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Help fight alien plants invading Ireland – ‘Report Invasive Plants’ tracking app for iPhone and Android launched

Invasive plants pose the second greatest risk to wildlife after habitat destruction, and also pose a threat to water quality by leaving banks vulnerable to erosion. The ‘Report Invasive Plants’ app allows you to report sightings of invasive plants in your area. Once reported the information will help track the extent of these invasive plants.

This app has been developed by Limerick City and County Council and has been designed to be easy to use. It includes photos of the 4 most common invasive plants: Giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and Winter heliotrope.

You can easily identify and report Invasive plants you see, and view reports on a map.

You can find the app by searching for ‘Report Invasive Plants’ on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or use the links below:

iPhone App:

http://bit.ly/iphoneinvasiveplants

Android App:

http://bit.ly/androidinvasiveplants

Article by Anne Goggin, Limerick City and County Council

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.