Category Archives: Heavenly Bamboo

November 27, 2012 · 9:23 am

Invasive Species Hunter Teams Up: Commander Ben and Science Weekly

Commander Ben battles invasive species on the cover of Science Weekly
Image credit: Science Weekly

I was so excited to get the latest issue of Science Weekly in the mail today!

This issue is extra special to me because it’s about invasive species, and it talks about my adventures as Commander Ben, the Invasive Hunter, to help kids learn more about invasive species.

Science Weekly included a special section about me, and I especially like the cartoon action figure they made of me battling different invasives, including the Zebra Mussel and Bamboo. That’s really cool!

Fun learning about science and math

Science Weekly is a great publication for K-6 students to learn more about math and science in a fun way with pictures, informative text, labs, puzzles, and games. Each grade level has a customized issue of Science Weekly with the younger grades getting more pictures and the older grades more text with in-depth information.

This issue is fantastic. You’ll get to read about invasives, practice your vocabulary, polish your math skills, conduct a fun lab, and complete a puzzle—all while learning about invasive species.

Commander Ben battling different invasive species in Science Weekly
Image credit: Science Weekly

If you’re looking for my invasive species videos that Science Weekly talks about, check out my Battles with Invasive Species playlist on YouTube, including my Invasive Species Carol—Special Christmas edition!

If you’re a teacher, you won’t want to miss getting Science Weekly for your classroom, and if you’re a parent, and you’re interested in getting issues for your own budding scientist, you can order issues online.

Thanks Science Weekly for featuring me and for helping to teach kids about invasive species. I can’t wait to see more Invasive Hunter Academy graduates!

Your friend,
Ben

P.S. If you have a fun adventure with invasive species, let me know. I would love to hear from you!

4 Comments

Filed under A Christmas Carol, An Invasive Species Carol, Battles with Invasive Species, Golden Bamboo, Heavenly Bamboo, Invasive Hunter, Invasive Hunter Academy, Invasive Species, K-6 math, K-6 science, Parents, Science Weekly, students, Teachers, Zebra Mussel

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 7, 2012 · 7:11 pm

Invasive Species Can’t Hide During SXSW Eco

Commander Ben and Ms. Jessica Strickland ready to hunt invasive species during SXSW Eco

I had a great adventure on Thursday when I joined Ms. Jessica Strickland, Invasive Species Program Manager at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, to help map the location of invasive plants along Waller Creek.

The special SXSW Eco “Green Army” event began at the Congress Avenue Kayaks building located at the end of Trinity Street in downtown Austin. The building is on Lady Bird Lake (Town Lake) and Waller Creek. All the participants for the event gathered here before we headed out on our adventures. Mr. Justin Murrill, Global Sustainability Manager for AMD and coordinator of the event, welcomed us all and explained the importance of volunteer efforts like this to help keep Austin beautiful.

Commander Ben and Mr. Justin Murrill, Global Sustainability Manager for AMD at SXSW Eco Green Army Event

Some people were going to clean up the trash in the creek, others were going to make seed balls (which were going to be donated to Bastrop State Park to help replant their area after last years wildfires), and others—including me—were going to identify invasive species for future removal or containment projects.

Ms. Strickland and I found many invasive plants along Waller Creek including:

Pictures from the SXSW Eco Invasive Species Mapping

Photographing invasive plants against a white background makes them easier to identify later.

A photographer from the Austin American-Statesman snaps a picture of our tactical reports.

Invasive English Ivy begins to suffocate a tree along Waller Creek.

King Ranch Bluestem (KR Bluestem) at our feet. Unfortunately, you can find them all over Texas, especially on roadsides.

A close up of KR Bluestem. Alas. Their seeds spread easily.

Can you spot the Elephant Ear on Waller Creek?

You can run Elephant Ear, but you can’t hide!

Super villian team up: Elephant Ear next to Heavenly Bamboo

Here I am mapping Johnson Grass. Humm. For amount, where can I circle “beaucoup”?

I sense a disturbance in the ecosystem. Is the Giant Reed trying to sneak up on me again?

We had a nice audience of turtles during our great day of mapping!

All in all it was a great day!

Your friend,
Ben

Leave a comment

Filed under AMD, Austin, Austin American Statesman, Bastrop State Park, Chinese Privet, Elephant Ear, English Ivy, Giant Reed, Green Army, Heavenly Bamboo, Invasive Plants, Invasive Species, Jessica Strickland, Johnson Grass, Justin Murrill, King Ranch Bluestem, KR Bluestem, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Lady Bird Lake, Ligustrum, SXSW, SXSW Eco, Texas Invasives, Tree of Heaven, Waller Creek, Wildflower Center

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 18, 2011 · 9:14 pm

Rare Texas Plants Struggle Against Invasive Species

Dr. Karen Clary describes the threat that invasive species pose to our rare Texas plants and recounts the ground-running, native Prostrate Milkweed’s struggle against the tall, invasive King Ranch Bluestem. She also talks about her two most disliked invasive plants, Giant Salvania and Heavenly Bamboo. Dr. Clary is a biologist with the Wildlife Habitat Assessment Program for the Wildlife Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

This video is part of Commander Ben’s “Invasive Species: Secrets Revealed” series of interviews from the 2011 Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference.

Learn more about our Central Texas ecosystem

Dr. Clary is also an instructor with Go Native U, which provides a great set of classes to learn more about our native environment. The classes on the flora and fauna of central Texas look really neat, especially those on our native wildflowers, plants, insects, mammals, birds, and reptiles. I look forward to attending these classes in the future!

Commander Ben signing off…

Leave a comment

Filed under 2011 Texas Invasive Plant Conference, Giant Salvinia, Go Native U, Heavenly Bamboo, Invasive Species: Secrets Revealed, Karen Clary, King Ranch Bluestem, KR Bluestem, Prostrate Milkweed, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,