Reposting a conference announcement:

A conference entitled, “Educating the Public about New Invasive Species Threatening California’s Plant Ecosystems”, will be held on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, at the University of California, Davis Conference Center.

The goal of this conference is to bring together biologists, social scientists, and communication experts to discuss how to educate all segments of society about the threat of invasive species and how to assist in their exclusion and detection. The conference will examine pest plants and plant pests that are likely to enter California in the near future, the pathways of introduction and likelihood of entry, and examples of...

I’ve noticed a slow and increasing trend lately, the level of communication about weeds has been on the decline. Now I have very little data outside of Southern California to back up my assertion, so I look to you to provide a sense of optimism. Your comments to counter my observations are greatly appreciated.

Several state and federal agencies along with local governments and organizations have been, one by one, missing weed management meetings or local workshops and symposia. Now this is not something entirely new or unpredicted, attending an invasive plant management group is certainly not as fun as being in the field for the day. It is important work: organizing regional projects, deciding which grants to write,...

As wildland weed management and eradication projects fall to the economic “hatchet”, one vital program continues as a standout---preventing the introduction and spread of invasive weeds can yield a lot of bang for the buck!

Invasive weed seeds and other reproductive parts are often moved to new locations via: imported gravel and fill dirt; vehicles and equipment; or in erosion control materials.  Treating weeds over a large area is expensive and often impossible, so land managers can look to weed prevention as a cost-effective...

A neighbor asked me to identify a robust perennial that keeps coming up in his garden. It had long, tropical-looking leaves and floppy racemes with small white flowers. This was a new one for me. Turned out it was common pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), a native of eastern North America. In the south some people eat it (poke salad), and a few southerners probably brought it west as a garden vegetable. But the whole plant is toxic if improperly prepared, so it’s the fugu of weeds.

A couple of weeks later my daughter brought home a stalk of purple berries and asked if she could eat them. “No,” I said, “they contain numerous saponins and oxalates.” I began...

Article originally posted on the UC ANR Green Blog.  Written by Rebecca Miller-Cripps and reposted with permission.  Brad