The Tees Rivers Trust has been awarded a £3 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver a five-year Tees Invasive Species Project to protect and restore the River Tees catchment. Chloe Lawrence, project manager at Tees Rivers Trust, said: "I’m absolutely over the moon that we’ve received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. "Thanks to National Lottery players, we can now really get on with delivering a catchment-wide programme that tackles invasive non-native species, restores habitats, and helps people reconnect with the River Tees. The Tees Invasive Species Project builds on more than a decade of partnership working and will scale up efforts to tackle species such as giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam, Japanese knotweed and floating pennywort. Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "Protecting the environment is a key priority for the Heritage Fund, so we’re delighted to support Tee Rivers Trust with this grant for the Tees Invasive Species project focusing on the River Tees and its surrounding habitats."