Volunteers have been busy, since the contractors last cut the meadow on 26 May
The working party on 5 July was very successful, with 12 participants, half working on foot, the others in a canoe and 3 kayaks.
Cassie, searching for Himalayan Balsam plants beside the meadow
As the maps below show, this has made a major dent in the number of plants, although there is still more to do.
These maps show the approximate location and numbers of plants on 1 July, and then the situation after the working party on 5 July.
In addition to the working party on 5 July, Mike has been coming to the meadow on the south side of the brook weekly since it was mown and cut by the contractors, to remove small balsam plants as they emerge. There are now very few visible Himalayan Balsam plants.
Before the working party, Richard once again had mown the margin of the meadow, to within about a meter or two of the bank. This was a huge help, removing many plants and making the rest much more visible
On 28 June, Tom and Anne had removed several canoe loads, mostly from between the M11 and the Cantalupe Farm bridge. They also spotted and cleared a “new” outgrowth, on the Cam about 100m upstream of Basely Bridge (Apparently this is coming from the marshy area by the Byron’s Pool car park)
On 3rd July Wim and Anne cleared a heavily infested stretch upstream of the TFC footbridge to a point about 100m upstream of the M11. [Reeds now make it hard to do much more, upstream of this point by canoe, until early next year]
There is more to do (on foot) in the woodland on the north side, but its quite tangly and overgrown. Also (from the water) removing it from the reeds on the left bank, at the downstream end of the brook (shown in red on the map above)
We’ll be organising some more working parties in July, hoping to remove as much as possible before it starts spitting out its seeds
Its a lovely spot, with crystal clear water, lots of fish, swans, kingfishers (and we’re told that otters have been spotted too) so do join us and help save it from being overwhelmed by Himalayan Balsam.
If you would like to help by spending a few hours pulling Himalayan Balsam in this beautiful spot this summer, do signup here, or email us on info@camvalleyforum.uk