Tag Archives: earth day

August 3, 2014 · 11:58 am

Austin School Kids Learn about Invasive Species at St. Edward’s University

Commander Ben and Austin school kids practice the moves to take down invasive species during Earth Day at St. Edward's University

Commander Ben and Austin school kids practice the moves to take down invasive species during Earth Day at St. Edward’s University

I was honored to be invited back to St. Edward’s University to celebrate Earth Day 2014 with them this spring. I brought my Invasive Hunter Academy along with me and entertained 200 kids on a field trip from Travis Heights Elementary School.

As always, the kids enjoyed going through the Academy and graduating as official Invasive Hunters. Upon graduation, the kids loved picking out a nature prize along with some candy to fill their field trip goodie bags! And of course they each received their official “I’m an Invasive Hunter” sticker. Who doesn’t love stickers?!?

Here are some fun pictures from the event:

Knife hand attack is superb for taking down invasive plants like the Giant Reed (Arundo donax)

Knife hand attack is superb for taking down invasive plants like the Giant Reed (Arundo donax)

And let's not forget about swallow hand stalk strike! I see an invasive plant going down!

And let’s not forget about swallow hand stalk strike! I see an invasive plant going down!

Austin school kids eager to work on their invasive hunter dioramas

Austin school kids eager to work on their invasive hunter dioramas

Future invasive hunters thinking about which invasive species to battle

Future invasive hunters thinking about which invasive species to battle

Young Austin naturalists working on their Invasive Hunter Academy action dioramas

Young Austin naturalists working on their Invasive Hunter Academy action dioramas

HEBuddy joined in the fun on Earth Day too

HEBuddy joined in the fun on Earth Day too

National Wildlife Federation booth during Earth Day at St. Edward's University

National Wildlife Federation booth during Earth Day at St. Edward’s University

Commander Ben trying out Car2Go's electric car at St. Edwards University

Commander Ben trying out Car2Go’s electric car at St. Edward’s University

On a quick break, I visited the Car2Go booth and decided to sit in the car and get a feel for what it’s like to be behind the driver’s wheel…especially since I’ll be getting my driver’s license soon!

Wild Basin Creative Research Center booth during Earth Day at St. Edward's University

Wild Basin Creative Research Center booth during Earth Day at St. Edward’s University

I enjoyed talking with the representative at the Wild Basin Creative Research Center table. The center’s also called the Wild Basin Preserve, and St. Edward’s University acquired the preserve that’s along Austin’s loop 360 in 2009. Here are some of my previous posts about Wild Basin:

Now is the time for all invasive hunters to dance!

Now is the time for all invasive hunters to dance!

And just when I thought Earth Day was winding down, the music cranked up, thanks to Topper Radio, and I led a dance party with all the elementary kids. It was so much fun and a great way to end the day. I think we’ll have to add a new move to the Academy to take out invasives. Maybe a dance move…and we’ll call it the invasive stomp!

Commander Ben and Phoebe Anne Romero meet in front of the Invasive Hunter Academy before Earth Day festivities

Commander Ben and Phoebe Anne Romero meet in front of the Invasive Hunter Academy before Earth Day festivities

Thanks to Phoebe Anne Romero for inviting me to bring the Invasive Hunter Academy back to St. Edward’s for this year’s Earth Day celebrations! I had a lot of fun with Austin’s young naturalists!

Ready for action during Earth Week 2014 at St. Edward's University

Ready for action during Earth Week 2014 at St. Edward’s University

Previous Earth Day celebrations at St. Edward’s

It’s been a summer of adventure for me! I hope you’re having a great one too!

Your friend,
Ben

1 Comment

Filed under Earth Day, Earth Week, Invasive Hunter Academy, Invasive Species, Phoebe Anne Romero, St Edward's University, Wild Basin Preserve

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

April 21, 2014 · 6:21 am

Austin Invasive Species in the spotlight at St. Edward’s University 2014 Earth Week

Our Place in Space: Sustainability, Stewardship and Community - Earth Week 2014 at St. Edward's University

Our Place in Space: Sustainability, Stewardship and Community – Earth Week 2014 at St. Edward’s University

If you love nature and you’re in Austin tomorrow, April 22, 2014, join in the “Our Place in Space: Sustainability, Stewardship and Community” – Earth Week 2014 festivities at St. Edward’s University.

