Guest speaker: Verena Sesin, Ph.D. candidate in the Environmental and Life Sciences program at Trent University in Peterborough. Verena is originally from Germany, where she completed her B.A. in Science Journalism and M.Sc. in Ecotoxicology. Her current research interest lies in pesticide effects and fate in wetlands.

If you have been out on the bike trails around
Peterborough, chances are high that you have seen a
huge wall of a specific grass: Phragmites. This plant is invasive and occurs all over Ontario – and it’s not picky at all, even thriving in roadside ditches! But why should you care? Well, invasive plants such as Phragmites are a serious problem for native biodiversity, because they can grow so tall and dense that they can push out native plants and alter the whole habitat. Land managers often fight back through spraying herbicides, which are chemicals that kill the invasive plants. However, many herbicides are also toxic to native plants, and therefore native plants may not only be threatened by invasive plants but also by herbicide spraying. In this talk, I will explore a balanced approach to using herbicides in restoration. I will tackle the question: How can we effectively remove invasive plants with herbicides while keeping native plants healthy?

Please note that the date has been changed (was Wednesday, February 10).

This is a Virtual meeting on Zoom. Invitations e-mailed to members