Odds n' Ends
Teaching Points available. Created especially for science teachers, eco-trainers and others responsible for answering questions and presenting basic information about invasive plants and native plants, the Teaching Points is a four-page list of questions and answers that may be adapted for use in a 50-minute classroom-style presentation. So that this useful document might be used over and over, year after year, it is printed on plastic paper. The Teaching Points are even more meaningful when used in conjunction with the plant photo-murals (described next). Available free-of-charge from APIRS, CAIP-WEBSITE@ufl.edu
Murals Aplenty. During the past 12 months, nearly 2,500 K-12 science teachers around the U.S. have requested and obtained free copies of the two giveaway photo-murals produced by the University of Florida and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The laminated photo-murals, Invasive Non-Native Plants and Native Freshwater Plants, feature many "classroom size" photos. Used with the accompanying Teaching Points, science teachers may tailor their own science lessons about invasive plants for students of any grade. Besides being free to K-12 teachers, they also are for sale to anyone else. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu
The St. Louis Declaration. "To curb the use and distribution of invasive plant species," these are rules to live by for nurserymen, plant sellers, botanic gardens, landscape architects and the gardening public, as promulgated and agreed upon by nurserymen, plant sellers, botanic gardens, landscape architects and members of the gardening public. Read your own Code of Conduct at http://www.mobot.org/iss
Oklahoma Aquatic Weeds Poster. A new poster, Don't Free Lily! - An Aid For the Responsible Handling of Aquatic Plants, depicts and describes Oklahoma's 23 Prohibited Aquatic Plant Species. It also shows recommended native species which should be used instead. It was produced by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Langston University, and the University of Oklahoma. To obtain a free copy of the poster, contact Gene Gilliland, Oklahoma Fishery Research Laboratory, 500 E. Constellation, Norman, OK 73072; ggillokla@aol.com
Acting Locally. The Wolf River Conservancy is one of the original eco-advocacy groups of its kind. Established in 1985, the goal of its 1,500 members is "to establish a protected public greenway along the 90-mile Wolf River from its headwaters near Holly Springs, Mississippi, to its mouth at the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee." Over the years, WRC has purchased and otherwise helped protect 8,000 acres of the river's "unmatched natural beauty and large pockets of undisturbed forest." Visit: http://www.wolfriver.org
Florida Keys GreenSweep. For the past three years, The Nature Conservancy has run a "volunteer-based habitat restoration initiative" in the Keys. Named GreenSweep, the volunteer workers clear invasive plants from four National Wildlife Refuges, 11 state parks, 5 CARL properties and countless municipal conservation lands. Alison Higgins, Land Stewardship Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy, POB 420237, Summerland Key, FL 33042. 305-745-8402.
Botanical Dermatology Database. This interesting and easy-to-use online database presents text and citations regarding toxicity of plants. Click on "BoDD Search Engine"; type in the word "melaleuca", retrieve a large file about the Myrtaceae, scroll down past Eucalyptus and Eugenia, and find toxicity references for six species of melaleuca. Visit: http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/index.html
K-12 Teachers A California Priority. When it comes to invasive species, many organizations forget to enlist the support of professional science teachers, even though it is well known that what teachers teach their students, the students teach their parents. The California Department of Food and Agriculture recognizes this simple yet effective cycle, and the Department specifically targets school teachers and classrooms in the effort to teach the public about invasive species and what to do about them. Visit http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/ipc/weededucation/k-12_education/k-12_ed_hp.htm
Know Your Watershed. The stream down the street, the rain on that hillside: where does the water go? Are you sure? Call up this Purdue University web site; learn about watersheds; scroll down; type in your city, county or zip code, and see an EPA map of the watershed that you live in. http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/KYW/KYW.html
Izaak Walton League Rocks! One of the oldest conservation orgs in the U.S. (it was founded in 1922), the Izaak Walton League seeks to conserve, maintain, protect and restore the soil, air, woods, water and wildlife of the United States. Among other activities, it has strong initiatives in Save Our Streams and in the American Wetlands Campaign. For information, visit: http://www.iwla.org
New England Invasives. This web site maintains the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England, a place to report and retrieve sightings, and to download distribution maps. The Atlas is in its early stages, but much technical effort has been put into its preparation. With continued user participation, this Atlas promises to be a first-rate resource in the fight against invaders: http://invasives.eeb.uconn.edu/ipane
250 ft. long native plant mural. The City of Titusville (FL) has taken yet another approach to public education by painting a plant mural on a 250 ft. retaining wall alongside a city street. The mural illustrates the plant communities of Florida's various ecosystems; each plant is labeled with its common name. The wall is used as a teaching aid for various conservation outreach programs, including encouraging the use of native plants and Florida-friendly landscaping techniques to reduce water use. It is located at 2836 Garden Street, Titusville, Florida. For more information, contact Maureen Phillips at maureen.phillips@titusville.com 
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