There will be lots of environmentally friendly organizations, including the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Car2Go, Sierra Club, ecoRise, LCRA, Wheatsville Food Coop, and Austin Youth River Watch. They’ll have lots of information and fun events.

Invasive Hunter Academy

Join the Invasive Hunter Academy and be one of the few. The proud. The fighting naturalists!

Join the Invasive Hunter Academy and be one of the few. The proud. The fighting naturalists!

I’ll be helping to teach kids from nearby elementary schools about invasive species with my Invasive Hunter Academy. Get ready, Austin invasive plants! There are going to be a lot more Invasive Hunters ready to help to protect our native ecosystem after tomorrow.

Thanks to Ms. Phoebe Anne Romero with St. Edward’s University for inviting me to join in their Earth Week fun! And thanks too to HEB, our local grocery store. They are a generous sponsor of this event and many great environmental events around Austin, including Nature Nights at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I enjoyed collecting many stickers from HEBuddy to win great prizes when I was a young naturalist.

Hope to see you there!

Your friend,
Ben

1 Comment

Filed under Earth Day, Earth Week, Invasive Hunter, Invasive Hunter Academy, Invasive Plants, Invasive Species, Phoebe Anne Romero, St Edward's University

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

May 5, 2013 · 5:38 pm

Commander Ben Celebrates Earth Day at St. Edward’s University

Commander Ben joins St Edward's Earth Week celebrations

Commander Ben joins St Edward’s Earth Week celebrations

I’ve had an exciting last few weeks that I look forward to talking with you about, but I first want to catch up on some of the great events that I had a chance to be part of in April.

Last year, I was invited to St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, to give a talk about Commander Ben and the Invasive Hunter Academy as part of St. Edward’s 2012 Earth Day events. I had a great time and was honored to be invited to bring the Invasive Hunter Academy back on Monday, April 22, to St. Edward’s 2013 Earth Day celebrations.

Commander Ben and the Invasive Hunter Academy at St. Edward's University

Commander Ben and the Invasive Hunter Academy at St. Edward’s University

It was a beautiful sunny day and turnout for the event was great. Along with my Invasive Hunter Academy display and poster board about my invasive species nemesis, the Giant Reed (Arundo donax), there were lots of great people there with all sorts of Earth Day activities and information. I enjoyed visiting all the tables and meeting some very interesting folks.

Some of the groups I had a chance to speak with on Earth Day included:

Agana Rainwater at St. Edward's Earth Week celebrations

Agana Rainwater at St. Edward’s Earth Week celebrations

Car2Go at St. Edward's Earth Week celebrations

Car2Go at St. Edward’s Earth Week celebrations

Johnson's Backyard Garden at St. Edward's Earth Week celebrations

Johnson’s Backyard Garden at St. Edward’s Earth Week celebrations

Sustainable Food Center at St. Edward's Earth Week celebrations

Sustainable Food Center at St. Edward’s Earth Week celebrations

I want to thank all the people at St. Edward’s for another great Earth Day celebration, and a special thank you to Mr. Mitch Robinson, Education and Land Management Coordinator for Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, and Ms. Cristina Bordin, Special Assistant to the President and Sustainability Coordinator for St. Edward’s University, who invited me to be a part of this great event.

