Citizen scientists

On the sunny and brisk Saturday that was November 5, 2011, a community came together to learn about their local Vital Signs mission.

Check out the video blog to see what we did!

The fall field season has been a busy one. Students and citizen scientists have added valuable found and not found data to the Vital Signs database on invasive and native species across the state, playing an essential role in statewide efforts to document and respond to invasive species.

The spring 2011 field season has come to a close. Here's a list of where the VS action was! One interesting note: there were fewer educators and students participating this spring than in the fall, but they covered way more ground!

Students looked for species in these towns:

Our citizen scientist community is really taking hold. Forty (!) of our state's Master Gardeners joined us for a special citizen scientist training on September 10 at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta. We're so pleased with and appreciative of the enthusiasm, expertise, and passion for plants that they bring to the VS Community.

Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge staff and a group of committed volunteers staged a well fought battle against invading garlic mustard in and around a rare plant area in Kittery on Tuesday, May 11th.

We introduced 70+ members of the Josselyn Botanical Society (JBS) to Vital Signs this morning at Bates College. It was a highly social and eclectic group of professional botanists, passionate amateurs, dragonfly & lichen experts, eager graduate students, environmental educators, and others with their hands, minds, and hearts deeply rooted in Maine's plant communities.

If you spend time on Maine lakes during the summer, chances are you have been greeted at the boat ramp by someone that wanted to look for hitchhiking plants attached to your boat. I wanted to know more about these Courtesy Boat Inspectors and how they are trained. To find out, I attended the 2010 training for lake association directors and board members who will be training and organizing Courtesy Boat Inspectors (CBIs) across Maine this summer.

What do a former teacher, a theoretical physicist, an oral surgeon, and an engineer have in common? They are all members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). Maine's OLLI community is based at the University of Southern Maine, and is one of 122 institutes in the nation that provide opportunities for motivated adult learners. After spending two days with the Vital Signs Team, they are now official participants in the Vital Signs Community!

I was walking in Odiorne Point Park (Rye, NH) not long ago and there was SO much bittersweet. In this one section it has completely taken over and covers an entire hill, there used to be plants, shrub, and more trees growing here. It was the densest area of bittersweet growth that I have ever seen.

Oh the magic of the holidays, baking cookies, listening to holiday music, visiting with close friends and family, decorating your home with invasive species… What? Yes Virginia, every holiday season people unwittingly help some very aggressive invasive plants gain access to new places and habitats.