Back in June, our INNS team took a trip to Estonia to visit their environmental board and see how they deal with their invasive species. You can read more about how our trip went and what we got up to here.
Although there were some similarities in how they deal with plants such as giant hogweed, we also had a lot of differences and it was great to see how they minimise the use of herbicides especially in locations close to water courses. One of the new methods they have been using to control giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed has been through using geo-textile fabric over areas of the invasive species. Although this isn't something we are able to do over all of our sites, after all the river is a big place! This is something we have been looking to trial in some areas and now is the time to do it!
Examples of the geo-textile in Estonia
Site Selection:
We wanted to ensure a few things about the site:
- Minimal impact by flooding, such as the fabric lifting or being washed away
- Private land to ensure that there is minimise disturbances during the trial
- A large area/monoculture of hogweed to reduce impact on other native species
The site we ended up choosing along the river is an area privately owned but there is access for angling clubs. The area is a section that has been sprayed many times, but due to such a high volume of seed banks within the soil in the area, it is really challenging to keep on top of.
First Steps:
The first steps for us have involved clearing the previous giant hogweed stems. We ensured all our volunteers were in full PPE/gloves. Although the dried stems don't produce the sap, sometimes there can be small amounts of residue to better to be safe! We moved all of the stems into a pile away from the area where the geo-textile will go.
Once the area was cleared and relatively flat, we paced out the measurements for the fabric, to see how much we would need and exactly where it would go down.
After this, we made sure all staff and volunteers checked over their gloves, wellies/boots and anything else over for seeds, washing anything away while on the site. Working with such large volumes of giant hogweed, especially with so many seeds, we want to make sure we are not spreading them anywhere else!
Area clearance of giant hogweed stems with our volunteers
What Next?
The next steps for us will be to order the textile to cover the area, place and set it down. The textile will be staying there for quite a long time (5-10 years!). This will be to kill off the seed back and prevent any more hogweed from growing. Once the geo-textile has worked its magic, it will be removed and the area replanted with native flora.
Area clearance of giant hogweed stems with our volunteers
Keep your eyes peeled for more updates about our INNS work!