Yesterday saw the conclusion of one of the more laborious tasks that the reserves offer up in the sinister size and shape of Japanese knotweed removal and treatment. Anne must take all the credit as she has carried out the bulk of the undertaking as well as masterminding the current – and highly successful -means of control.
A Japanese knotweed forest the likes of which now no longer exist on Radipole and Lodmoor.
In 2009 Anne researched alternative treatments for knotweed control and settled upon a technique trialled by the University of Exeter involving the cutting of the stems upon flowering and filling the hollow stems with the pesticide Glyphosate, having firstly removed from organic status the areas affected.
Areas treated over the previous two summers have knocked back JKW cover by as much as 95% and allowed the once out shaded and out competed native herbage to flourish in its absence.
Sad as it is to say, the conclusion of the Japweed crop of 2011 may be Anne’s final major intervention on the Weymouth Wetlands as she is moving to the east and joining the RSPB Dorset Heathland Project as a consequence of a countywide staffing restructure. And I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Anne for the three years of dedication and skillful application that she has brought to the role of Estate Worker – and I am sure that she also will be missed greatly beyond these office walls. Our loss is the Heathland Projects considerable gain.
Transforming this predator-perch strewn, scrubby, unproductive reedbed into a beautiful and bountiful swathe of wet grassland over two industrious winters will be another of Anne's enduring legacies.
I am happy about the JKW but sad to hear about our Anne's imminent departure. I will miss seeing her around the reserve modelling all the various pieces of protective clothing, I especially remember how protected she looked in her Knotweed gear! I wish you all the very best in your new job Anne, you'll be sorely missed.
Seize the day!