FoPV Work Morning Roundup - Thursday 9th July 2026

Lyndon
7 hours ago
3 min read

Hello Conservation Volunteers

For some more Himalayan Balsam pulling in the Wet Woodland we were joined by the five girls from IQVIA for their annual volunteering stint with us. It was another hot and sunny day so a good time again to be in the cooler shade of the trees.....

We made for the high and drier entrance into the WW to locate the large area of balsam we had spotted during our exit on our last session but as we passed the boggy section a balsam alert was shouted out so John and a couple of others dived off to do that instead.

The rest of us ventured on until we arrived at the intended area, and what an expanse of balsam it was (hard to show in photos). Being on the higher, drier and open ground gave us the unusual opportunity to create a base camp to dump our equipment (we had remembered to take loppers this time!), and the IQVIA girls who had insisted on taking their large bags with them found a convenient branch to hang them on. (Some of us did wonder if they were they going to start dancing around them!)

This was possibly the densest area of balsam we have come across for a long time. In fact, for the first hour or so some of us hardly moved due to the plants of varying sizes being tightly packed together around us amongst nettles (it really has been a good year for nettles, some of these were over 6 foot tall), brambles, shrubs, and other plants. There were many small balsam plants intermingled in here less than a foot tall which were harder to find and pull out.

It's quite a therapeutic task pulling balsam but this time a competitive streak developed with who had found the tallest, smallest or most amazing root system! It was very peaceful though with just the birds to be heard, and in the distance the IQVIA girls could be heard nattering amongst themselves who seemingly were having a good time.

As it was getting a bit tiring and sweaty a "hydration break" was called.....

Eventually, we did make progress moving on downhill where we came together with some of the other "pullers", but after a couple of hours having cleared a large area with still more to clear it was time to call it a day and head back for a coffee (and put Anthisan on the nettle stings!), where we found John who had cleared around the dam side as well as the boggier part of the WW and had come across a car wheel complete with tyre which was retrieved to be disposed.

Elsewhere, Keith had taken the scythe and shears to cut back nettles and brambles straying onto the paths going through Festival Woodland making it easier for the casual pedestrians.

Many thanks to everybody who came along - a sweaty but enjoyable morning with plenty of balsam cleared!

The next work morning is on Tuesday July 28th July. An email will be sent out nearer the time with details.

Lyndon

A Selection of photos from the work morning

...and there were 5 IQVIA girls bags hanging on a branch....