The Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust is bidding to bag a cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative in February.
The trust is one of the three groups on the shortlist and are trying to raise funds for their Giant Hogweed control programme.
The Huntly based trust was set up in 2001 to conserve, protect and rehabilitate salmon, sea-trout and trout and other indigenous wildlife and to promote the ecological cycle within the Deveron catchment area.
Richie Miller, Director of the Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Charitable Trust and Fishery Board, said
We are delighted to have been selected for the Tesco’s Bags of Help initiative and the grant aid will help immensely in controlling Giant Hogweed this coming season.
The dangerous plant Giant Hogweed is a close relative of cow parsley originally from Southern Russia and is non-native to Scotland. It can reach over 3m (10ft) in height. It can be highly invasive and the sap can cause severe skin burns. It is now widely distributed within the local river catchment and poses a serious risk to the water environment by intensifying riverbank collapse and siltation of fish habitat and also to the public (especially children) who are unaware of its potential for harm.
The aim of this project is to work with local volunteers, community groups such as Huntly Fishing’s and landowners to control Giant Hogweed during 2017. The project funding will provide some of the resources required. By controlling the Giant Hogweed on the rivers, using a systematic top-down approach, it will stop hogweed plants
Voting is open in stores locally from 1 February to 25 February. You can cast your vote using the blue token given to you at the check-out in store each time you shop.
You can find out more about the by visiting their website http://deveron.org/
Giant Hogweed image credit.
