National Invasive Species Awareness Week – February 21-27, 2016
RTPI will be offering multiple events to the public during this increasingly important week including:
Monday February 22 at 6pm Ken Parker will be presenting Eco-logic: Using Native Plants in the Landscape. Ken will be discussing the importance of using native plants in landscaping as opposed to non-natives, as well as the Seneca Nation Native Plant Policy that went into effect last year.
Invasive Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)
Ken Parker is a passionate indigenous horticulturalist with strong ties to Mother Earth and Native cultures. A New York State Certified Nursery Landscape Professional (CNLP), Ken has spent decades devoted to growing, installing, teaching and promoting indigenous plants of North America to thousands of Natives and non-Natives. Ken literally has ‘roots’ in the indigenous plant market. As a Seneca native, he is committed to preserving Native North American culture by promoting the use of Native plants from a pure perspective. Ken has proactively participated in various environmental projects, including conservation, restoration, corporate landscaping, education, marketing and consulting throughout the United States and Canada over the past twenty plus years.
Wednesday February 24 at 6pm we will be showing the Invasive Species Management: Picking battles large enough to matter and small enough to win webinar by Norris Muth of Juniata College. Norris will be calling in for the discussion portion of the webinar to answer questions from the audience.
Webinar description: It is a safe bet that every parcel of privately owned forest land in Pennsylvania has multiple invasive species. With these invasive species posing more problems than can possibly all be solved at once, how can landowners decide when and how to act? We will discuss some ways to prioritize and make management decisions towards reducing the impact of invasive species.
Norris’ bio can be found here: http://www.juniata.edu/academics/provost/bio.php?id=MUTH
Invasive Garlic Mustard
Friday February 26 at 6pm Andrea Locke from WNY PRISM will be presenting Birds and Invasives.
The relationship between birds and invasive species can be complex. Many invasive species may on the surface seem like a boon for our native birds, but as we look deeper into their impacts on our ecosystems, we see that all isn’t as it once seemed. Some birds are even invasive species themselves. Management can also be difficult due to the complex relationship with invasive species and public opinion. Join Andrea Locke, WNY PRISM Coordinator as she sheds some light on these complexities and discusses invasive bird species, invasive species impacts on native bird populations and management strategies.
Andrea Locke is the WNY PRISM Coordinator (Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management) and has been in this role since the WNY PRISM Office was established in 2014. PRISMs are part of an integrated approach to invasive species management in NYS. Prior to working with the PRISM network, Andrea spent time in Northern Michigan running a Private Lands Stewardship Program and Partnership which provided technical assistance for private landowners wanting to better manage their lands for wildlife and ecosystem health. She also spent nearly a decade working on a high diversity prairie and savanna restoration project in Northwest Indiana.
We hope you will be able to attend! These free and public events will take place at RTPI – 311 Curtis St., Jamestown, NY 14701.
