Join The Big Balsam Bash
In 2024, more than 70 local volunteers took part in 10 Big Balsam Bash events in Torfaen, removing more than 50,000 invasive Himalayan Balsam plants.
From May to August this year we want to repeat this targeted approach to clear invasive Himalayan balsam from areas across Torfaen.
But we can’t achieve this without you!
We are looking for volunteers who are over the age of 16 and who can volunteer anything from a few hours to a few days.
No experience is needed, just enthusiasm, and a desire and willingness to work outside!
In return, volunteers will learn practical skills and plant identification skills, as well as contributing to a wider control strategy to stop the spread of invasive species locally.
Where and when can you help?
We are working with others in your community to organise Big Balsam Bashes on:
- Date - location
- Date location etc
How to get involved
Please complete the volunteer form on this page and one of the team will be in touch shortly.
Why do we need to pull up the balsam?
First imported to the UK by Victorian botanists in 1839, it has no natural rivals and can quickly dominate ditches and river banks.
The plant - which has been prized for its bright pink flowers - can grow 10ft (3m) in one season in the UK, with each plant producing up to 2,500 seeds. It has the nickname "Touch-me-nots" because of the way its seed pods explode when ripe, spraying seeds everywhere.
Being an annual plant, it dies back in winter, leaving riverbanks bare and exposed to erosion, which can lead to increased siltation of rivers. Dead stalks can fall into rivers and streams, blocking water flow and increasing the risk of flooding.
By dominating habitats, it removes the variety of plants needed for native wildlife.
Did you know
It is listed under Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the UK, making it illegal to intentionally plant or cause it to grow in the wild.
