Community work campaign in Strajanov Breg a huge success!
On Thursday, 18th June 2015, project partners carried out a social and community work campaign for the removal of invasive, non-native species of the Goldenrod from the Strajanov Breg Nature Reserve. At 9 am, 28 pairs of working hands got to work, attempting to prevent Goldenrod plants from spreading along the valley, which is the only remaining lowland bog throughout the Ljubljana Marsh. We pulled up the plants, cut their roots, put them in bags, and then burned them. We thus cleared a 2.6-hectare area in the protected valley. We will continue our work in August, when we will remove the wood overgrowth, as the valley has been overgrown for the last decade due to reduced agricultural usage. By removing this overgrowth, we wish to improve the hydrological conditions of the lowland bog, and thus improve conditions for the growth of the Fen Orchid and expand the potential habitat of the False Ringlet.
While removing the Goldenrod, we also showed a technique for removing the invasive, non-native species of Giant Hogweed at a location near the village of Podkraj, and successfully removed 12 specimens. The Giant Hogweed is a plant dangerous to humans, as the toxic sap causes burning and painful rashes on sun-exposed skin. If the sap comes in contact with the eyes, it may cause temporary or even permanent blindness. It is therefore necessary to wear protective clothing and goggles when removing this plant.
After the successful community work campaign, we continued our day with lunch in the Iški Vintgar Canyon and a lecture on invasive non-native species, prepared by an expert from the Symbiosis Institute, Jana Kus. She presented a lecture on various invasive non-native plants, problems in respect of excessive spreading, and methods for preventing the spread of such species. We were also joined by farmers who are participating in Agri-Environment-Climate measure work, primarily projects involving Special Meadow Habitats, Meadow Butterfly Habitats, Bird Habitats in Extensive Wet Meadows, and the Measure for Birch Trees Stands with Bracken Undergrowth.