There's a big push going to clear the invasive Himalayan Balsam plants from the banks of the River Lea. I went to join the volunteers helping out with TCV leader Jen and found the familiar faces of Kevin, John and Barbara who are regulars at the conservation tasks around Luton.

Together we climbed down into the brook at Lewsey Park, fortunately not very wet at the moment with no rainfall and a firm gravelly bottom meant walking along it was easy. It was nice a cool in the water under the shade of the trees while the midday heatwave sun shone up above. Working along the brook we tackled clumps of balsam, gently pulling out the roots and snapping them off to ensure nothing is left behind to grow again.

We managed to clear a decent stretch of the plants before they start flowering and popping out more seeds so hopefully there'll be less here next year!