I am currently completing a work experience week with SWT, as personally I am very interested in nature and wildlife, plus I aspire to be wrapped up in the world of wildlife photography in the future! I very much enjoy being out in the open fresh air and learning new things about the way different species of animals and plants function and form all of the marvellous ecosystems surrounding us. I decided to organise a placement with the Surrey Wildlife Trust as I hoped to educate myself and widen my knowledge on the physical role that people have in protecting and conserving nature. My week of experience has not concluded yet, however I have already learnt so much and felt so welcomed by all of the volunteers and SWT staff. I was most intrigued by an invasive species I have now been taught on and participated in removing for many benefits!

Himalayan Balsam- beauty in appearance, cruel in behaviour

The Himalayan Balsam plant is a large annual plant that is native to the Himalayas (introduced to Uk in 1839 as a greenhouse plant now escaped into the wild), it is a very invasive species and does more harm than would be assumed due to its pretty flowers! The issue with these plants are that they come in overwhelming large groups when thriving and do this by excluding other variety of plants from light, space, nutrients and pollinators meaning many native plants have no opportunity to grow in specific areas.And then once taking over whole banks of rivers the Himalayan Balsam dies back in winter, opening spaces of bank for erosion.

You see the lovely pink colored flowers? These are not so lovely, as this plant is a prolific nectar producer (about 800 seeds per plant!), however due to how much and how enchanting of nectar to bees this plant has.. It distracts the bees from more of a diverse diet. “Himalayan balsam is like fast food for bees” says Dr Philip Donkersley.

Bees are obsessed with this nectar and therefore end up flying to the Himalayan Balsam plants instead of the native plants, which is a disadvantage to the bees health as they need more variety in their diet, just nectar from Balsam wont do them as much good. These plants grow (up to 2.5m high) and spread so quickly due to being able to project their seeds up to 4 metres and stealing pollinators from other plants.

However this rapid spread and invading of this plant can be prevented or cut back, through the process of uprooting and not too late; and uprooting is just the process I participated in and learnt on! When with the SWT team, I spent a day at Whitmoor common uprooting Himalayan Balsam Plants. Uprooting is where you remove a plant by physically pulling it out and making sure to pull the root base along with this, preventing any chance of further growth. The uprooting of these plants in particular is quite the simple task and I enjoyed taking part in it so much because of the rewarding feeling by the end looking back on a difference you have made and knowing what a positive impact it is going to have! Although the Himalayan Balsam plants need to be taken out if planned to, before the plants seeds have had chance to mature, therefore uprooting of Balsam is done from early to mid summer (between April and July preferably)  meaning a lesser risk of the seeds being projected and therefore regrowth the following year. As well as being easy and effective to pull out of the ground, the Himalayan Balsam is very easy to dispose of as you just leave the pulled plants laying on the ground where in the sun they will dry and afterwards decompose into the soil themselves! The identification of these plants is straightforward and therefore anyone can make the difference.

By Lola Jones