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Published on 08/23/07

Coastal exotic pest plant workshop set at Jekyll

University of Georgia

When you think of exotic pest plants, you often think of kudzu. But this infamous, cover-everything vine is only one example of plants that can alter the natural landscape and threaten native species.

A special workshop workshop Jekyll Island Sept. 18-19 will help Georgians protect the coast from exotic pest plants.

The workshop is sponsored by the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve Coastal Training Program, the Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council and The Nature Conservancy.

The program will enable participants to recognize the most important invasive plants and some new species to watch for and will provide choices of control methods. Experts will show the ecological impacts of invasive plants and help develop a plan to manage them.

The workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 18 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. After a break for lunch, participants will expand their understanding of the morning topics through field exercises until 5 p.m.

On an optional work day Sept. 19, work parties will use the skills learned in the workshop to treat and remove invasive plants at various coastal Georgia sites.

A $30 fee covers a buffet lunch, snacks for breaks and a notebook of resource information. Continuing education units will be provided.

To sign up for the workshop, visit www.sapeloislandnerr-ctp.org. Or contact Suzanne VanParreren at (912) 485-2251, extension 111, or suzanne@sapeloislandnerr-ctp.org. Or send a $30 check to Friends of Sapelo to SINERR Coastal Training Program, P.O. Box 15, Sapelo Island, GA 31327.

Dan Rahn is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.