A group of people gathered yesterday to participate in the removal of the invasive species – Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) near the Vehkalampi park in Jyväskylä. The event was hosted by VieKas LIFE, Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto Keski-Suomi, Jyväskylän kaupunkiympäristö, Terve askel luontoon, Vieraslajien torjunta Jyväskylässä and City of Jyväskylä.
Native to the Himalayas this plant was brought to the European gardens and cultivated for its flowers, but soon it spread in the wild often displacing native flora and causing many other problems.
Nowadays the plant is found almost everywhere in Europe and in Finland, it has spread all the way to southern Lapland.
During the plant removal process at the site, volunteers found a lot of these plants that were already quite large, easily visible, and easy to remove, but there are still many tiny sprouts that are hard to spot under the lush grass. The plant must be removed before it bares seeds, therefore this event will be repeated in one month when the tiny sprouts will grow bigger.
Volunteers will return next month and then probably next year to check the situation and keep the fight against this invasive species.
