Every year since the early days of the Initiative, our team at the Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Rivers Trust has undertaken an annual white-water rafting trip down the River Findhorn in the hunt for giant hogweed.
The expedition begins at Logie Steading, travelling down through the gorge and ending near Sluie. It is a fairly short section, around 3.5 km in length, but it is essential that the work is done – if any giant hogweed plants were missed and able to flower and set seed, the seeds would reinfest the nearby riverbanks and could be washed downstream to other areas.
This year Elise and Hamish, our local Project Officers, were joined by Nigel who is a regular volunteer on the River Spey and jumped at the chance to help. We’re very grateful to our volunteers who brave the trip every year as three people are needed for the expedition, as well as an expert guide from Ace Adventures.
As the work has taken place consistently for many years, giant hogweed abundance has been much reduced on this section of river. There were no flowering plants this year and only a few large plants which would have flowered next year. In fact, there were very few giant hogweed plants at all – in the single digits – and they were all confined to areas where the team were expecting to find them.
We’re pleased by our progress here and optimistic that giant hogweed abundance will continue to decline in the coming years.
As always, thank you to Ace Adventures for organising the trip and guiding the team safely down the river!
Find out more about our work on the River Findhorn here.
