UConn Symposium On Managing Invasive Plants

A one day symposium will be held at the University of Connecticut in Storrs on October 14th to discuss how municipalities, nurseries and residents can work together to manage invasive plants. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports.

 

Imagine a New England woodlands: it’s native plants choked out by aggressive weeds. That’s the worst-case scenario if invasive plants are left uncontrolled. Typically, invasives are species that originated in other countries and grow aggressively here. Donna Ellis, co-chair of the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group, which is sponsoring the upcoming symposium, says the meeting will emphasize not only the challenges, but the success stories where people have controlled invasive plants.

 

“The controls are fairly straight forward: cutting, digging, mowing and selective use of chemicals.  But it’s a matter of learning what’s out there learning, what needs to be controlled and how to do it in the best way environmentally.”

 

For instance there will be workshops on using beetles to get rid of purple loose strife and effective ways to control aquatic invasive plants. The meeting will also include sessions on the role of the nursery industry in the battle against invasives and new invasive plants to watch out for.

 

For WNPR, I’m Nancy Cohen.