In order to allow members of the public to quickly and easily submit reported sightings of these plants to a central database and map, Limerick City and County Council has developed a smart phone App called 'Report Invasive Plants'. This App allows members of the public to quickly and easily record sightings of common invasive plants in their areas.
We know that many individuals and community groups such as Tidy Towns are concerned about some of the more common and widespread non native invasive species in their areas. In particular, many have expressed concern about Japaneses Knotweed, Giant Hogweed, Himalayan Balsam and Winter heliotrope. However, the first step in planning for the control of these species is knowing where they are!
The Report Invasive Plants App can be downloaded from the Google Playstore or the App Store. Every report submitted through the App is checked to make sure that it is the correct species and then approved. All approved sightings are mapped and the map can be viewed at invasivespecies.limerick.ie. You can also download a spreadsheet of all reports as a csv from the same website.
All approved reports are also shared with the National Biodiversity Data Centre for inclusion in their mapping and can also be viewed on their maps, click here.
If you have any difficult using the app, you can find detailed instructions here.