Bugs With An Attitude, 2006

“Adding” Invasive Species/noxious Weeds to Your Curriculum and the

State Content Standards

Outline:

-Define: invasive species/noxious weeds

-Why weeds are bad

-IPM (Integrated Pest Management)

-Examples of inserting (NOT adding!) noxious weeds to your curriculum [mine & yours!]

-Adding noxious weeds to the State Content Standards

-Sources of weed curriculum ideas.

Invasive Species/noxious Weeds

Invasive Species:

“Animals, plants, and pathogens non-native to a country or region that threaten native forms of life in that region.”lib.colostate.edu/research/agnic/glossary.html

An Invasive Species?

Noxious WeedsWeed: A plant out of place / Any plant that

occurs where you don’t want it

Noxious Weed: Montana - Category 1 noxious weeds are weeds that are currently established and generally widespread in many counties of the state.  Management criteria includes awareness and education, containment and suppression of existing infestations and prevention of new infestations.  These weeds are capable of rapid spread and render land unfit or greatly limit beneficial uses.

How many How many different kinds of different kinds of plants do you plants do you see?see?

Why Are Noxious Weeds “Bad?”

-decreased grazing for wildlife and livestock

-decreased diversity therefore, decreased stability

-Increased soil erosion

-decreased water quality and fish habitat

-decreased amt. of food we can produce!

-decreased tourism.

IPM (Integrated Pest Management)-The idea: using all possible weed control

measures together where they best fitPrevention- Keeping weeds out in the first place.

Chemical- Using chemicals such as herbicides.

Biological Control- Beneficial creatures that damage weeds.

Cultural:

Mechanical- Tilling (plowing) or hand pulling the weeds.

Controlled Burning- Safely burning the weeds.

Grazing Using sheep or goats, etc. that will eat the weeds.

Revegetation- reseeding a disturbed site to block or choke out the weeds.

Examples of Inserting (NOT Adding!) Weeds to Your Curriculum

[Mine – Yours!]

-How might a noxious weed infestation affect a food chain? Energy pyramid? Food web? The web of life??

How might weeds show exponential growth?

-Math, populations, graphing, geography.

Knapweed spread 1920, 1940, 1980 & 1982.

Art

PoetryThe Pretty Little FlowerThere once was a beautiful flowera splendid, native flowerthe beautiful little flowermade it's home in a little meadoweveryone loved this little floweruntil one terrible daywhen a weed came upto spoil her playthe little flower tried to be niceeven shared her little homeand offered the weed to use her phonethe weed wasn't so nicehe was filled with morbid delightsthe poor flower didn't see it cominguntil the weeds were interwoventhey had taken up her homeand now she is forboddenThis is the story of the little flowerwhose life was ruinedby a stupid weed By: WHS student

Insect Life Cycles

-Weeds Decrease Biodiversity

-Weed Laws (civics)

-Flower Parts (elem. sci.)

Your Ideas?

Adding Noxious Weeds to the State Content Standards

-A group of teachers and weed fighters came together and made a rough draft of 8 items they feel Montana 12th graders should have been exposed to at some point in their K-12 years.

-This would eventually filter up into State standardized tests…

1. The students will be able to identify the major plant habitats in Montana. [list these]

2. The students will be able to describe the ecological and economic impacts of noxious weeds/invasive species in Montana.

3. The students will be able to describe the importance of native communities. [could combine with #1]

4. The students will be able to describe Integrated Pest (weed) Management tools and methods (IPM).

5. The students will be able to identify the State tree, grass, flower and 3 important noxious weeds. [spotted knapweed, leafy spurge, Dalmatian toadflax - or region specific]

6. The students will be able to explain why weeds happen and how they spread.

7. The students will be able to describe noxious weed State law and the political and social implications of these laws.

8. The students will be able to describe the State Noxious Weed Plan.