Invasive Plant Winter Webinar Series 2016

The Ontario Invasive Plant Council (with funding from the Invasive Species Centre) is hosting another lunch-time webinar series! This eight-session webinar series will include a wide range of presentations, including species-specific webinars on managing some of Ontario's top priority invasive plants, a Grow Me Instead webinar, which will highlight common garden invaders and their alternatives, and a Clean Equipment Protocol webinar, for those who want to learn how to prevent the spread of invasive plants. It will also include two presentations from experts directly involved in invasive Phragmites management and the innovative approaches they have taken to deal with this aggressive invasive plant.

The series will begin on Wednesday January 6th at 12 noon. Each webinar will be an hour long. The webinars will also include an open discussion forum where participants can ask questions of our expert panelists. See below for a brief description of our first webinar and how to register!

Webinar #1 - Wednesday January 6th @ 12 noon
Building Partnerships to Deal with Invasive Phragmites: A Grass Roots Perspective
Presented by: Bill MacDonald and Nancy Vidler, Lambton Shores Phragmites Community Group
Facilitated by: Kellie Sherman, OIPC Coordinator

In this webinar, learn how the municipality of Lambton Shores is winning the battle against invasive  Phragmites through community involvement. This presentation will be conducted by members of the Lambton Shores Phragmites Community Group, a grassroots organization formed when invasive  Phragmites was discovered in their community. They will describe how they tackled this huge ecosystem issue in their ecologically-sensitive area. 

Come prepared with questions for our expert presenters, Bill MacDonald and Nancy Vidler. Bill is a retired business executive who is president of a residential beach community organization in Lambton Shores. Bill first became aware of invasive  Phragmites in 2009 when it began infesting the beach near his cottage. When he discovered there was no governmental body that had a plan to manage invasive  Phragmites in the community, he joined with other like-minded citizens to form Lambton Shores Phragmites Community Group. Nancy retired from Community and Social Services with the Regional Municipality of Halton to live in Port Franks, Lambton Shores and has become the driving force behind invasive  Phragmites management and habitat restoration in this lakeside community. She is a member of the Ontario Phragmites Working Group and is Chair of the Lambton Shores Phragmites Community Group. 

Register here.

Other upcoming webinars: 

Webinar #2 - Wednesday January 20th @ 12 noon
Invasive Phragmites Management in Municipal Drains in the Town of Kingsville
Presented by: Ken Vegh, Town of Kingsville 
Facilitated by: Kellie Sherman, OIPC Coordinator 

Webinar #3 - Wednesday February 3rd @ 12 noon
Invasive Phragmites: Best Management Practices
Presented by: Amanda Warne, OIPC Outreach Liaison
Expert panelist: Janice Gilbert, co-chair of the Ontario Phragmites Working Group

Webinar #4 - Wednesday February 17th @12 noon
Clean Equipment Protocol: Inspecting and Cleaning Equipment for the Purposes of Invasive Species Prevention 
Presented by: Amanda Warne, OIPC Outreach Liaison
Expert panelist: Joe Halloran, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry 

Webinar #5 - Wednesday March 2nd @12 noon
Grow Me Instead: Beautiful Non-Invasive Plants for your Gardens
Presented by: Amanda Warne, OIPC Outreach Liaison
Expert panelist: Sean James, Fern Ridge Landscaping 

Webinar #6 - Wednesday March 16th @ 12 noon
Wild Parsnip: Best Management Practices
Presented by: Amanda Warne, OIPC Outreach Liaison
Expert panelist:  Nancy Cain, Cain Vegetation Management and Tom Beaubiah, Biologist with Cataraqui Region Conservation 

Webinar #7 - Wednesday March 30th @12 noon
Aquatic Invasive Plant Watch List for Ontario 
Presented by: Amanda Warne, OIPC Outreach Liaison 

Webinar #8 - Wednesday April 13 @ 12 noon
Japanese Knotweed: Best Management Practices 
Presented by: Amanda Warne, OIPC Outreach Liaison
Expert panelist: Freyja Whitten, Credit Valley Conservation 

Registration coming soon!