Reported locations of the Giant Reed (Arundo donax) around Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas.
You too can join the fight against invasive species by attending the next Invasive Species Eradication workshop. This workshop helps you become a more active citizen scientist by teaching you about invasive species and how to report them.
I recorded my first invasive species, my nemesis the Giant Reed (Arundo donax), early last year with my GPS, pencil and paper, and digital camera, and I reported my information on the Texas Invasives website for other scientists to understand how invasive species were spreading.
Many other citizen scientists across Texas have reported their invasive sightings too. For example, View a map of the reported Giant Reed locations in Texas.
We won’t always need pencil and paper. The May 2012 iWire newsletter talks about a new Invaders of Texas mobile app to report invasive species. The Invaders of Texas program received an empowerment grant from the Motorola Foundation to develop a mobile application for Android devices.
Attend the next invasive species workshop in Austin
These invasive species workshops are held around the state throughout the year, and the next workshop in Austin will be on Saturday, June 16th, at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
I look forward to attending this upcoming workshop to learn about the latest techniques for identifying and reporting invasives and meeting other citizen scientists. I want to learn more about how to use an iPhone to easily report invasives when I see them. The workshop will also cover the new Eradication Calculator, which will help to organize and coordinate removal efforts.
Learn more about this invasive species workshop and others around Texas at Texas Invasives workshops or contact Ms. Jessica Strickland, the Wildflower Center’s invasive species manager.
Your friend,
Ben
Commander Ben 