The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative achieved a great deal in 2022 - all with the support of our partners and volunteers! As we came to the end of Volunteer's Week (1st-7th June) our annual infographic was released to celebrate the achievements of the project and the contributions from our amazing volunteers.

In 2022, volunteers contributed an incredible 2,449 volunteer days to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative - equivalent to 12 full time people working on the project!

Last year was the fifth year of the project and many of our plant control sites have shown great improvements since their first treatment year. Nevertheless, 133 volunteers undertook invasive plant control and collectively contributed 299 volunteer days to the project. The project treated 632km of river length for giant hogweed; injected (equivalent to) 42,378 stems of Japanese knotweed; and undertook 69 Himalayan balsam pulling days. In addition, 30 of our volunteers gained formal qualifications - including safe use of pesticides and outdoor first aid training.

Our extensive mink network was maintained by 283 dedicated volunteers contributing an astounding 2,150 volunteer days to monitor for and trap American mink. This collective effort led to 81 mink captures across the project area - helping to reduce the density of this invasive non-native predator and protect vulnerable native wildlife.

As Covid restrictions eased in 2022, our team and partners were able to meet schools and groups in person once again, delivering 39 walks and talks to 1,253 people; 67 sessions to 2,201 school and college students; and our 'Alien Detectives' resources were used in 38 schools. Finally - 5 excellent films were made by primary school children about invasive non-native species and our local environment. These films can be viewed here.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been involved at any time in the project - our work would not be possible without your help!

The 2022 infographic - and those from previous years - can also be viewed here alongside text summaries.