Friends of the Loxley Valley are organising “balsam bashing” sessions to help to beat back the invasive Himalayan Balsam plant that is starting to establish itself locally.
We have done surveys along the valley to find out where the plant has gained a toehold. We’re also identifying ‘balsam black spots’ where it has now seeded extensively.
We’ll then try to remove as much as we can, to keep it in check. Seeds can be dormant for up to three years so we may have to return repeatedly to the key sites for the next few years.
We are again working in partnership with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust this year (2026). We’ve jointly organised three formal ‘balsam bashing’ sessions at Sykehouse Brook. These run from 10am to 1pm and dates are:
- 21st May
- 18th June
- 16th July
You can find at more about what is involved and how to sign up to these via their event pages: https://dcrt.org.uk/events-calendar/
We are also hoping to arrange some further sessions with Riverlution and other partners, watch this space or our social media for further details.
You can also get in touch with Nick Blaney, who is leading the project on behalf of Friends of Loxley Valley. Nick can tell you more, if you’d like to be involved. He can be contacted via nicbla62@gmail.com
We have updated a post from last year that explains more about the problem and how we hope to tackle it. You can read it here: https://friendsoftheloxleyvalley.com/2024/07/05/friends-of-the-loxley-valley-aim-to-beat-himalayan-balsam/