Invasive Non-Native Species Survey - Environment Agency

River Stewardship Company currently employs 14 ecologists who together, are surveying 1200 km of river across the Nidd, Swale, Wharfe, Ouse, Hull and Ure.

They are recording location and quantity of Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed and Floating Pennywort. This builds on survey work carried out in 2018 covering the Upper Don and Rother catchments, as well as the Lower Don and Upper Aire tributaries. 

The survey was designed in house and is delivered through our own INNS recording app. We are also trialing the use of drones to survey large sections of river, using image recognition technology to pick out invasive weeds on riverbanks.