Today the last group of volunteers from the Volunteering Office of the Xunta de Galicia worked at Chelo (Coirós); they came to collaborate with Fragas do Mandeo in the elimination of crocosmia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora), an invasive exotic plant that is colonizing the banks of the River Mandeo.
The twenty-two people who participated in this campaign totaled up 52 hours of work, gathering 103 kilos of bulbs. When crocosmia is uprooted, you should be careful to separate the bulbs, as they have to be destroyed to prevent their spreading. On the contrary, flowers and leaves are harmless and can be reused to make compost or manure.
The volunteers came from different places in Galicia, from Vigo to Cambre. In addition to thanking them for their work, we explained to them the environmental value of the protected natural area Betanzos-Mandeo, the problems caused by exotic invasive species and the role played by land stewardship as a means of preserving local habitats and biodiversity.
But there is still some work left, since crocosmia occupies a large area and the manual uprooting takes time. We expect to call a volunteering day soon to go on with this work, since the more the total elimination is delayed, the worse it will be.
