Florida Association of Science Teachers Conference
November 3-5, 2005
The Teachers' Workshop Team had the pleasure of introducing our new Florida Invasive Plant Education Initiative at the 2005 Florida Association of Science Teachers Conference held at the Doubletree Conference Center this past November.
Workshop Title: "The Good, the Rather Good, and the Really Ugly". Non-native invasive plants greatly affect our wild aquatic, wetland, and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as the native plants and animals that depend on them. This session was for teachers who wanted to know more about wild plants in Florida, with emphasis on ~200 invasive non-native species, their biology, ecology, identification, impacts, management options, prevention and reporting. Teachers who attended received (free) teacher-created curricula samples and colorful printed materials for use in the classroom.
After the workshop, teachers were taken on a chartered bus to the Orlando Wetlands Park, where we enjoyed an exciting afternoon touring the 1600-acre facility and learned how plants can be used to treat wastewater in an environmentally-friendly way. The bus ride alone on top of the levees was a real hit. . . . not to mention the wildlife!
