A few days ago, a local resident alerted us to an outgrowth of the invasive weed, Floating Pennywort in the ditch from Fen Ditton to the main river.
With permission from the land owners, we went in with a canoe and removed 25-50kg, putting it in the nettles alongside the meadow, where it can dry and die.
Some years ago, this ditch was completely choked with pennywort….
…and we cleared it with the help of several working parties.
But its always important to keep an eye out for regrowth, so 6 months later it was back again….
After a few sessions, we got it clear.
However, but its always possible to have missed a little bit, or for new strands to wash in from further upstream. Autumn is the key time to see it, so do keep an eye out for Floating Pennywort in your local rivers and ditches. Please do clear it out if you can safely do so. Once removed, just put it somewhere dry to die, where it won’t blow back into the river. Then we can eradicate this menace from the lower stretch of the River Cam (as we’ve done in the upper Cam)
You can read more about our project to eradicate Floating Pennywort, and see our various advice sheets here