What I Already Know and What I Would Like to Know

       I am interested in the invasive plant species topic for my investigation because it is something that affects my everyday life.  When I take a walk past a local wetland, I see where phragmites has taken over what used  to be cattails.  The river where I hike is being completely overrun by Japanese knotweed.  Our lakes and ponds are being clogged up with milfoil.  I feel very strongly about this topic because it affecting me personally and is disrupting our environment.
      I know that these species  are pushing out native plants like cattails.  Water invasives  like milfoil are ruining our water quality and damaging our lakes and rivers.  Invasive species almost always spread like wildfire.  With Japanese knotweed even the smallest piece can sprout a new plant.  Lots of these plants are also very hardy, being able to survive the harsh winters here.
      I have lots of questions concerning this topic.  The first one is why are invasive species such a bad thing?  Is the change in our environment just changing how Vermont looks or are there deeper scientific changes that need to be investigated. Why is it so bad that they are pushing out native plants?  What are the long term consequences of not removing the plants.  Would they continue to spread out of control or would they find an equilibrium?
     My next set of questions involves what we can do to stop invasive species.  What different ways are there of removing these plants?  Are there herbicides to help fight these plants or do we need to approach this task by hand?  What are people already doing to help and what more can we do?
          I am going to do my best to investigate these questions and discover what I can do to help with this issue.  I look forward to uncovering things I never knew about this subject and sharing what I discover with my readers.

KUD reflections

                        What I'm most daunted by is the multi-media use.  My inexperience with technology might make this a very difficult aspect of this class.  Even so, I look forward to expanding my comfort zone with this particular skill set.  I also know that I am going to have to work hard in order to manage my time correctly so that I can keep up with everything.
                   
                       I am very comfortable with the multiple perspectives aspect of the program.  I have had a quite a bit of experience in figuring out other peoples perspectives.  I understand why they are so different and can figure out how to appeal to everyone's perspective.  I am also not worried about my personal self-awareness and regulation.  I can tell people how my strengths and weaknesses can affect my team and myself.

                      

Why I am involved in Whats the Story

                 I am here to shed some light on current problems in my community.  I would like to be able to do something about them.  Here are some of the things that draw my attention.
            
 1.Invasive species strangling out the native species.  Invasives such as, Japanese Knotweed, Purple Loosestrife, and certain breeds of Honey Suckle are spreading like wildfire and wiping out other plants.  Its not really something that you can see, but it is happening.

2. Safe places for teens and younger children to learn and grow away from home.  In my town we have Teen Center for at risk teenagers.  It ran out of funding and is now threatening to close down.  We need to have a reliable place for these kids to go to.  There should also be a place for younger kids to go.  If we can get them safe before they hit the teenage years, we might be able to prevent any future difficulty.

3.  Solar panels being somewhere other than in fields.  We have so many building that have nothing on their roofs. Why don't we just put them up there instead of in the fields that my community needs for agricultural uses.