The Lehigh Valley's Most Unwanted

Have you heard the term “Invasive Plants”, but are unsure of what that means exactly or why you should care? Invasive plants are noted for their ability to grow and spread aggressively. Invasives are typically generalists that can grow in many different conditions and colonize disturbed ground. 

Consider these statistics:

•  Experts estimate that invasive plants already infest more than 100,000,000 acres of land in the United States.
•  In the United States, about 3 million more acres are lost to invasive plants each year (= twice the area of Delaware).
• A 2002 report on biodiversity in Pennsylvania identified invasive plants as one of the leading sources of threats to Pennsylvania's natural biodiversity.

While weeds can be frustrating and time consuming, invasive species can wreak havoc on natural ecosystems.  How to remove invasives from our yards and public lands also raises many thorny questions. Invasive plants can present substantial ecological, economic and social consequences for our Lehigh valley communities.  To find out more, come to a special panel discussion on Invasive Plants from 7:00 to 9:00 PM on Thursday, January 31^st at Nurture Nature Center located in Easton (http://nurturenaturecenter.org/).