Scottish Natural Heritage – with the help of pupils from a north primary school – has launched a multi-million-pound drive against invasive species.
The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) is budgeted at £3.34 million and is funded by the National Lottery.
It is designed to tackle one of the countryside’s biggest problems – invasive non-native or alien species of plants.
To do so Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) recruited some willing helpers from P6 of Ben Wyvis Primary School in Conon Bridge.
In what was a case of many hands making light work the class got stuck-in on the River Conon to pull out the Himalayan balsam plant.
Head Teacher Tania Mackie said: “Outdoor Learning is fundamental to the curriculum at Ben Wyvis Primary School, as is working with local partners.
“Not only are the children being supported by experts, but the pupils of Ben Wyvis Primary are also learning about their local environment.”
SNH Head of policy and advice Eileen Stuart joined the group to mark the official start of the SISI project.
She said: “Invasive non-native species are recognised as one of the biggest threats to nature worldwide, even more so than climate change. They are also having a significant impact on our economy, costing Scotland an estimated £300 million a year.”
Project Manager, Callum Sinclair said outside help was vital to the success of SISI so involving school children was extremely valuable.
He said: “We can’t deal with this threat on our own, so our project is working with volunteers and local communities to put in place sustainable, long-term control for the worst offending invasive plants and the American mink.
“This is a really ambitious project working at a huge scale. It encompasses over a third of Scotland and the success of it hangs on the support and dedication of networks of volunteers working with us and our local fishery trust partners.”
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “The Scottish Government has been working hard to tackle this problem for many years so I am very happy to support the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative, through Scottish Natural Heritage funding.
“The initiative will rely on one of our greatest resources – volunteers – in order to put long-term solutions in place.”
Over the next four years Himalayan balsam along with Giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed and American mink are all set to be tackled as part of SISI.