River Foss Society

Pulling up Himalayan Balsam - a non native invasive species

Himalayan balsam is an annual species which outgrows native plants on the river banks - when it dies back each autumn it leaves no roots, so the bank is liable to erosion. We pull the plants up by the roots and leave them to rot - it is a simple and satisfying task as long as pullers wear suitable protection against nettles! The area covered is from Monkbridge up to Huntington. Good Gym last helped us tackle this in July 2018.

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Wednesday 26th June

Written by James Tilburn

Just the two of us tonight for some balsam bashing in the shade. Despite the best attempts of the nettles to stop us, we managed to clear a decent sized area of the river bank before a quick drink in the pub.