Saturday Seminar To Target Invasive Species In Backyards And Open Spaces

With money approved and plans in hand, Newtown Conservation Commission officials are aiming to eliminate invasive species from residential backyards.

The public is invited to “Aliens Invade Newtown,” an invasive plant seminar, Saturday, May 15, from 2 to 4 pm. The event will be in the Council Chambers at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street. Admission is free.

“The invasives are crowding out our natural vegetation,” said Conservation Commission member Marjorie Cramer. Anyone who enjoys hiking, biking, horseback riding, the outdoors, and their own private land “needs to know” that native growth is struggling, she added.

“Those of us walking the open spaces routinely are upset at how much land in town is covered with invasives,” she said. Garlic mustard weed, Japanese barberry, Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose, and autumn olive are already growing in thick bunches along roadsides, streams, backyards, and wooded areas. She encourages environmental-minded residents to attend the weekend seminar and become familiar with the invasive plants and how best to dispose of them.

Conservation Official Ann Astarita said, “This seminar will help homeowners identify which invasive plants are found locally with discussion on how to control them.”

Topics will cover identification of invasive plants and their effects on the native environment.

Newtown Deputy Director of Land Use Rob Sibley said, “Our local ecosystem is pressured by these invasive plants, which form monocultures and can lead to loss of habitat.”

Featured speakers will be Logan Senack, Connecticut invasive plant coordinator, University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection; and Carole Cheah, a research entomologist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Backyard invasive plant samples will be available for examination.

Presentations will run about 30 minutes each, and there will be time for questions and answers.

Registration is requested and can be done by calling 203-270-4350 or sending email to ann.astarita@newtown-ct.gov.

Funds Granted, Volunteers Needed

Funds and volunteers are needed to battle the invasive plant growth, said Dr Cramer. Newtown recently received approval for a $10,873 DEP grant for a project to control the spread of “mile-a-minute” vine specifically in open space areas adjacent to Huntingtown Road near the Pootatuck River.

The invasive plant control program will run through June 30, 2011.

In a similar effort, a meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 13, at 3:30 pm, at the Land Use Office (also within Newtown Municipal Center) invites volunteers to sign up and assist the town in its efforts to eradicate invasive species.