Bluebell border raids

08/05/2009

Gangs from England stealing across the border to nick spring bulbs

But experts are warning the legally-protected variety of the flower is also attracting visitors of a less desirable type.

Gangs of workers from the centre of the bulb and seed industry in East Anglia are crossing the border and illegally harvest bluebell bulbs from Scottish woodland, causing serious damage to the forest floor habitat.

The gangs also target other types of bulb such as snowdrops, and harvest rare types of moss which are usually sold in garden centre hanging baskets.

Alison Dyke, sustainable forest project officer for charity Reforesting Scotland, said the practice was a problem in parts of the Scottish borders.

She said: “There are gangs who come from England, usually East Anglia, and they go in with forks and dig up an area filled with bulbs and take everything they can find. There is a big impact on other wildlife and it looks ugly when they strip an area out.”

Dyke stressed most bulbs could be harvested in a sustainable way, where a percentage of the bulbs were planted back in the ground and the area left as it was found. Some companies, however, take as much as they can find. A government licence is needed to legally harvest bluebells.

Dyke said she expected to see the problem again this year: “It starts about now when the flowers start to die back.”

A “wild harvesting” trade body was established late last month. It is hoped the new body will help consumers draw a distinction between businesses with poor environmental records and the “totally legitimate and sustainable” harvesting of blubs and other woodland flora and fauna, such as wild garlic and wood sorrel.

The association will be officially launched in July during the Big Tent environmental festival in Falkland, Fife.

Dyke said: “I think it [the trade association] will definitely help to tackle the problem. It is also an opportunity for those legitimate businesses to get a kite mark on their produce and to prove it was harvested sustainably

“Wild harvesting is a pursuit that growing quickly, both with businesses and individuals. We have done a lot of work developing guidelines and standards for those people who want to harvest their own seed.”

A spokeswoman from the Ramblers Association said she hadn’t heard of the practice but added bluebells were one of the most popular attractions for walkers at this time of year.