Nigel Jee’s Country Column – non-native species that are at home in Guernsey

September 23rd, 2010 by Nigel Jee

This column has recently featured sandhill snails, Japanese knotweed, rabbits and various pests of garden plants and crops. What they all have in common is that they are not native, but were brought here, either deliberately or accidentally, by humans. This thought made me wonder how many animals and plants, which we now take for granted, are invaders, and the number is astonishing.

Some, like Japanese knotweed, have proved to be disasters, but others have settled down and become a welcome part of the scenery. It would be difficult to imagine the island without ‘stinking onions’ brightening up the hedges in spring, or the town without St Peter Port daisies decorating the walls.

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