The Solway Coast needs your help!
Galloway Rivers Trust (formerly Galloway Fisheries Trust) are raising awareness of invasive non-native plant species (INNS) affecting coastal environments and ask for your assistance in identifying and reporting any sightings on land you own, manage or access.
Coastal habitats such as dunes, saltmarshes, cliffs, estuaries, and coastal grasslands are particularly sensitive environments that support important native wildlife and plant communities. Invasive non-native plant species can spread rapidly within these habitats, outcompeting native vegetation, destabilising natural systems, and reducing biodiversity.
Species of concern in coastal areas may include plants such as Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed, American Skunk cabbage and Giant hogweed. Once established, these species can be difficult and costly to manage, particularly in dynamic coastal environments where wind, water movement, and human activity can contribute to their spread.
We are encouraging landowners and land managers to remain vigilant and to contact us if you know of or become aware of any suspected INNS on your land or in nearby coastal areas. At this stage, we are primarily seeking information on potential sightings to help us better understand their distribution and to support future management and conservation efforts. Using this information, we plan to support landowners and communities with control of problematic INNS populations.
If you believe you have identified an invasive species, or if you would like assistance with identification, please contact us using the details below. Photographs, location details and landowner contacts are especially helpful where possible.
Reporting form: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/f3412c17722f4261ab27678d9658281f
Contact details: Emilie, phone: 01671 403011, email: emilie@gallowayriverstrust.org
By working together and reporting sightings, we can help protect our coastal habitats, native species, and the long-term resilience of the coastline.
Thank you for your support and cooperation.
