Ballymore information meeting on Himalayan Balsam control

File photo of Dr Baars telling children about life in the Liffey (inset: Himalayan Balsam).

An Information Meeting on the control of the invasive Himalayan Balsam species will be held in Ballymore Eustace this coming Thursday, 8 May, beginning at 7pm in the Resource Centre, writes Brian Byrne. The meeting will be hosted by Kildare County Council Biodiversity Officer, Méabh Boylan, and Kilcullen resident Dr Jan-Robert Baars of Aquens Ltd, and UCD will present an update on the current status of HB control on the Liffey River bank in Ballymore. 

The meeting will be followed by a Walk and Talk along the river bank to observe HB and learn how it will be treated in the local area during this summer.

Himalayan Balsam is found throughout Ireland and in many other countries. Kildare County Council began this work in 2021 with Dr Baars and up to 40 members of the Ballymore community spent over 400 hours helping with the programme last summer. The Ballymore campaign is being used as a pilot to test ways of controlling HB which can then be applied in other communities downstream and nationally.

BEE Group & Tidy Towns have received €27,676 in funding from the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) via their Community Water Development Fund (CWDF) fund to assist farmers downstream to continue the control work with the assistance of contractors. This will add to the body of knowledge for controlling HB as the effect of different methods will be monitored.

Dr Baars has also been carrying out a research programme for a number of years to control the invasive species Skunk Cabbage along the Liffey, including Kilcullen.

The session in Ballymore is free to attend.

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