Dublin City Council and Inland Fisheries Ireland unite for Bushy ‘Balsam Bash’

Press Release 11th May, 2012.

At 12.00pm on Saturday 12th May 2012, Dublin’s Lord Mayor Cllr. Andrew Montague and Minister of State (Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources) Fergus O’Dowd, T.D., will join local volunteers from the Dodder Anglers’ Association and the Irish Wildlife Trust at Bushy Park. Terenure, to ‘bash’ Himalayan Balsam, which is invading the banks of the River Dodder. This event was organised by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Parks and Landscape Services Division of Dublin City Council.

The group will assist in removing Balsam which is causing damage to our river banks and choking out our native plants. Its purple flowers and shallow root ball make it easy to recognize and to remove from the soil by gently pulling. On the first day of National Fisheries Awareness Week, running from 12th to 20th May 2012, the Minister was keen to assist in this project, which will help to bring back the natural river systems for fish such as salmon. Free events will be taking place all week all over the country, including a number of ‘Balsam Bashes’. Details can found at www.FAW.ie .

The Lord Mayor said, “Invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam threaten the balance of nature in our parks and rivers, including the Dodder, Liffey, Tolka and Camac Rivers. Although it has pretty flowers, the plant explodes catapulting seeds everywhere, which colonise our many river banks. In our City Biodiversity Action Plan, we stress the importance of working with the community in tackling these problems for the benefit of wildlife and people alike. I hope that this call to action will encourage communities all over Dublin to come together to tackle the problem, as the plants are easy to remove.”

‘Working together, the state agencies, local communities, angling associations and voluntary organisations can win the battle against Himalayan Balsam’ stated Minister O Dowd, ‘it is all down to timing and the time is now. This event, and the others scheduled for Fisheries Awareness Week, will raise awareness, demonstrate the process and allow communities and angling clubs to keep their areas balsam free and open to recreational pursuits by their rivers’.

Detailed information on Himalayan Balsam and how to remove it and what precautions to take can be found at www.faw.ie/himalayan-balsalm-bash .

Ends

For further information please contact

Dublin City Council Press Office at Tel: (01) 2222170 / (087) 7400277
Suzanne Campion , Inland Fisheries Ireland at Tel: 052 6180055
Email suzanne.campion@fisheriesireland.ie Website: www.fisheriesireland.ie

Note to the Editor

Dublin City Council has an on-going programme in place to remove invasive plants from parks and rivers since 2007. A survey of invasive plants was carried out city-wide in 2009 and progress on their reduction and elimination is monitored every year.

Why Himalayan Balsam ‘Bashing’ Can Be Successful?

Its morphology and life cycle display a number of weaknesses that are uncharacteristic of such high profile invasive species. These include:
- Its annual life cycle: it germinates, grows, flowers, seeds and dies in the one year;
- Its shallow root ball which make it easy to remove by pulling;
- The plant has no natural defence mechanisms, such as thorns or bristles, to make pulling difficult or hazardous;
- The majority of the seeds germinate after one year and seeds are the only propagation method of this species.

How To Successfully Remove Himalayan Balsam From Your River Bank?

When? The ideal time for bashing is from about mid-May to the end of June, before the plant flowers and seed pods are set. On river banks, plant removal should commence at the farthest upstream site from which the plant was recorded and work progressively downstream.
As the seeds of the Himalayan balsam can remain viable for two years, it will be important that all participants put the date for the next balsam bash in their diary and bring a friend along to the same site in 2013.
How? Each balsam ‘basher’ should be equipped with strong boots or wellies, long robust trousers or leggings (to ward off the unwelcome attention of nettles or brambles), long sleeved upper garments and long durable gloves (for the same reason).
However the plant is easy to remove, to ensure the plant does not break when pressure is exerted on it, it is recommended that the ‘basher’ bends and grips the stem about 1 metre above the ground. Here, the stem is relatively thick and should not break when pulled.
Where to throw it? Having removed the balsam plant from the ground, it should be thrown landward, away from the river, where another team will gather the plants into large piles.The piles of Himalayan balsam plants may be left in situ beyond the bankside, if permission from the landowner is granted. Covered with a layer of jute or hession material in order to eliminate light will hasten the demise of the plant and ensure that it will not flower and set seed.