3
Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Outreach- 2018 1 Title: Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Outreach Organization: Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, UH Award: $48,679 Introduction: The Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee (KISC) is a voluntary partnership of government, private, non-profit organizations, and individuals working together to: prevent the introduction of potentially damaging pest species to the island, eliminate recently arrived (incipient) pests before they spread beyond control, manage established pests in order to reduce their negative impacts, and educate and involve the public as to the magnitude of the invasive species problem and the need for control programs such as KISC. Invasive species outreach and education is an integral component of on- the-ground detection and control efforts by KISC. Community collaboration is essential in the discovery, prevention, and control of target and early detection invasive species. Achievements in 2018 Citizen Science: A new Citizen Science campaign was created to engage Kauaʻi students in little fire ant (LFA) awareness and testing. Students collected samples at home and participated in hands-on labs to examine their ants in class. In a popular feature of the program, the students entered their own data online, using the CitSci.org platform, contributing in realtime to building an island-wide collaborative map. Ten elementary and middle school classes participated, involving 231 students, who collected 149 samples, comprising 669 popsicle sticks, of which 443 had ants (no LFA were found). Program successes included excellent island coverage in testing plus enthusiastic engagement and knowledge carried back into the community by the students involved. LFA Month: KISC participated in the HISC partnership campaign, “Spot the Ant, Stop the Ant” month throughout October. In addition to the Citizen Science project for schools described above, LFA outreach for the campaign included 240 x 30-second radio announcements, one newspaper article, 12 social media posts, weekly online message-board postings, and a blog feature. Test kits were distributed via six libraries, two veterinary clinics, and the Kauaʻi Humane Society, in keeping with the year’s theme of Protecting Pets. The assistance of veterinary clinic staff was successfully solicited to distribute LFA information and fliers during the month to pet owners. LFA information was also the featured element in KISC displays at two community events during the campaign.

Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Outreach-2018 · We also contribute to the Plant Pono website which is currently undergoing overhaul. KISC also maintains an active social media

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    0

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Outreach-2018 · We also contribute to the Plant Pono website which is currently undergoing overhaul. KISC also maintains an active social media

KauaʻiInvasiveSpeciesCommitteeOutreach-2018

1

Title:KauaʻiInvasiveSpeciesCommitteeOutreachOrganization:KauaʻiInvasiveSpeciesCommittee,PacificCooperativeStudiesUnit,UHAward:$48,679Introduction:TheKauaʻiInvasiveSpeciesCommittee(KISC)isavoluntarypartnershipofgovernment,private,non-profitorganizations,andindividualsworkingtogetherto:preventtheintroductionofpotentiallydamagingpestspeciestotheisland,eliminaterecentlyarrived(incipient)pestsbeforetheyspreadbeyondcontrol,manageestablishedpestsinordertoreducetheirnegativeimpacts,andeducateandinvolvethepublicastothemagnitudeoftheinvasivespeciesproblemandtheneedforcontrolprogramssuchasKISC.Invasivespeciesoutreachandeducationisanintegralcomponentofon-the-grounddetectionandcontroleffortsbyKISC.Communitycollaborationisessentialinthediscovery,prevention,andcontroloftargetandearlydetectioninvasivespecies.Achievementsin2018

CitizenScience:AnewCitizenSciencecampaignwascreatedtoengageKauaʻistudentsinlittlefireant(LFA)awarenessandtesting.Studentscollectedsamplesathomeandparticipatedinhands-onlabstoexaminetheirantsinclass.Inapopularfeatureoftheprogram,thestudentsenteredtheirowndataonline,usingtheCitSci.orgplatform,contributinginrealtimetobuildinganisland-widecollaborativemap.Tenelementaryandmiddleschoolclassesparticipated,involving231students,whocollected149samples,comprising669popsiclesticks,ofwhich443hadants(noLFAwerefound).Programsuccessesincludedexcellentislandcoverageintestingplusenthusiasticengagementandknowledgecarriedbackintothecommunitybythestudentsinvolved.

