River banks of balsam

Another session of himalayan balsam pulling with Stroud Valleys Project. Today we were on the opposite bank from last week, but was an altogether different scenario.

While last week only had relatively small amounts as a result of previous years work, this side of the bank had a dense seam of balsam running in between the grassland and the riparian vegetation on the bank.

There were only a few of us, so we stayed together to work methodically through the task.

The weather was very hot today – close to 25C at times and no shade shelter next to the river. So plenty of water breaks alongside the regular stops for cake and lunch.

It became apparent that it was tough work doing manually and we could probably make more progress with a brush cutter. We made pretty good progress today, but will have to return later in the season. That will be a good opportunity to bring the brush cutter and get the bulk of the stretch completed.