Title: US extension students help remove invasive plants

[AuburnPub.com Thur Aug 19, 2010] SAVANNAH - Local youth who spent nearly two years battling against an invasive plant called mustard weed visited the Montezuma Audubon to discuss the skills and knowledge they acquired during their experience. Nine children with the Cayuga County 4H program met Wednesday afternoon to discuss how they used global positioning satellites and computers to search for and eradicate the weed while others discussed the biological elements of plants. "We went to the Sterling Nature Center and used GPSs to map the mustard weed," said Andrew Cassick, 15, of Jordan. "Then we went back a little bit later and pulled it. Then we went back several months later and pulled it again to see how it changed or grew back. We filled about 12 garbage bags the first time and about two the second time."

Andrew's sister, Alexandra Cassick, 13, said the data collected on the GPS devices was used to create maps that show where mustard weed grows in the nature center and how it has grown during the course of the program.

Dorothy Slegle, 4H community educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Cayuga County, said the two-year program was funded through a grant awarded to Cornell University.

Three counties were invited to participate in the pilot program, which will be used by university officials to craft a curriculum and lesson plan for future projects.

"This program focuses on terrestrial invasive species, or species found on land," Slegle said. "There are already efforts for aquatic species, and this is the first one for terrestrial. This gets more people involved with invasive species as they become more of a problem for the environment."

Throughout the presentation, participants showed homemade videos and PowerPoint slide shows discussing the dangers invasive species pose to the environment and ways to prevent their spread.

Many of the youngsters read facts and data from index cards while others presented their projects in the form of a poem and diagram.

Mustard Weed, a species native to Europe, was originally brought to North America as a food product. With neither animals or people eating the plant anymore, the weed has begun to spread, harming native wildlife.

"It spread and chokes out the native plant life," Cassick said. "It just kills other plants and animals ... It kills the native plants, which the local animals use for food."

From http://auburnpub.com, see original source.



Article: WeedsNews867 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:community engagement, :WeedsNews:education, :WeedsNews:community monitoring, :WeedsNews:community science
Date: 20 August 2010; 10:25:43 am Australian Eastern Standard Time

Author Name: David Low
Author ID: adminDavid