Himalayan balsam is a beautiful plant that the bees love to visit, but it is an Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS), which can take over an area, pushing out the native plants that co-evolved with everything else in that ecosystem, and while the bees are on the balsam they are not pollinating our native wildflowers.

In winter it dies back to nothing, leaving bare earth which is often near a waterway (the seeds get transported to new area via waterways). This bare earth is then prone to erosion when the river gets full and fast following rain storms, or even flooding over its banks. The River Rother is said to be the most erodible river in the UK due to the sandy soil it flows through, this then leads to dead areas on the riverbed where sediment gets deposited. 

Get the INNS OUT! Will you help us?

With remarkably shallow roots, it comes out with no need of tools. Just bring some gardening gloves, wear shoes/boots suitable for damp soil and uneven terrain, use insect repellant, and have arms and legs covered, in case of brambles and nettles.

This is event is a collaboration between PeCAN and Western Sussex Rivers Trust (WSRT), with help from Petersfield Town Council. 

These sessions take place at both Goodyer Meadows and Rotherlands Nature Reserve. You can find times and dates below, and we invite you to book your volunteering place here:

For Goodyer Meadows we meet at the raised platform overlooking the pond, or if you are unsure how to get there, meet us 10 minutes before the session starts in the free Sussex Road carpark by Heath Pond to walk in with others. For Rotherlands Nature Reserve please park in the Penns Place car park, just past the Taro Leisure Centre, and meet on the grass at the edge of the rugby pitch. What3words: ///knee.tablets.outsmart