LFAMonth:KISCparticipatedintheHISCpartnershipcampaign,“SpottheAnt,StoptheAnt”monththroughoutOctober.InadditiontotheCitizenScienceprojectforschoolsdescribedabove,LFAoutreachforthecampaignincluded240x30-secondradioannouncements,onenewspaperarticle,12socialmediaposts,weeklyonlinemessage-boardpostings,andablogfeature.Testkitsweredistributedviasixlibraries,twoveterinaryclinics,andtheKauaʻiHumaneSociety,inkeepingwiththeyear’sthemeofProtectingPets.TheassistanceofveterinaryclinicstaffwassuccessfullysolicitedtodistributeLFAinformationandfliersduringthemonthtopetowners.LFAinformationwasalsothefeaturedelementinKISCdisplaysattwocommunityeventsduringthecampaign.

Page 2: Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Outreach-2018 · We also contribute to the Plant Pono website which is currently undergoing overhaul. KISC also maintains an active social media

KauaʻiInvasiveSpeciesCommitteeOutreach-2018

2

PonoEndorsementProgram:ThePonoEndorsementProgramwasdevelopedinpartnershipwithPlantPono,aprogramoftheCoordinatingGrouponAlienPestSpecies.ThePonoEndorsementProgramisavoluntarypartnershipbetweenanynurseryorlandscapingbusiness,PlantPono,andKISC.PonoEndorsedbusinessesarethosewhopracticeandpromotemaking“pono”plantdecisionsthatwillbenefitthehealthandwellbeingofKauaʻi.Thisprogramseekstoaddressinvasivespeciesdirectlylinkedtothenurseryandlandscapingtradebyencouragingbusinessestovoluntarilyremovetargethigh-riskplantsfromnurserystockandtoadoptbestmanagementpracticesthatreducetheriskofspreadinginvasivepestsanddisease.Activityin2018focusedonbuildingindustryconnections,strengtheningcommitmentofendorsedbusinesses,andgatheringfeedbackonexperiencesfromthefirsttwoyearsoftheprogram.Surveyquestionnaireswerecompletedby16businessunitsandthecompiledresultswillinformareasforimprovementgoingforward.OnenewPonobusinesswasendorsedandonewasinprocessatyear-end,foratotalof20EndorsedBusinessUnits(NurseryandLandscaping).GuardianoftheGardenIsle:(Digitalmembers:365)KISC’smembershipnetworkengagesresidentsandvisitorsonanindividuallevelwithemailupdates,newsletters,volunteerdays,workshops,andpresentations.

• VolunteerWorkDays:KISCpartneredwithlocalconservationorganizationstoofferthepublicwaystogetinvolvedwithinvasivespeciesremoval,includingvolunteerworkdayswithKokeeResourceConservationPrograminKokeeStatePark,MālamaHuleiʻa,andtheWaipā(38people).

• EarlyDetectionWorkshopsandPresentations:KauaʻiForestBirdRecoveryProject,KauaʻiEndangeredSeabirdRecoveryProject,KauaʻiNurseryandLandscaping,BiosanitationWorkshop,non-profitsandcommunitygroups(142people).

Websiteandsocialmedia:KISCmaintainsandupdatestheKISCwebsitewww.kauaiisc.org.WealsocontributetothePlantPonowebsitewww.pono.orgwhichiscurrentlyundergoingoverhaul.KISCalsomaintainsanactivesocialmediapresenceonFacebook/[email protected]:17,645.Uniquewebvisitors:7,596.Totalsocialmediapostsfor2018:112.Facebookposts:72.Instagramposts:40.Facebooktotalreach:41,924.Instagramtotallikes:2,247.Facebookfollowersatyear-end:998.Instagramfollowersatyear-end:618.

Ananalysisofoursocialmediaperformancewasconductedatyear-endusingInsightstatisticsprovidedbyFacebook.Thedetailresultsprovideaperspectiveonareasofstrengthandweaknessandwillbeusedtoinformsocialmediaoutreachfor2019.Thereportisavailableonrequest.Professionalqualitye-newsletter:KISC’sannualnewsletterfocusedonpartnershipprojectsincludingmiconia,coqui,andlittlefireants,togetherwithnewsaboutthe2018discoveryofRODonKauaʻiandessentialbiosanitationmeasures.ThenewsletterwasdistributedelectronicallyinDecemberandpromotedthroughsocialmedia,fromwhereitwasalsopickedupbytheKauaʻinewspaper.KISCintheMedia:KISChasbeenfeaturedormentionedinarticles,interviews,andspecialguestspotsinthemediaonKauaʻiandacrossthestate.

