FAQs

‘Actions on Invasives’ is an online mapping system that allows everyone to log and map the actions they have taken on invasive alien species, providing public recognition of your efforts, and facilitating co-ordination of actions taken to address invasive species across Ireland. The Actions on Invasives initiative is managed by the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

We have developed a guidance video and guidance documents to help users navigate the Actions on Invasive Mapping system Guidance includes details on how to access information using the mapping system, how to sign up for an account, how to add and edit your sites and managing your account. Guidance documents for the system are available for:

• Gardeners
• Local Communities (including tidy towns)
• Clubs & Associations
• City & County Councils
• Central Government & State Agencies

You can map any kind of action you are taking to tackle invasive species – from raising awareness, to controlling an invasive species on your site(s), or even supporting research. As you add your site(s) on the system you will be directed a detailed form for the type of group you belong to. These forms follow the invasive species management hierarchy – a set of progressive steps that have been developed for the effective management of invasive species. These steps are relevant across all group and site types from our gardens to central government to local communities. Following these steps in order is the best way to address invasive species:

1. Prevention
2. Early detection
3. Rapid response/eradication
4. Containment and control
5. Impact management

You will be able to select and provide details on a range of actions across these key categories. Where an action you are taking has not been listed you can add details of your specific actions to section ‘F. Other’.

Through the ‘Actions on Invasives’ system each sector will be directed to specific forms which list a range of actions under key categories.

In addition to these suggested actions our website provides details on how you can take action – from reporting invasive species, to raising awareness and managing invasive species on site and limiting impacts.

The ‘What can I do?’ section of this website provides information on how you can:

1. Report Sightings

2. Guiding principals on Control & Management of invasive species

3. How you can get involved in Invasive Species Week to raise awareness

The Biosecurity & prevention section of this website provides details of a range of actions you can take to reduce the risk of introducing and spreading invasive species. Three biosecurity campaigns provide details on the steps you can take to reduce the risk of spreading invasive species.

1. Check, Clean, Dry

2. Be Plant Wise

3. Be Pet Wise

The Resources section of our website provides a range of resources to help improve knowledge and awareness of invasive species, their impacts and management.

1. Identification guides

2. Good Practice Management Guides

3. Check, Clean, Dry awareness raising materials (outdoor signs, posters, templates, thank you signs, leaflets, logos, banners and more).

You might be ask this question if your group has taken action on invasive species at a few different sites.

In order for this website to work best, we’re asking all groups to enter each site individually. For example, if Westport Tidy Towns group had been involved in removing Himalayan balsam from a stretch of the river, carried out an invasive species survey in a local park and installed awareness raising signs along walkway. We would as the group to enter three different sites for each of these actions. For example the river bank site could be called E.g. “BalsamRemovalCarrowbeg-Westport Tidy Towns” and only the invasive species management actions taken on that site would be included on THAT site form. If one big polygon were drawn around Westport Town, it would be impossible to see all the other action on invasives sites in Westport (for example actions being taken on garden or city and county council sites).

More details on this can be found in the ‘Actions on Invasives – System User Guide’ which can be found here.

Some of my actions, are hard to enter for one specific site.

Some actions, such as manual removal/control of an invasive species or using hard standing areas for site access are very clearly carried out at one specific site.

For others, like some awareness raising actions (e.g. circulating invasive species alerts to group members/stakeholders, adopting a biosecurity policy) there might not be a clear site where these actions take place. For example, what if your group raised awareness with 100 different group members, or carried out three invasive species awareness workshops in different areas. In these cases, the best way to capture your actions is to include these details on one of your sites that is most relevant. Alternatively you can draw a small polygon around your meeting point (if you are a voluntary group) or office or clubhouse and provide details in section ‘F. Other’ on the form to explain that the action isn’t specific to an area.

The area of your site will be calculated under the ‘Manage my Sites’ page. However if your site is less than 1 square kilometre, it will show up as 0. Don’t worry-the area of your site is still being captured in our system and reporting!

When it comes to the area of each specific action, your answers don’t have to be exact. If the text box next to an action you’ve taken asks for an area, just give a realistic best estimate.

If you have any difficulty using ‘Actions on Invasives’ system you can contact the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s Invasive Species Team: [email protected]

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Japanese knotweed is available from: https://invasives.ie/app/uploads/2024/04/JapaneseKnotweed_FAQ_Apr2024_V1.5.pdf