Big Dee Day - 28th and 29th June

Following on from the success of the annual Big Dee Day river clean-up, a new event will be held this year to tackle invasive non-native plants and animals, such as Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam and Chinese mitten crab.

This new event, The Big Dee Day - The Invasion, will be held on 28 and 29 June. It will be the first ever coordinated event to control these alien invaders across the Dee catchment, from the river’s source in Snowdonia National Park right through to its estuary.

The event is open to everyone across the area to come and help eradicate invasive non-native species from the River Dee and its tributaries and to record infested areas. The species that will be tackled are alien species, brought to the UK either accidentally or intentionally, which can cause big problems for our native wildlife, as well as having other effects such as making river banks more prone to erosion, which can lead to flooding.

A partnership of Welsh and English organisations including local authority Countryside Services, Snowdonia National Park Authority, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Environment Agency and Environment Agency Wales, Wildlife Trusts, Chester Zoo and the Countryside Council for Wales are involved in organising the event.

Richard Lucas of the Welsh Dee Trust, who is also involved in the event, said:

“Over the past few years, we have been one of the organisations involved in tackling invasive species in the Dee catchment. We have worked with volunteers from various angling clubs, Keep Wales Tidy, and other voluntary bodies, but would like to invite more members of the public and voluntary groups to get involved by registering their interest in taking part in the Big Dee Day - the Invasion by visiting www.bionetwales.co.uk.”

 

If you or your group would like to get stuck in with balsam bashing or knotweed whacking, or if you fancy spying on the alien invaders and recording their locations then keep the dates in your diary and look out for further information in your local press closer to the time.

Himalayan balsam may look pretty but it can cause havoc on river banks,

out-competing native vegetation and dying back over winter,

leaving banks open to erosion.

Contact details for local coordinators:

Area	Coordinator	Tel	Email
Cheshire	Lyn Byrne or Eric Fletcher	07971 052162 or 01244 383749	Email Lyn Byrne or  Email Eric Fletcher
Denbighshire	Lizzy Webster	01824 708263	Email Lizzy Webster
Flintshire	Amy Green	01352 703263	Email Amy Green
Snowdonia National Park	Gethin Davies	01766 772515	Email Gethin Davies
Wrexham	Emma Broad	01978 298762	Email Emma Broad