MP Andrew Griffith joins volunteers for the ‘Big Pull’ on the River Rother
Andrew Griffith, Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs donned his gardening gloves and joined members from the Midhurst Rotary Club and Green Volunteers on Saturday (14 June) for the ‘Big Pull’.
The ‘Big Pull’ is an annual event which tasks volunteers with pulling out the extensive growth of Himalayan Balsam found along the banks of the River Rother. Similar to Japanese Knotweed it is an invasive species that has no natural predators and causes severe destruction to riverbanks.
The seed pods of the Himalayan Balsam explode when they become ripe and can shoot seeds up to 7 meters away. With each plant able to produce around 800 seeds it can quickly dominate its surrounding areas. Andrew got stuck in and helped to pull out the weeds from the bank of the Rother, alongside around 20 other volunteers.
Andrew Griffith said ‘I was pleased to be able to work with the volunteers in pulling out the pesky Himilayan Balsam which causes so much destruction to the river banks. It was a fun morning, I would definitely recommend it to anyone. All you need is some thick clothing to protect yo from the nettles and some gloves and you’re away. They’re easy to pull, there are just so many of them!
Michael Balmforth, President, Midhurst Rotary Club who organised the Big Pull said thank you to Andrew for his sheer hard work; it contributed to a great team effort overall!
If you are interested in helping look after our local environment and volunteering for the next ‘Big Pull’ please contact Michael Balmforth at the Rotary Club for more details [email protected]. The Midhurst Rotary Club is a team of people who give their spare time to helping the community and work hard to raise much needed funds.