Dedicated staff from the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative and the Findhorn, Narin & Lossie Fisheries Trust are going to great lengths to ensure that not a single Giant hogweed plant is missed from the invasive plant control programme.

Gaining access to the invasive Giant hogweed plants along the banks of River Findhorn is no easy feat when at times the river tumbles through narrow rocky gorges, dominated by towering inaccessible cliffs.  But leaving just one plant untreated would mean failure for the control programme and undo many years of continued work to rid the river banks of this troublesome plant.

Working with local white-water rafting company Ace Adventures, the project staff gamely donned wetsuits and took to a raft armed with stem injectors and herbicide to tackle even the most inaccessible plants.

As well as growing in dense stands and limiting native species diversity, Giant hogweed poses a direct risk to human health as its sap can cause serious skin burns due to a phytotoxic sap. Its seeds can travel in the water and spread downstream, germinating in soil where they wash up, hence the need for a comprehensive, systematic control plan, taking into account the whole river catchment.