Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

River Dee Trust fights back against invasive plants after Storm Frank spreads seeds

The River Dee Trust has taken action against the invasive plants
The River Dee Trust has taken action against the invasive plants

Conservationists are fighting back against invasive plant species along the River Dee after their seeds were spread “far and wide” by a devastating storm three years ago.

In a new report, the River Dee Trust noted a significant increase in the amount of giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam throughout the region since Storm Frank in 2015.

The River Don Trust has also recorded a great deal of invasive vegetation.

The organisation believes the torrential flooding and high winds brought on during the disastrous winter storm, which destroyed roads and bridges and submerged Ballater’s high street, had a hand in dispersing the invaders.

Himalayan balsam was first introduced to the UK in 1839, and can cause significant problems for natural species as individual plants can grow up to 10ft in height, smoothing other vegetation.

Its seed pods open explosively when ripe, and each plant can produce up to 800 seeds.

And the sap of the giant hogweed, which can grow to more than 10ft in height, can cause a burning effect on skin.

A spokesman for the trust said: “Last year was a busy year for the River Dee Trust and the River Don Trust and their army of volunteers in the fight against invasive non-native plants on riverbanks.

“On the banks of the Dee, Himalayan balsam is the biggest invader – the swathes of bright pink flowers look cheerful enough, but they quickly get out of hand with flowers that explode seeds everywhere.

“Our survey at the start of the year identified over 40 hectares of this plant along the river bank.

“The amount of giant hogweed and Himalayan balsam on Deeside has increased compared to 2015, but this is due to the effect of Storm Frank, which spread their seeds far and wide.

“Giant hogweed has now overrun many of the riverbanks on Donside.”

Last year trained volunteers helped kill over 20 hectares of giant hogweed on the Don and the Urie with herbicide.

A north-east invasive non-native plants forum is now being set up to address problem animals and plants, such as giant hogweed, to help communities throughout Aberdeenshire to actively tackle these problem species in their areas.

The forum will meet on February 28 at the Kintore Arms Hotel, and anyone who would like further details should contact calum@riverdee.org