Invasive non-native species management: Giant Hogweed

In 2022 Anstruther Improvements Association (AIA) engaged Forth Rivers Trust to map the areas of invasive, non-native Giant Hogweed along the entire length of the Dreel Burn.

The AIA facilitates an INNS management meeting with Forth Rivers Trust, Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Footprint East Neuk and Fife Council. The group is developing a 10-year strategy and treatment management plan, exploring options available and the costs for treatment methods.

Local volunteers from Footprint East Neuk and Dreelside Woods trialled options for non-chemical treatment, including a programme to dig up the roots of the plants in Dreel Meadows in 2023.

In 2023, the AIA and Fife Coast & Countryside Trust approached Fife Council and Cireco to secure the funding required to treat problem areas; that summer, Forth Rivers Trust carried out the first Giant Hogweed treatment along the full length of the burn. Further funding was secured from the same sources in 2024, ensuring a second year of chemical treatment.

Giant Hogweed will require annual treatment over a number of years to eradicate this challenging problem.

For more information on what we are doing about another invasive non-native species, Himalayan Balsam, click here.