On a rainy Sunday morning in June we returned to Leverhulme Park to carry out the groups third year of balsam bashing to remove an invasive species that is both notorious for wildlife but loved by the public for it's pink flowers and grenade like seed pods that pop when touched.
Balsam is a notoriously difficult plant to remove and the eradiction of himalayan balsam from Seven Acres by the Wildlife Trust has been on going for nearly fifteen years. Without a management plan to tackle balsam there will never be an end to balsam bashing at our local parks and nature reserves.
At Leverhulme Park we have a management plan that involves returning to the same locations to ensure eradication year on year. It involves targetting the furthest parts of the park and then working towards the brook, it involves removing balsam from the hilltops before tackling the balsam below. It's all quite obvious but to ensure this is done over at least five years requires commitment and consistency.
Bolton NEWT would like to say a big thank you to our volunteers; Sue, Adele, Jasmine, SImon, Chris, Jodie, Curtis, Jakob, Josh and Zac. Without volunteers we wouldn't be able to help return wild garlic, bluebells, herb robert and an assortment of wonderful wildflowers and native plants back to Leverhulme Park. So thank you and we hope to see you all next month at Leverhulme Park.
