Frilford Heath SSSI, 21st and 28th April 2012

By Andrew -
Two consecutive Saturday sessions were held at the Frilford Heath SSSI in less-than-ideal conditions.  The recent heavy rainfall made the site somewhat boggy and had accelerated the growth of the himalayan balsam.

Himalayan balsam is an invasive non-native plant that grows rather out of control in this area if left unchecked and crowds out the native species.  The orginal intention of these sessions was to clear away any hazardous tree branches and other obstructions to enable us to easily pull up the balsam later in the season.  However, the plant was found to be coming through already - somewhat earlier than expected, so that much of the effort was taken up in removing the young shoots.

Undaunted by the miserable weather, a reasonable turn out enabled us to make good progress on the site and further visits to Frilford later in the year will give us other opportunities to eliminate this alien invader!

-Andrew



Frilford Heath SSSI


Lauren taking a break from himalayan balsam clearance


the blogger takles some overhanging branches


snails clinging to the goat willow


woodland at Frilford


early shoots of himlayan balsam appearing


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