An Aberdeenshire councillor has declared war against the giant “alien” plants in her ward and has backed a co-ordinated approach across the county.
Councillor Patricia Oddie’s interest in invasive non-native species (INNS) lies with giant hogweed which has a harmful sap that can cause a blistering of the skin and is a plant that can spread widely when seeds fall into waterways.
However, there are other INNS that are of concern for the local authority including the American mink, grey squirrel, Canadian pondweed and Japanese knotweed.
The projected cost for dealing with just three types of INNS (giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam) if they become established on council property would be £30,000 per year, according to a recent report by planning services.
It was proposed at a recent infrastructure services committee meeting that the council host an event next spring and invite INNS experts to discuss how to tackle the issue in the region – a move Councillor Oddie was delighted to hear.
She would like to see more support given to the groups of people who want to help get rid of these species but stressed that a co-ordinated strategy was needed across the council area.
As well as the harmful sap, giant hogweed is tricky to deal with because chopping it down after it has grown beyond a certain stage would result in the land around it being contaminated and the seeds can lie dormant for many years yet still be viable.
West Garioch councillor Ms Oddie said: “It’s not something you should treat without knowledge and this is the problem.
“I would like to see groups have support to buy things like chemical spray but the trouble is there are health and safety requirements and they would need to go on courses to use those. If farming and community groups could get some assistance they would be able to pay in kind with their labour.”
Rose Toney, co-ordinator for the north east Scotland biodiversity partnership, has said that the key tool in tackling INNS is to raise awareness with the public so that they can be vigilant and report what they see to experts.
She said: “These things don’t have any natural predators and that’s why they spread so quickly. They are a massive threat to biodiversity; it costs massive amounts of money to control them and in some instances such as giant hogweed, they are hazardous and can cause health issues.
“Getting the public involved in helping to gather information is absolutely invaluable. They are the eyes and ears and can send in a massive amount of data which can be very useful.”