• Printedarticles:10;Internetarticles:15;TVnewsstories:2.(Of15totalstories,5appearedonlineonly,10appearedonlineandinprint,and2appearedonlineandonTV,foratotalof27individualnewsitems.)Allprintstorieswerefrontpageabovethefold,publishedinTheGardenIslandnewspaperwithprintcirculation11,267daily.NumbersdonotincludeRODstories.

Page 3: Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Outreach-2018 · We also contribute to the Plant Pono website which is currently undergoing overhaul. KISC also maintains an active social media

KauaʻiInvasiveSpeciesCommitteeOutreach-2018

3

Fairsandevents:(4,314peoplereached)• Throughouttheyear,KISCparticipatesincommunityfairsandevents,including:ArborDay,

KauaʻiGardenFair,AgricultureAwarenessDay,BananaPokaRoundup,KauaʻiCountyFarmBureauFair,NationalWildlifeRefugeDay.AttheseeventsKISCisrepresentedbystaffedinformationboothsortables,withcontinuousinteractivediscussionprovidingavaluablechannelforcommunicationwiththecommunity.

Schoolvisits:(1,626studentsreached)• PresentationsweregiventostudentsatEleeleSchool,IslandSchool,KalaheoElementary

School,Kanuikapono,KilaueaElementarySchool,KoloaElementarySchool,andKauaʻiCommunityCollege.KISCstaffalsoledactivitiesattheannualDepartmentofWaterMake-A-Splashevent,emphasizingimpactsfrominvasivespeciesonthehealthofourwatershed.

RapidOhiaDeath:Rapid'Ōhi'aDeathspecificoutreacheffortstotaledfivecommunitypresentations,reaching110people.ThesepresentationsincludedtheincomingKauaiCountyCouncil,theKauaipremiereof"Saving'Ōhi'a,"theinauguralbio-sanitationworkshop,cabinleaseholdersinKokee,andtrailsidebriefingsofbirdersparticipatingintheannualChristmasBirdCountinKokee.TwoKauaiRODdetectionnewsreleasesgenerated41knownonlineandprintmediaarticles.TheAPnewswirepickeduptherelease,anditgeneratedstoriesinlocalmedia,aswellas,stateandnationalmedia. Interviews,meetings,andconferences:KISCmaintainsawell-establishedoutreachprograminvolvingthecontinuedpartnershipandrelationshipswiththelocalcommunity,variousprivatebusinesses,andgovernmentagencypartners.Highlights:ChairofKauaʻiConservationAlliance,ChairofKauaʻiRose-RingedParakeetWorkingGroup,KauaʻiRapidOhiaDeathAdvisoryCommittee,memberoftheKauaʻiCountyFarmBureauCommodityCommittee,andmemberoftheKauaʻiLandscapeIndustryCouncil.ConferencePresentations:BrockK,KeaniniT.2018.WeighingPotentialImpactsagainControlFeasibilitytoPrioritizeInvasivePlans

forEradicationonKauaʻi.PosterpresentedattheHawaiʻiConservationConference;2018July;Honolulu(HI)

Displays:KISCcontinuestomaintaintheeducationalportsignagedisplaysfocusingongeneralenvironmentaleducation,inter-islandspeciesmovement,earlydetectionandreporting(3signsatNawiliwiliHarbor,1(5)paneldisplayatNawiliwiliHarbor,3(5)paneldisplaysatLihueAirport).Pestalerts,flyers,andbrochures:Informationalandeducationalmaterialsareimportanttoolswhencommunicatingnotonlywiththegeneralpublic,butalsowithpartnersandconservationcollaborators.AnupdatedKISCbrochurewasproducedin2018,focusingontheimportanceofearlydetectionwork,ourkeytargetspecies.FlyersandbrochuresdistributedthisyearfocusedonearlydetectionspeciesandthePonoEndorsementPrograminformation.Distributedpieces~2,000

ContactInformationFormoreinformation,pleasecontact: TiffaniKeanini,KISCProjectManager,[email protected],808-821-1490,www.kauaiisc.org