Keweenaw Wild Ones Holding Virtual Event with Invasive Species Expert

HOUGHTON – There might be six more weeks of winter, but it’s never too early to start planning your gardens. And why not fill it with beautiful native plants. Tomorrow night, the Keweenaw Wild Ones Chapter will hear from an expert on invasive species about different plant options and alternatives to common garden flowers, like Periwinkle and Japanese Barberry.

“The title of Sigrid’s talk is Don’t Plant That, Plant This. And what she’s going to be doing is providing gardeners a guide to choosing better plants for their yards, and avoiding trouble-makers. The interesting thing is you can still buy a lot of these plants from garden centers. But I don’t think they would be so enthusiastic to buy them, if they knew what damage they could cause. And also if they knew that there were really nice alternative plants. That would look just as nice in their own garden.” – Marcia Goodrich, President Keweenaw Wild Ones Chapter

Coordinator of the Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area, Sigrid Resh, is very knowledgeable on the topic of invasive species. Resh will help the Copper Country replace common household plants with native ones. Experts hope this practice will help to restore and balance the Upper Peninsula’s diverse ecosystem.

“You know some of these invasive species we’re bringing in like, Japanese Barberry, that’s a real common landscaping shrub, actually harbors ticks that carry Lyme disease specifically. And there have been studies back out east, where Lyme disease is more prevalent, and with climate change it is now becoming an issue for our area too. But they’ve been able to show that there’s higher tick incidents, of Lyme disease carrying ticks in populations, in forests where Japanese Barberry has invaded those forests.” Sigrid Resh, Coordinator Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area

Invasive species can spread from a home’s garden in much the same way as any other plant, with the help of squirrels, birds and insects that see plants as a source of nutrition. When these invasive plant seeds are spread by forest critters and bees collecting pollen they get into uncontrolled environments like forests. That’s where Resh said they can wreak havoc on the natural ecosystem. Tomorrow’s talk begins at 6 pm.

Keweenaw Wild Ones Chapter

Sigrid Resh, Wild Ones zoom registration

KISMA Invasive Species

KISMA Native Alternatives