In Transcarpathia, a volunteer was removing dangerous hogweed on the Runa mountain pasture
In Transcarpathia, volunteer Mark Melnichenko led a campaign to eradicate hogweed on the Runa mountain pasture. The plant is spreading rapidly throughout the area due to the construction of new roads for a wind farm.
The activist is trying to stop the spread of this dangerous plant, which can displace native species and pose a threat to people through skin contact.
"This year, I was forced to carry out my first such campaign against hogweed. I went to pick fireweed, which I ferment, but I noticed that the fireweed plantation and the neighboring blueberry patches are being taken over by giant hogweed: the young plants have released seed heads, so if they aren’t destroyed now, they’ll spread even more next year,” the volunteer noted.
According to him, using plastic bags, he cut off all the hogweed flower heads he came across along the way.
"Hogweed reached the Runa mountain pasture in 2022—that’s when I first spotted it near the old Soviet concrete road. The plant was brought here on the wheels of vehicles carrying seeds. Now the road network on Runa has been significantly expanded due to the construction of a wind farm, so the hogweed is spreading rapidly,” added Melnichenko.
According to the volunteer, hogweed will continue to spread along the new roads, and if left unchecked, it could take over the entire Runa mountain pasture. He emphasized that this invasive plant grows very quickly.
Melnichenko added that this latest cleanup effort was his first campaign on the Runa mountain pasture. Going forward, he plans to monitor the spread of hogweed and continue the fight against it.
As previously reported, Mark Melnichenko is a volunteer, blogger, and environmental activist who is building an eco-hut in the forest in the Uzhhorod district, as well as planting and grafting plants. Near his homestead, he combats invasive plant species and litter, and, according to him, has managed to clear several square kilometers of land of hogweed over the past few years.
Melnichenko spoke about this in a comment to Ukrinform.
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