Bridge House and St Peter's Field

A group of volunteers from Eurovia UK joined us for what turned out to be a very showery but very productive day.

Safety briefing in the rain

Starting at Meadow Mead in a heavy shower we cleared some large clumps of balsam before moving on to the field behind St Peter's Church.  The group made short work of the balsam there so we gathered for a coffee break before splitting up again.

One group went upriver but found little balsam to tackle. The other group went to Bridge House where the river bank is covered in balsam. However we worked along the bank by the side of the miniature railway and eventually cleared right to the far end of Bridge House grounds. The river was barely visible before we started but could be clearly seen afterwards

The river from Bridge House grounds

The river level is still high which prevents us from reaching some of the balsam near to river level. We need it to drop and for the mud to settle so that we can get in and tackle some of that.

Some of the Eurovia volunteers hoping the trains aren't running!

Another good day on the Frome

Despite the overnight and morning rain, we decided to have another go at the balsam on the far bank of the Frome between Black Rocks and Cogmill. Although the river yesterday was probably wadeable, it had risen by at least a foot by today so once again we decided to cross using the metal footbridge near Cogmill.

Returning to the same spot we cleared last week, we were pleased to see that there were very few stragglers which we'd missed. We were slightly less pleased to see that the island which we wanted to work on seemed even more inaccessible than last week.

The Route across to the Island

However, donning waders and wellie boots we were able to get across without getting our feet wet. We were then able to clear the majority of the balsam some of which had reached more than 2 metres tall and were beginning to form flower buds.

At the same time some of the group worked along the river bank and cleared a large swathe of balsam growing between the edge of the field and the river.

There's still more to do but we have cleared a huge amount on this section of the river which in previous years had seemed both inaccessible and insurmountable.

Upstream from Black Rocks

In previous years, we had seen large clumps of balsam upstream from Black Rocks out of reach on the side of the river opposite the Frome Valley Walkway. We were determined to tackle that this year so, carrying our waders, we walked up there today. Unfortunately the recent rain had raised the water level and stirred up mud so that we couldn't even see the river bed so wading across was not an option.

Undeterred we crossed the river via the metal footbridge near Cogmill and then managed to find a way down from the field onto the river bank. Cutting our way through the undergrowth we found and pulled out lots of balsam including one very large clump near to the fallen tree.

Last week- Large clumps of balsam to the right of the fallen tree

After clearing

There is another large clump on a small island near to this point (see photo) and a lot around the field edges behind, so we'll return next week and see what we can do to clear that. Hopefully the water level will have gone down again so we'll be able to wade across the river rather than take the longer route.

Still work to do

A very satisfying day with lots of balsam pulled out!!

Survey with AIWF

On Monday, we joined Neil Green of Avon Invasive Weeds Forum on a survey of the spread of balsam along the Frome upstream from St Peter's Church to Cogmill. It was a hot day and the undergrowth along the riverbank was very lush. Surprisingly the river level is still quite high despite not having had rain for quite a while.

The lower stretch of the river just beyond Drew's yard is largely balsam free. One or two patches will need clearing but won't require a large working party.

Around Black Rocks we have seen large infestations in previous years but as yet there is little sign. Further up the river there are some large clumps on the opposite side of the river to the Frome Valley Walkway. We'll have to either wade across, use the fallen log (see photo) or find a path down through the fields on the other side.

Also after crossing the metal footbridge near to Cogmill, there are some large clumps on the opposite bank which will be difficult to get at.

After returning to St Peter's we took a look at the area along Meadow View where there have previously been heavy infestations (see photo below). As yet there is not a huge amount of Himalayan Balsam which gives some encouragement that our clearance activities are having an effect.

Working Party 2013 standing in front of 2m+ tall balsam

Nightingale Bridge to Parsonage Bridge

Last year the river bank along this part of the Frome was covered with balsam (see photo). 

Yesterday John and I went along to clear a few patches which were beginning to show amongst the nettles.  Once we started looking it was evident that there was a lot more growing than was first apparent. Some were already three to four feet tall so our intervention was timely.

We cleared a few hundred plants which hopefully should make a difference. They were growing in dense clumps so clearing led to quite a lot of bare soil which raises the question of recolonisation and how do we encourage native plants to replace the balsam.

First group session 2016

For the past couple of weeks, we've been seeing signs of fresh Himalayan Balsam growth and we've been pulling out small quantities when we saw it. A look around the field behind St Peter's Church discovered a few dense patches of balsam so we scheduled a session and invited some of our local volunteers along.

The river levels are still quite high after the winter and some recent rain so we had to be careful along the river bank but we pulled out a large quantity of balsam both near to the river and also along the wall separating the field from St Peter's churchyard. Most of it was rather small so involved a lot of bending to pull it out and we missed the satisfaction of pulling out large plants!

At the weekend, I walked along the Frome Valley Walkway from Nightingale Bridge to the metal footbridge at Cogmill and the worst spot was undoubtedly between Nightingale Bridge and Bridge House. We're planning a visit to tackle that next week.

Summary 2015

In July, local volunteers and a group from Lloyds Bank tackled both sides of the riverbank between Glebe Fields and Meadow Mead. A couple of weeks later, we went back and cleared up some stragglers and some new growth in the same area.

In August, using the waders we received from SITA Trust, we were able to wade along the river bed from the footbridge just off Mill Lane upstream to the flow measuring station. The people whose houses back on to the river do a pretty good job of keeping the Himalayan Balsam under control and we were able to clear out the remaining patches along this stretch of the river. Unfortunately we weren't able to get past the small weir at the measuring station and had to retrace our steps back down the river.

In mid August a group of us went into the field behind St Peter's Church. This looks as though it has been neglected for years and there is a huge amount of balsam in it. We were able to do a couple of hours work before it started to rain. A week or so later John and I went back and did a bit more but we barely scratched the surface as far as clearing this area is concerned

Fortunately some stretches of the river are still clear of Himalayan Balsam.