The Knoydart Forest Trust today announced that it has successfully completed a ten year campaign to rid Knoydart peninsula of the invasive ponticum species of rhododendron. The final push was completed this July with the equivalent area of around five football pitches cleared of rhododendron bushes and trees.
In the last ten years since the Knoydart Foundation bought the Knoydart estate they have systematically removed rhododendrons from over five thousand hectares of community and neighbouring land. This gruelling physical work – known as ‘Rhoddie bashing’ – involves chainsaw, burning, spraying and hand pulling the smallest seedling up to the largest tree.
Since 1999 over seven hundred volunteer days have supplemented the work of up to ten forest staff. “Thanks to the fantastic effort of these volunteers we can finally see the end of our ten year battle against the Rhododendron forests on the Knoydart Peninsula,” commented Grant Holroyd, the Community Forester on Knoydart.
The fifty five front line volunteers who took on the final battle this July included large groups from John Muir Trust, BTCV and the New Caledonian Woodlands.
“Sustained by a seemingly limitless supply of local produce such as goat burgers and venison, the volunteers hacked their way though jungles of Rhododendron to feed massive bonfires in a sweltering Knoydart heatwave,” recalled Sandy Maxwell, Conservation Activities Coordinator for the John Muir Trust.
Clearing the Rhododendron will allow native trees and wildlife in the area to regenerate. “Together we are bringing back life to the wonderful woodland surrounding Inverie which has been choked by Rhododendron for years,” said Grant Holroyd. “It’s great to achieve this in our tenth anniversary year of the community purchase of Knoydart.”
Rhododendron was probably first introduced to Knoydart in the late 18th or early 19th Century. It was especially popular on country estates in Victorian times, providing ornamental value, as well as cover for game birds. Knoydart has an impressive collection of other rhododendron species that are not as harmful to the countryside as Ponticum.
Where conditions are suitable Rhododendron ponticum outcompetes most native plants. It grows many times the height of a person, allowing very little light to penetrate through its thick leaf canopy. This effectively eliminates other plant species which are unable to grow due to insufficient light. This leads to a consequent loss of associated birds and other native woodland animals such as red squirrels.
The Knoydart Forrest Trust will continue to work with neighbouring estates to destroy any remaining patches of ponticum to ensure that it does not attempt to take over again.