Himalayan Balsam pulling at the Cadnam River, Ower

On Thursday 10^th July the Cubs & Scouts of 3^rd Romsey Scout Group teamed up with Catherine Chatters the New Forest Non-Native Plants Officer of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to help her remove Himalayan Balsam along the Cadnam River at Ower.

This is the second year that the Cubs & Scouts have joined with Catherine to help local landowners by pulling the invasive non-native Himalayan balsam from local watercourses.

The Cubs started in the fields along the river and were not deterred by the stinging nettles in the meadow they were clearing, their enthusiasm was amazing as they cleared the field – and all their hard work made a big difference ready for the Scouts to take over.

The Scouts moved to another field and the island in the stream. The Scouts were

faced by the Balsam before even climbing over the gate and were quickly pulling and stomping to make room for the whole Troop to get through. It was amazing how dense the Balsam was and how high it grew, some was even taller than our Leader Simon!

We were all very grateful that we were working in the shade as it was a very hot evening and regular water breaks were needed. However, after a couple of hours of pulling we were able to look at the results with pride - we had made a massive difference and cleared well over half of the area. The pulled up plants can be left in heaps to rot down or, on a hot sunny day, they dry out quickly and are soon killed. Some of the piles of Balsam pulled by the Troop were as tall as our Scouts.

After being rewarded with snacks at the end of the evening the Scouts headed off home for a well-deserved sleep.

Thanks to Catherine for orgainising the evening, if you would like to volunteer or you would like some help with controlling Himalayan Balsam on your land please get in touch with her at Catherine.Chatters@hiwwt.org.uk