Informative Invasive Species Workshop in July!

The Biological Control Workshop is one of the many events in July that I am looking forward to attending. Taking place at the Rock Creek Nature Center on Tuesday, July 29th, the 2014 Biological Control Workshop will be an event focused on biocontrols that target terrestrial and aquatic invasive plants, particularly those located in the Mid-Atlantic region.

As a stewardship outings intern at the Sierra Club, my main goal is to learn about the ecology of our local parks and the spread and control of invasive species. A few days a week, the stewardship outing interns take a trip out to different parks to get our hands dirty pulling and cutting down invasive plants.

This workshop is the perfect addition to my internship experience. From 8:30 am- 4:30 pm there will be many different speakers discussing how to use biological controls to manage specific weeds. These biological controls on non-native invasive plants are important to rescue our native ecosystems.

Not only do I get the chance to learn about many different invasive species, I will also learn about new methods of biological controls. I cannot wait to attend and learn from the amazing speakers planned for this event, which includes ecologists, professors from prestigious universities, and many more!

To warm you up to the workshop, there are also two nature outings taking place the day before on Monday, July 28. The first is a Management Project in Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park from 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm. The second outing is a Restoration Project at Heritage and Kingman Island, also from 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm.

If you’re interested in joining me at either the field trips or the workshop! Please visit  http://www.maipc.org/Workshop2014/registration.html to register.