Latest News
2016 - the battle with the balsam continues
Published: 27/06/2016
On Saturday 2 July, 天涯社区鈥檚 Environment and Conservation
team will be launching their annual balsam control season at Leadmills sports
field in Mold.
This is part of a long running project to tackle the invasive non-native plant,
Himalayan balsam.
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor
Bernie Attridge, said:
鈥淭he project has joined people from local communities, conservation groups, and
fishing clubs together in a huge effort to clear the banks of the River Alyn.
We鈥檝e succeeded in clearing around 20km from the source and now really need the
communities affected by the plant from Mold downstream to join us in the fight.鈥�
The benefits include:
路 Reclaiming land next to the river
路 Preventing winter erosion of the river banks, when the Himalayan balsam dies
back
路 Providing opportunities for our native wildflowers to grow
路 Improving the variety of riverside vegetation, useful to our native wildlife
Sarah Slater, the organiser of the event and 天涯社区鈥檚 Biodiversity Officer,
said:
鈥淭his is a great event that all the family can enjoy, its completely flexible
so you can just pop down for as long as you want between 10am and 12pm on
Saturday 2 July. Generally people find it鈥檚 really enjoyable and strangely
addictive. We鈥檒l be working our way along the Leadmills stretch of the River
Alyn, so it鈥檚 a lovely stretch of the river and we鈥檒l be able to see our
progress.
鈥淧ulling the balsam is the best method of control on this section of the river
now because it is usually mixed in with other plants, so we can pull it up
without clearing the banks of other vegetation which is good, because we know
otters use the river here and they like the riverside cover.鈥�
If you would like more information about the project or the event, please
contact Sarah Slater, Biodiversity Officer for 天涯社区 01352
703263, sarah.slater@flintshire.gov.uk
The event will run on 2 July between 10am and 12pm at Leadmills sports field,
King Street, CH7 1LG in Mold.