Invasive Plants: Issues, Identification and Ecology

Tuesday, September 26, 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m., online
Tuesday, October 3, 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m., online
Friday, October 13, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Bosarge Family Education Center

Invasive species are considered highly undesirable by botany, ecology, horticulture, and conservation professionals—and for good reason. In this two-day course, Amanda Devine, Regional Land Steward for Maine Coast Heritage Land Trust, will identify the basic ecological problems surrounding these aggressive, tenacious plants; the complicated (and sometimes political) issues surrounding them; and how a plant becomes labeled “invasive.” After two thorough online sessions, Amanda will guide students in a field study to become better acquainted with some of New England’s most common invasive species, then offer strategies for management and prevention.

Suggested reading: Maine Invasive Plants Field Guide, Maine Natural Areas Program

Amanda Devine is Maine Coast Heritage Trust’s Regional Stewardship Manager for Southern Maine. She has worked on the ground in invasive plant management for 13 years and has a master of science from the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program. She lives in Freeport, where she spends her free time trying to rid her woodlot of glossy buckthorn.