It has been a strong start to the year on the Water of Leith, with low river levels and a settled conservation team helping us make real progress across the river corridor. From large-scale river clean-ups to tackling invasive species and trialling new meadow management techniques, it has been a busy and productive spring for staff and volunteers alike.
Spring Clean
At the beginning of March we pulled the waders back on and began our annual spring clean of the river. Since then, we have been in the water every week alongside Water of Leith volunteers, corporate teams and community groups, clearing the rubbish that builds up over the winter months.
Following upcoming tasks at Bonnington and Currie, we will have completed 20 wading tasks covering the full 13 miles of river from Leith to Balerno — our first complete wade of the river this year. In addition, teams have also worked along the Murrayburn tributary from Longstone to Riccarton.
As the photographs show, each task ends with an impressive collection of recovered rubbish, highlighting both the scale of the challenge and the dedication of everyone involved.
Giant Hogweed Digging
Our battle against Giant Hogweed since 2017 has been well documented and, over the years, we have seen a significant reduction in plant numbers. However, while progress has been encouraging, the work is far from over. This spring we identified another seed source on the Murrayburn tributary within the grounds of Riccarton Garden Centre.
Following some trails in 2025, we decided to our new approach by creating a specially trained volunteer team to dig up Giant Hogweed seedlings. This allows us to begin tackling the invasive species much earlier in the year, rather than relying solely on chemical spraying later in the season.
As always, our volunteer teams have embraced the challenge enthusiastically — with Nigel, as ever, appearing to enjoy the digging more than anyone else!
Since the end of March, we have carried out 11 digging tasks, equating to 153 hours of combined staff and volunteer time. Due to the size of the seed bank at the garden centre, this effort has resulted in a substantial number of seedlings being removed before they had the chance to become large and hazardous.
A heat map below highlights the key locations where work has been concentrated.
Mosaic Mowing of the Meadows
In the world of meadow management, thinking around the best time to cut wildflower meadows has evolved in recent years. While the popular “No Mow May” initiative was designed primarily for garden lawns — encouraging people to give both grass and pollinators a break — larger meadows can benefit greatly from earlier mowing.
Traditionally, nutrient-rich meadows were cut in spring to produce high-quality hay for livestock, which was the original purpose of many hay meadows. At the Water of Leith, limited staff time has meant we usually left mowing until the end of the year, once seeds had dropped, before removing the cuttings to help reduce soil fertility levels.
However, new evidence suggests that increasing species diversity is best achieved through mosaic management — cutting different sections at different times throughout the season. This creates a greater variety of habitats and flowering opportunities for wildlife over a longer period.
This year, we will be testing this approach at our largest meadows at Bells, Bogs and Balgreen, and we look forward to sharing the results later in the season
