Another work party
Last week we took a call from STV. The Gunnera Eradication campaign had finally reached the national news!
Reporters had picked up on the story from the John Muir Trust blog. Their article reported on the workparty of JMT volunteers that came to Harris to help.
After an article on the STV news web-site, entitled:
Rhubarb fools: Residents of Harris fight against giant plant
…they sent a reporter and cameraman to see the problem for themselves.
At short notice, a small group of machete-wielding volunteers was rounded up at Urgha -one of the worst affected areas. John Archie from OHMEET donned his protective suit and posed with his spraying kit. Robin sat in the sunshine, dwarfed by the Gunnera in the background, explaining to the reporter how big a problem it was.
After a quick interview with one of the Rhenigedale residents who’s desperately trying to stop it spreading across her garden – the reporter and cameraman dashed off to their next story.
We did make the tea-time news on Tuesday so will hopefully have made a few more people think twice about planting Gunnera in their own gardens.