Be Plant Wise – Launch 8 March 2012
Minister Attwood launches ‘Be Plant Wise’ campaign to tackle invasive aquatic plants
Environment Minister Alex Attwood today launched ‘Be Plant Wise’, a
campaign to urge all gardeners to help stop the spread of invasive aquatic
plants.
Plants such as
floating pennywort, Nuttall’s pondweed, curly waterweed, fringed waterlily and
New Zealand pigmyweed have all caused problems in Northern Ireland.
The ‘Be Plant Wise’
campaign aims to highlight the problems caused when invasive aquatic species
are released into the wild. It is designed to raise awareness amongst
gardeners, pond owners and retailers of the damage caused by invasive aquatic
plants and to encourage the public to dispose of these plants carefully to
protect our environment by not allowing them to escape into the wild.
Encouraging gardeners
to be careful Minister Attwood said: “Invasive aquatic plants have the
potential to cause huge problems to our waterways, damage habitats, out–compete
native species and harm wildlife. Excessive growth can also lead to problems
for recreational activities such as fishing and boating which can impact on our
enjoyment and use of such places.
“By being
responsible gardeners, we can all help to protect our waterways and wildlife as
well as helping to reduce the growing costs of dealing with these plants. If
such species continue to grow at their current rate and we do not take action
to inhibit their growth, the cost of clearing them could run into millions of
pounds.
“My message to
gardeners is: ‘Be Plant Wise’ when buying plants for your garden pond and when
maintaining them.”
Further information
on how to ‘Be Plant Wise’ can be found on the Invasive Species Ireland website
at http://www.invasivespeciesireland.com
