Aimee Kemp: OnEarth Correspondent

This week, I have provided my readers with three informative videos on invasive plants.  The first, from University of Pennsylvania, discusses the impacts of invasive plants in the Northeast region of the United States.  It provides examples of three species, Tree of Heaven, Autumn Olive, and Japanese Barberry and gives the best way to eradicate them.  The second is a video from a Vancouver, British Columbia Canadian news station that talks about some of the invasive plants affecting native Canadian ecosystems.  The third video is from UC Davis at the American River Parkway in ...read full post

Are you looking for ways to help make your yard "greener?" Here are some tips on how to make your garden more friendly toward the environment:

1. *Plant native species* You can research what plants are native in your area by going to the Plants Database at the USDA Plants website. Once you go to this website click on the link to "See a list of the plants in my state."
2. *Research before you plant* It is important to research the plants that you plan on putting in your garden, especially if you wish to plant ornamentals (plants used for decorative purposes/landscaping). Cross reference your information to make sure that you do not plant any non-native invasives. A good place to start is also on the Plants Database using the link to either "Invasive and Noxious Weeds" ...read full post

It is often easy, when faced with a challenge to give up, to decide that something is simply not worth the time or the energy to find the solution.  However, there is no growth of self in giving up.

I am currently a senior undergraduate in Environmental Biology at Columbia University taking Environmental Ethics, Literature, and Action (ELEA). For this class we are required to produce a semester long project in which we have demonstrated our role as environmental leaders in the communities around us.  To jump start my project and further my interest in ecology, I applied for two internships through the NYC Parks department.  However, I was not chosen for either.  Although I was disappointed, I did not let my apparent failure as a Park's intern applicant stop me from pursuing another avenue---one that I was even more passionate about in the end.  For my project I intend on finding a way to make scientific knowledge that is common and easy to access for scientists more ...read full post

When attempting to reduce the impact that invasive species have on native ecosystems it is important to ask questions.  It is important to talk with people who deal with the invasions on a regular basis.  Over the weekend, I interviewed the Executive Director of the Black Rock Forest Consortium, Dr. William S. F. Schuster.  Black Rock Forest (BRF) is located in the Hudson Highlands region near Cornwall, New York.  Although oak dominated, it has begun to be over-run by invasive plants which are slowly transforming the beautiful native ecosystem into an alien monoculture.  The story of Black Rock Forest and its history with invasive plants can be seen below in my interview with Dr. Schuster.

Me: "In terms of Black Rock which invasive plant seems to be most prevalent or causes the most damage to the native ecosystem?"

Dr. Schuster: "Top problematic non-native invasive plants in BRF are ...read full post

According to the New York Invasive Species Research Institute (NYISRI), New York is plagued by about twenty invasive plant species.  On this list are thirteen common plants that are available at plant nurseries in the New York area, including:

•            
•            Phragmites (Phragmites australis)
•            Mile a minute vine (Persicaria perfoliata)
•            Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
•            Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
•            Norway maple (Acer platanoides)
•            Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
•            Russian olive (Elaeganus angustifolia)
•            Smooth buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)
•            Black locust (Robinia ...read full post