Following an interesting call from a member of the Arran Community Council, I’ve arranged to attend a meeting on the 29th of this month to talk about Japanese Knotweed and its control.
The community is increasingly concerned about the spread of this invasive species across and around their island. Much of Arran’s coastline is dominated by Japanese Knotweed and it is likely due at least in part, to inappropriate management practices that we know occur around the Firth of Clyde’s rivers. Cutting and strimming knotweed on the mainland can have far reaching implications. Japanese Knotweed is able to survive in salt water for up to 6 weeks and readily roots wherever it is washed up by high tides and Arran seems to be suffering widespread invasion as a result. The full extent of the problem is unknown to ART but this will no doubt become clearer at the meeting.
Arran Community Council turned to ART for help and advice following recommendation from East Ayrshire Council who have long been supportive of ART’s INNS control efforts. Whilst we currently have no plans or funding to tackle INNS on Arran, we do feel that our knowledge and expertise in this field may be useful to the community and assist with developing future strategies.
