What I learned from Research

             This week I researched invasive plants and talked to some of the people who work with them.  I will be sharing my findings with you in this post.

          The first person that I talked to, Brandon Carpenter, was with the Natural Resources Conservation Service or NRCS.  We talked about different methods of eradicating these plants and what it costs to do that.  I know that some of my readers have been wondering about the pricing of these projects.  The man that I talked to also told me about what NRCS does to help with this problem.  They help to educate people about invasive plants and hire people who work to get rid of these plants.  The methods they use are mostly mechanical, which is very labor intensive and requires quite a few follow up visits.  They also use biological methods but that is pretty rare.  It is very risky to introduce new plants to an environment that is already suffering.  The last method available is chemical. They generally don't use herbicides,  you need a license to use it and it is quite the process to get one.  When I asked about pricing  I was told how widely it can vary.  If you can get to it quickly, it may cost a few hundred dollars.  Larger amounts of plants,  if it is scattered,  if you end up having to do the whole thing by hand,  these are just some of the factors that can skyrocket these prices up to thousands.
          I also spoke with Meghann Carter from the Northwoods Stewardship center.  Northwoods is a rural organization that works on preserving and restoring our environment.  We discussed how Northwoods works with other people from around the state.  They are working with someone from southern Vermont to put together a volunteer training day for people interested in working with invasive plants.  They sometimes put together groups of people from the community to do cleanup.  I also asked about their methods of removal.  She said that they do have a staff member who is licensed to use herbacides so they do use that sometimes.  Other than that it is all manual. They mostly work with honeysuckle and phragmites, but they do work with a little Japanese knotweed.  The last thing that I asked them about was pricing.  Like NRCS, they said that it varies greatly depending on the site.  They told me that a 40 by 40 foot area covered with phragmites would cost about 150 dollars.  That price could go anywhere after that.
         I can see a few similarities between these programs.  There are also numerous differences, like how NRCS is government funded and works throughout the entire country, while Northwoods is a small, local organization.  But the both try to inform people about invasive plants.  They also have the same the goal, to eradicate invasive species before they get out of control.
         Vermont Invasives is a group that organizes the cleanup invasives.  One of the neat things about them is that, on their website, www.vtinvasives.org, they have a button that you can press if you would like to report an invasive plant sighting,  either on your property or just on the side of the road.  One of their main goals is to inform people about the growing crisis in our environment.  On their site you can read about all sorts of different plants, not just the ones that I have mentioned.
            Through these discussions I learned that there are organizations trying to create more awareness. The more help the better.  One thing that does need to change is the lack of children and teens involved in these issues.  This is a long term issue with long term consequences and they should be aware of issues that they will need to deal with when they get older.  I think that there should be a group that goes around and talks to kids and organizes field trips to get kids inspired to help out.

Interviewing Important People In My Life

         This week I will be talking about the opinions of different people in my personal life.

               I interviewed a variety of people at my workplace.  Some of them knew quite a bit about the invasive species, while others had less understanding of them but had heard that they were a growing problem.  One person I talked to had an interesting perspective on milfoil.  He said that even though it was affecting our water quality, it was also providing a few people with jobs.  Though he was joking, there is some truth in that.  People are getting jobs on cleaning crews who are trying to get ilfoil out of our lakes and rivers.  Some people are also working at manned boat washing stations.
          Another person I interviewed knew about some of the invasive animals like zebra mussels.  While those are a big problem that needs to be addressed, my focus right now is on Invasive plants.  She also knew about milfoil and told me about how she thought it was affecting our economy through tourism.  She said that she has a lake near her house that is a big tourist spot.  Apparently it was almost run over by milfoil and that there was a large rush to save it.  Invasive plants can affect tourism through our landscapes.  We live in a very beautiful part of the word and people come from all over to enjoy it.  If our lakes are filled with weeds, and our forests are being pushed out, fewer people will want to come here.
                When I told these people about some of these plants more destructive sides,  such as Japanese knotweed, which can grow through cement foundations, they were shocked.  They had not realized what a problem they are.
                  Next I spoke to one of my peers.  She knew nothing about invasive plants at all.  I think this brings up what should be another social issue.  Maybe if today's youth knew about some of these problems, they would be inspired to take action and solve these issues.  Now, I belive people might already do this, but if we had people talk to the kids and tell them about these things, maybe that would help.
                I also spoke to my father.  He has been very interested in Invasive plants and animals recently, and is actually the one who inspired me to work on the invasive plant topic.  He talked about how invasive species affect the forests of Vermont.  He said that Invasive shrubs like honeysuckle and barberry,  shade out the young trees and undergrowth, eventually wiping out forests.  He also told me how invasive plants could affect animal populations.  When everything has been wiped out by barberry and honeysuckle, the birds have less to eat.  These plants have very little nutritional value,so the birds are eating lots of them, but not getting the energy the need to survive.  Also, the way the branches of these shrubs grow makes it easier for predators to get to small creatures hiding in them.
          The last person that I spoke to was one of my teachers.  She was pretty interested in the plants.  We talked about how it is hard to realize what is going on with the environment when the invasive plants can be so beautiful.  She understood why they were so bad, but wished that they were not such a big problem.  It was very interesting to talk with her because she made a very valid point.  She said that invasives have become such a big part of our scenery that we just do not notice them anymore.
             I think that most people know of or have heard a little bit about Invasive species.  They just need something to get them inspired to help.  I think this subject is, or needs to be, a bigger social issue.  If we just let invasives run wild it will eventually harm our economy and environment.