The New Forest Non-Native Plants Project was established in May 2009 to stop the spread of invasive non-native plants in the New Forest area, particularly in wetland habitats and along rivers and streams. The Project is hosted by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and funding has been provided by a partnership of organisations including:
- Environment Agency
- Forestry Commission
- Forestry England
- DEFRA
- Natural England
- The New Forest Trust
- The New Forest National Park Authority
- The Verderers of The New Forest
- Lymington & Pennington Town Council
- The Test & Itchen Catchment Partnership, supported by Southern Water.
The species tackled by the project in 2024 included:
- Himalayan Balsam
- Orange Balsam
- Japanese Knotweed
- American Skunk Cabbage
- Cotoneaster horizontalis
- Cotoneaster divaricatus
- Cotoneaster simonsii
- Pitcher Plant Sarracenia purpurea
- A hybrid with Sarracenia purpurea (probably Sarracenia x catesbaei)
- Buddleia davidii
- Parrot’s Feather
- Giant Hogweed
- Gaultheria shallon
- Yellow Azalea
- Iris laevigata
- Montbretia Crocosmia x crocosmiifolia
- Variegated Yellow Archangel
- Giant Himalayan Bramble Rubus armeniacus
- Berberis
- Cherry Laurel Prunus laurocerasus
The Project aims to:
- identify where these plants are a problem
- offer advice to landowners and land managers
- arrange for control work to be undertaken by volunteers and contractors
- facilitate research into control methods and the impact of invasive non-native plants
- raise awareness of the need to control invasive non-native plants and prevent them spreading into the countryside
The Project Officer helps to implement, at the local level, the Great Britain Invasive Non-Native Species Strategy 2023 -2030 and the government’s Be Plant Wise campaign. The Project’s success is dependent on a strong partnership approach with landowners, volunteers, contractors, universities, the media and the general public.
New Forest Non-Native Plants Project volunteers pulling Himalayan balsam along the Avon Water on 26 July 2019
To find out more about the project, please contact the New Forest Non-Native Plants Officer: Holly Fitzgerald [email protected]