Commander Ben and Mitch Robinson at St. Edward's Earth Week celebrations

Commander Ben and Mitch Robinson at St. Edward’s Earth Week celebrations

I’ll have more posts coming up about my other April adventures. Talk with you again soon! 🙂

Your friend,
Ben

1 Comment

Filed under Agana rainwater, Arundo donax, Car2Go, Christina Bordin, Earth Day, Giant Reed, Invasive Hunter, Invasive Hunter Academy, Invasive Species, Johnson's Backyard Garden, Mitch Robinson, St Edward's University, Sustainable Food Center, Uncategorized, Wild Basin Preserve, Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve

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

April 17, 2013 · 6:43 pm

Invasive Hunter Academy Returns to St. Edward’s University for Earth Day

Join the Invasive Hunter Academy and be one of the few. The proud. The fighting naturalists!

Join the Invasive Hunter Academy and be one of the few. The proud. The fighting naturalists!

I had a lot of great experiences the last few weeks and have a number of blog posts to get caught up on, but I wanted to tell you that I’m bringing the Invasive Hunter Academy to St. Edward’s University for Earth Day on Monday, April 22, as part of the university’s Earth Week 2013 program. I even created a new logo for the event, which is at the top of this post and is also on the St. Edward’s Earth Week 2013 web page. Hope you like the logo!

I was at St. Edward’s University last year, and I had a great time speaking to students, faculty, and members of the community about my fight against invasive species and how I developed the Commander Ben blog, videos, and the Invasive Hunter Academy.

There are lots of great activities going on at St. Edward’s this week and next week too, so be sure to check out the festivities:

Many thanks to Mr. Mitch Robinson, Education and Land Management Coordinator for Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, and Ms. Cristina Bordin, Special Assistant to the President and Sustainability Coordinator for St. Edward’s University, for inviting me to be part of their Earth Day 2013 celebrations.

Hope to see you there!

Your friend,
Ben

Leave a comment

Filed under Christina Bordin, Earth Day, Invasive Hunter, Invasive Hunter Academy, Invasive Species, Mitch Robinson, St Edward's University, Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

May 6, 2012 · 8:11 pm

Commander Ben Joins Earth Week Activities at St. Edward’s University


At last year’s Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Mitch Robinson, Education and Land Management Coordinator for Wild Basin Preserve.

He talked with me about how Wild Basin Preserve fends off invasive species, and I was very impressed by his passion for protecting the preserve’s native ecosystem.

We’ve kept in touch since then, and he was so nice to invite me to be part of the Earth Week activities at St. Edward’s University, which were also broadcast on Google+ Hangouts. He was giving a presentation about invasive species on April 19, and he asked me to join him to talk about my experiences battling invasives and teaching others about them.

On the guard against invasives

Mr. Robinson started the event by giving an excellent presentation about invasives including several examples and how they affect our environment. I was especially intrigued by the Giant African Land Snail. Why? Because it’s giant and eats houses!

Actually, it eats the stucco off houses, but that’s close enough. They can grow up to 8 inches, and eat other snails and over 500 species of plants. They were brought into Florida as pets, but were released in the late 1960s, and Florida State University had to spend millions of dollars to battle them back.

It’s a menace to Western Civilization!

Native Plant Avengers movie trailer shown at St. Edwards

Afterwards, Mr. Robertson introduced me by first playing my latest video, Native Plant Avengers. When I saw my video played on a big screen in front of an audience, I had a great feeling of happiness because that’s why I make the videos–to help educate people about invasives and for my audience to have fun at the same time.


After my video, I talked about how I got started learning about invasives and teaching others. I also took questions from the audience and talked about my Invasive Hunter Academy as part of Kid’s Day during National Invasive Species Awareness Week at the US Botanic Garden.

Thank you so much Mr. Robinson and St. Edwards for inviting me to be part of your Earth Day events! It was a lot of fun! Down with invasives!


Your friend,
Ben

Update: Invasive Hunter Academy Returns to St. Edward’s University for Earth Day 2013

Leave a comment

Filed under 2011 Texas Invasive Plant Conference, Earth Day, Environmental, Giant African Land Snail, Googe+ Hangouts, Invasive Hunter Academy, Invasive Species, Mitch Robinson, National Invasive Species Awareness Week, Native Plant Avengers, St Edward's University, U.S. Botanic Garden, Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve

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