow roots do not help to prevent soil erosion along the banks of the river. She explained that the plant is non-toxic and the technique for pulling it out by the root and placing it in piles, or over the branches of trees, so that the roots dry out and it can no longer spread. It is best to pull it at this time of year before it goes to seed, as the seed pods can scatter quite explosively and are responsible for the invasive element of this annual plant.
At first inspection, there didn’t look to be much Himalayan balsam by the river (due to success of previous years’ bashing efforts) but it wasn’t long before we found vast areas of it deeper into the woodland. The plant is easy to pull out, however, it was growing at all different heights so involved stooping. It was hard work but immensely satisfying seeing the areas we had cleared and the space and light it created for the other plants.
It was great to be outside, working alongside colleagues and I enjoyed the smell of water mint, which was growing alongside the Himalayan balsam in places, and will no-doubt now flourish without being shaded out by the invasive invader we’d spent the day removing.
Would you be interested in joining us for a balsam bashing volunteer day in 2024? Get in touch! These volunteer days are held all across our project area (including Highland/Eastern Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire, Moray and northern Highlands) in July and August. Contact: sisi@nature.scot for more information.
