Fallon Januska

I was looking for an activity for 5th graders who are learning virtually. I saw ISN's Invasive Species Escape Room that thought it was great, but might be too advanced for the group I am working with. I also found Invasive Species Council of British Columbia has a game that for younger students. It is cool that all the game "challenges" are choices they could make. For example, clean off your life jacket and don't let pets lose in the wild. Even if you don't read all the information the game provides, you still get the take home messages. It also has multiple levels of difficulty, so playing a few times wouldn't be boring. https://bcinvasives.ca/for-youth/games-activities/ I didn't see this on the forum yet, so I figured I would share.

The BCK CISMA is looking for a seasonal invasive crayfish tech. and strike team members! Please share with anyone you think may be interested. BCK CISMA 2020 Invasive Crayfish Technician Descriptions.pdf BCK CISMA 2020 Strike Team Position Descriptions.pdf

We gave folders that included printed copies of the "A Field Guide to Invasive Plants of Aquatic and Wetland Habitats for Michigan." It's a ton of pages to print, so you need a heavy duty stapler to make them into booklets.

Melissa DeSimone, the new Executive Director of Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, wanted me to let everyone know that she is happy to provide a letter of support to any CISMA working on an aquatic project proposal. Her email is: melissa.desimone@mlswa.org

I have done the same game with a lot of school groups. I have attached is the version I found. It has more species cards made (if you have more students) and a few more reasons to take steps. Instead of a 50:50 of invasives vs natives this version puts more natives, to show having just a few invasive species in an area will hurt many natives. It can sometimes be difficult to show the correct results because some students will try to cheat, but going over one step being heel to toe helps. If you print these cards, be careful, the front and back do not always line up correctly. cards.pdf invasive-species-spinner.pdf what makes a good invader.pdf

I had a few sites this year that the landowner preferred injection, but the stems were too small to inject. Most of these landowners understood and were so happy treatment had seemed to be working, that they were okay with a foliar treatment this year. However, another option would be a cut and fill the stem cavity (recommend using a pipette).

I had always used Solo in the past, but this year as a small experiment I purchased one Jacto, one Field King, and one Stihl backpack. The only one I have personally used has been the Stihl. I have thought about testing the others, but so far I really like the Stihl. I messed up when ordering the Jacto and got one make with a dark blue plastic, which is going to make it harder to see how much chemical it has in it. There was also some assembly required with the Jacto. No comments yet on the Field King, but I will try to update this once I have used them all.

Thank you!