Japanese Knotweed is a fast growing, beautiful and edible invasive plant which has established itself in several areas on Denman Island. It is unfortunately capable of taking over forests and clogging waterways. It is best known for its capacity to grow straight through built structures, even roads and foundations.

 

Our speaker on the topic is André Menting. He studied Garden and Landscape Architecture, specialising in managing public green spaces and is currently employed by a municipality in the east of the Netherlands. His passions evolve around creating a better ecological environment on a local and a global scale. He is searching for ways to involve the people in his community in increasing biodiversity and supporting local food production (he is currently setting up a small scale farmer's market with his husband!). One challenge his community is facing is Japanese knotweed and he has volunteered his time to educate us about what he learned about what works and what doesn't in controlling this invasive species.