Come and help volunteers remove Himalayan Balsam from Ruislip Woods. The community Event will be overseen by a Hillingdon Council Woodlands Officer.
Tuesday 11th June from 10:00 until 13:30. Come along for all, or just part, of this time period.
Meet at the entrance to the woods at the end of Links Way, Northwood at 10:00 (or walk down the path a short way to find us if you arrive a bit later).
There is free on-street parking in Links Way, and bus 331 from Northwood/Uxbridge/Ruislip has a stop just 6 minutes walk away.
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Himalyan Balsam is an invasive species from Asia, introduced to the UK as a garden plant in 1839. It is now taking over many areas that are close to rivers and ponds, blocking out native plants. Its seeds are spring-loaded, so each summer it scatters hundreds of seeds which produce more plants in the following year. The aim is to pull up the plants before they have time to disperse their seeds. For more information, please see this link : Himalayan Balsam
Balsam bashing merely involves pulling each plant out of the ground so as to ensure the full root ball is removed. There are no tools involved. The plants are harmless and fairly easy to pull. However there may be the odd bramble or nettle in amongst them so you may wish to wear long sleeves/trousers plus bring work (gardening) gloves.
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The balsam bashing will take place in the woods. Please bring your own food and refreshments as there are NO facillities nearby. Ruislip Lido is about a 20 minute walk southwards through the woods, where food, drink and toilets are available (and a fee payable car park).