Tag Archives: citizen scientists

August 5, 2013 · 9:50 am

Invasive Species Are No Match for Austin Citizen Scientists

Johnson grass is no match to the invasive hunter moves of Austin citizen scientists

Johnson Grass is no match for the invasive hunter moves of Austin citizen scientists

This summer, I trained as a citizen scientist with the City of Austin and the Wildflower Center to learn how to hunt the top 24 invasive plants in Austin, and I also joined other volunteers to map the locations of invasive species around Slaughter Creek.

Here are some pictures from our volunteer expedition:

Some ducks waddled up to join our Austin citizen scientist team

Some ducks waddled up to join our Austin citizen scientist team

We used ropes to divide the area into quadrants to report the invasive species that we found and the City of Austin team leaders recorded the locations on their iPad

We used ropes to divide the area into quadrants to report the invasive species that we found and the City of Austin team leaders recorded the locations on their iPad

A Chinaberry, an invasive plant, apprehensively eyes our mapping of Austin invasive species

A Chinaberry, an invasive plant, apprehensively eyes our mapping of Austin invasive species

We gave a thumbs down to the invasive species, Johnson Grass

We gave a thumbs down to the invasive species, Johnson Grass

We had a great time as Austin citizen scientist volunteers to help identify invasive species

We had a great time as Austin citizen scientist volunteers to help identify invasive species

Help identify and map Austin Invasive Species

If you haven’t had a chance to join with other Austin citizen scientists, August 15, 2013, is the last day to help the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department collect data about the invasive species in the parks and lands around Austin.

Your friend,
Ben

P.S. Ms. Jessica Strickland recently moved to California. She was the Invasive Species Program Manager with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. You did a great job helping to educate citizen scientists across Texas about invasive species, and I’ll miss you! Best wishes with your next adventures! 🙂

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Filed under Chinaberry, Citizen Scientist, City of Austin, Jessica Strickland, Johnson Grass, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Slaughter Creek, Uncategorized, Wildflower Center

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June 6, 2013 · 7:10 am

Citizen scientists train to hunt the top 24 invasive plants in Austin

My sketchbook of the top 24 invasive plant species in Austin, Texas

My sketchbook of the top 24 invasive plant species in Austin, Texas

As the Invasive Hunter, I always have to keep my skills sharp, so on a Saturday in May, I attended an invasive species workshop at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. This workshop was designed especially for citizen scientists who are working with the city of Austin as part of the Austin Invasive Plants Management Plan.

The city of Austin and the Invaders of Texas Program teamed up to train local volunteers how to identify and monitor invasive plants. Citizen scientists who volunteer with this program get to work side by side with city staff to develop a map of where invasive plant species are located, and the city of Austin will use this map to determine how to best treat or remove the invaders.

Learning up close how to identify invasive plants

Learning up close how to identify invasive plants

Ms. Jessica Wilson, Wildland Conservation education manager with the city of Austin, welcomed us to the workshop, and Ms. Jessica Strickland, Invasive Species Program Manager with the Wildflower Center, gave a great talk about invasive species in Texas and those around Austin, the Invaders of Texas Program, and how to report sightings of invasive species online and through the TX Invaders mobile app.

Top 24 invasive plant species in the city of Austin

Top 24 invasive plant species in the city of Austin

We learned about the top 24 invasive plant species in Austin from samples in the Wildflower Center’s library, and got to know them better by being able to see them, feel their leaves and other identifying features, and sketch samples of them to help us remember them when we’re out in the field.

A sample of kudzu, a nasty invasive species

A sample of kudzu, a nasty invasive species

The top 24 invasive plants in Austin cover herbaceous, woody, vines, and aquatic species and include my nemesis, the Giant Reed (Arundo donax)!

We practiced identifying sample invasive plants in a field outside of the Wildflower Center

We practiced identifying sample invasive plants in a field outside of the Wildflower Center

Besides polishing up my knowledge about invasive plants, I also got to spend some time with other citizen scientists (excuse me, future invasive hunters!) and staff from the city of Austin who were a lot of fun.

Commander Ben and Austin invasive species volunteers getting ready for action

Commander Ben and Austin invasive species volunteers getting ready for action

The workshop I attended was part of a series of volunteer workshops that the city of Austin and the Wildflower Center have been holding during the spring of this year.

Here is a great video all about the day created by the City of Austin:

Their goal is to train 180 citizen scientists who are willing to volunteer time during the summer monitoring season.  The next Invasive Species Identification and Monitoring workshop is coming up this weekend, June 8 and 9.  Don’t miss out because this is the last workshop for the season!

I look forward to seeing you in the hunt for invasive species! 🙂

Your friend,
Ben

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Filed under Austin Invasive Plants Management Plan, Austin Invasive Species Corps, Citizen Scientist, City of Austin, City of Austin Invaders, City of Austin Wildland Conservation Division, Giant Reed, Invaders of Texas, Invaders of Texas Citizen Science Program, Invasive Hunter, Invasive Plants, Invasive Species, Invasive Species Workshop, Jessica Strickland, Jessica Wilson, Kudzu, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Mobile app, Texas Invaders, Texas Invasives, TX Invaders, Wildland Conservation Division

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June 1, 2012 · 7:46 pm

Record Sightings of Invasives and Attend the Next Invasive Species Eradication Workshop

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

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Filed under Android, Eradication Calculator, Giant Reed, Invaders of Texas, Invaders of Texas Citizen Science Program, Invasive Species, iPhone, Jessica Strickland, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Motorola Foundation

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December 28, 2011 · 9:38 am

Giant Reed’s Fighting Retreat on Lady Bird Lake

Ms. Mary Gilroy talks about efforts to hunt down and eradicate the Giant Reed (Arundo Donax) around Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Learn how data collected from citizen scientists as part of the Invaders of Texas Program helped map the locations of this invasive species and the multiyear campaign to remove this obstinate invasive and restore native plants. Ms. Gilroy is an environmental scientist in Austin, Texas.

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

Commander Ben signing off…

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Filed under 2011 Texas Invasive Plant Conference, Citizen Scientist, City of Austin, Giant Reed, Invaders of Texas, Lady Bird Lake, Mary Gilroy

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