SISI | Scottish Invasive Species Initiative

The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI) is an exciting and ambitious 8-year partnership project set up to tackle invasive non-native species alongside rivers and watercourses in northern Scotland.

Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) are a significant threat to our countryside, our native wildlife, our economy and in some cases directly to our health. By working at a local level with volunteers and communities, and by trialling innovative management techniques, we aim to put in place sustainable long-term solutions to invasive species management.

Read our latest Coronavirus COVID-19 update

Stopping mink in their tracks

The American mink is an invasive species that has had a significant negative impact on our native wildlife. They have devastated native water vole and bird populations and spread widely across our countryside. With the support of a network of volunteers helping to monitor mink rafts, our mink project is able to locate and control this destructive predator.

Read more about our Mink Control Project

Alien detectives

We've got some fun ways to help you learn more about invasive non-native (alien) species, including resources ideal for using with a school or youth group. We can also arrange outreach sessions for your group or organisation.

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Become an Alien Detective

People power!

Our project is all about people and people working together.

We have volunteers from all walks of life - giving up their time and putting in a bit of effort to help out with a whole variety of tasks. With some support and training it is these people who will continue to make a difference in their communities and control invasive speices long after our project is finished.

Find out more about Volunteering

Invasion of plant intruders

Invasive plants like Himalayan balsam spread and form dense stand on the river banks, shading out native plants and causing bank erosion. We are working to remove these plants supported by an army of enthusiastic volunteers.

Read more about our Invasive Plant Project

Hot off the press

Read out latest news, find events to join in with and delve into the news archive to see how our project has progressed, on our news pages. You can also keep up to date by following us on twitter, facebook and instagram.

The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative is also trialling new methods of invasive species management and we'll be reporting on our successes (and failures) and stories of best practice working as we go. We hope these experiences will help shape future invasive species control strategies elsewhere.

You can read about all our findings, big and small, (and woolly) in our case studies.