Members of the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) convened at the University of Connecticut’s Student Union Tuesday, Oct. 29, for the 12th consecutive Invasive Plant Symposium.
Meeting in-person for the first time in six years, environmental experts and beginner botanists alike were eager to discuss this year’s theme: Real Talk – Making an Impact in Invasive Plant Management, which is about the successes and challenges facing invasive plant management in Connecticut.
“Real talk is exactly what we need,” opened Indrajeet Chaubey, Dean of UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. Chaubey took the theme one-step further, declaring that the issue of invasive species required “real action.”
Emphasizing UConn’s role as a crossroads of ideas and the home to CIPWG, Chaubey stated, “No one individual or group will be able to handle the challenges of invasive plant management alone.”
Founded in 1997 by UConn faculty and notable botanists Leslie Mehrhoff and Donna Ellis, CIPWG has grown to 1,300 active members. They are all unified under the goal of eliminating invasive plants and restoring local ecosystems through “the use of native or non-ornamental alternatives,” as stated by UConn educator Victoria Wallace.
Wallace serves as one of nine delegates to the state of Connecticut’s Invasive Plants Council (IPC), a panel of experts from different disciplines within ecosystem management that advises the state legislature and provides recommendations for any additions to the invasive species list. Much to the crowd’s excitement, mugwort, among others, was added to the list this year with the passage of House Bill 5225.
Although having passed away in 2010, CIPWG honored Mehrhoff’s memory through the awarding of the Leslie J. Mehrhoff Award, which was presented this year to environmental activist and photographer Tom Zetterstrom by Mehrhoff’s daughter Jessie.
“Thank you, invasive plant community for the work that you do,” said Zetterstrom, who followed his words of acceptance with a live demonstration on how to dispatch invasive vines, producing specimens of Japanese Bittersweet from beneath the podium.
The day-long conference featured a collection of discussion groups and speakers, including Peter Picone of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Acutely focused on education as a means for conservation, breakout sessions dealt with separate aspects of the invasive plant issue. Some topics included best practices for plant management, mobilizing community support, and specific case studies from different projects around the state.
Sponsored by forty-one partner organizations and hosting representatives from interest groups throughout New England, individuals of many backgrounds and perspectives were given the opportunity to share their novel solutions for managing invasive plants.
“Despite the magnitude of the problem, the group is still committed and persistent,” said Stafford Garden Club President Donna Wright.
A row of ten vibrant native plants lined the stage of the Student Union Theater and were raffled off upon the event’s conclusion, as opposition to the display of invasive species housed two floors above, reminding attendees of the state ecosystem’s natural beauty.