Himalayan Balsam

[geoff parcell]

I don't know if there is anyone in your parish who is able to check this out? In Bourton, we have just eliminated Himalayan Balsam from the R Stour on our patch. In Bourton, and many places downstream, the River Stour is being gradually taken over by this plant. It is a very unpleasant. It is a very unpleasant plant for our environment in spite of its beautiful flowers. It grows only on extremely wet areas such as river banks and within the river. It prevents 30% of our own native plants from flourishing. It's seed pods are explosive, and when they expel the seeds, they float down river to colonise further down. When it dies in the winter, it leaves the banks open to erosion.

Could someone survey the stretch through Pen parish so we can work together on this over the next couple of years?

Thanks

Bernard