Garden Escapers! Involving gardeners in preventing future invaders

Our Garden Escapers project, which ended in 2026, was designed to engage with gardeners in preventing the spread of invasive species; as we often say, ‘prevention is better than cure’. 
 

Examples of popular garden plants which are not currently invasive but have potential to be so include Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa), lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) and Mexican fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus).
 

Through this project, we:
 

• Reached over 25,000 people online and at 34 events
• Trained over 130 horticultural professionals
• Worked with over 15 organisations
• Launched an art exhibition called Beyond the Boundaries: A Case of Garden Escapers. Explore a digitised version here
• Surveyed 130 hectares of protected sites and NWWT nature reserves for potentially invasive species
• Submitted over 3,000 new plant records to Cofnod
• Identified 20 potentially invasive species
• Launched our multi-media Gardeners' Toolkit with 15 plant profiles, eight videos, guidance and handy tips and a calendar
   

The Monitoring and Evaluation Report for this project can be found here. Appendixes are available on request.

Contact us:

INNSTeam@northwaleswildlifetrust.org.uk