invasive plant education: invading a classroom near you! · 2016-10-04 · september 16, 2016...

September 16, 2016

SC-EPPC and SE-EPPC, Annual Conference

Invasive Plant Education: Invading a Classroom Near You!

Dehlia Albrecht, Education Initiative Coordinator

UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants (CAIP)

September 16, 2016


Florida Invasive Plant Education Initiative

• An 11 year cooperative project with UF/IFAS Center for

Aquatic & Invasive Plants and the Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission

September 16, 2016


Goals

• Provide Florida’s students with an awareness and understanding of the economic and ecological problems caused by invasive plants on local freshwater and upland ecosystems.

• To bring about acceptance of invasive plant management methods.

• Foster environmental stewardship in Florida’s youth.

September 16, 2016


Services Provided – Focus on Teachers

What do teachers need to implement

lessons on invasive plants?

• Curriculum and materials

• Professional development

• Year-round support / partnerships

• In-class and after-school demos

September 16, 2016


Website: plants.ifas.ufl.edu/education

Recently added: Student Section

• Lesson plans, worksheets, activity

booklets, and educational games

• Loaner kits

• Annual 5-day workshop for

educators providing field and

laboratory experiences

• Additional resources including text,

data-sets, images and videos

• Free materials may be requested

September 16, 2016


Online Outreach Numbers

Social media/email:

• Facebook – 750+ likes

• Twitter – 185 followers (@PLANT_CAMP, #UFPlantCamp)

• YouTube – 395 subscribers

• List-serv – 3,900+ contacts

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Invasive Plant Curriculum

1 Education Unit

4 Modules

• Each with video presentation, lesson plans, and lab activities

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Invasive Plant Curriculum

Main teaching points:

Definition of native versus non-native plants and why some are considered to be invasive

Ecological role native plants provide in aquatic ecosystems and the problems/impacts caused by invasive plants

Why we need to manage invasive plants and the challenges plant managers face on a daily basis

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Who do we distribute materials to?

• Teachers

• Informal educators

• Educational organizations

• Programs doing teacher training and outreach

• Programs directly interacting with students

Invasive Plant Curriculum + Distribution

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The numbers (FY2015-16):

• Activity booklets: 202 classroom sets (6,060 copies)

• 264 DVDs

• 152 posters featuring native and invasive plants

• 83 curriculum discs

• 24 BINGO kits, 24 Puzzle packs, 1 Hydrilla game, and 10

Lakeville kits

Invasive Plant Curriculum + Distribution

September 16, 2016


Lakeville – A Natural Resource Management Activity

• 3-session curriculum unit on managing natural resources

• Provides students with a fun and interactive way to learn about the

challenges associated with natural resource management by having

them participate in the decision-making process.

September 16, 2016


How Lakeville Works:

• Split students into citizens and organisms

• Citizen students become the “Citizen

Advisory Panel” who vote on which

organisms get to live in Lakeville

• Organism students become “Organism

Advocates” vying for the right to live in

Lakeville

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Citizen Role Cards (12)

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Citizen Role Cards

Cards provide role-play

cues for students,

including a short list of

the citizen’s priorities.

front of card

back of card

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Citizen Advisory Panel

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Organism Role Cards (30)

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Organism Cards

front of card

back of card

• What does it eat?

• What eats it?

• Is it aquatic or terrestrial?

• Native, non-native or invasive?

• Does it provide an economic benefit?

• Does it provide an ecological benefit?

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Organism Advocates

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More about Lakeville…

• Citizen advisory panel introduce themselves

• Organisms make a presentation on why they should be

allowed to live in Lakeville

• Citizen Advisory Panel asks questions, and then votes on

a 1 – 10 scale (1 = lowest)

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Management Plan

• Score range = total score from advisory panel

• Critter population = number placed into Lakeville population

• Guides the direction of post-game discussion of results

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Populate the ecosystem

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Lakeville distribution

• Lakeville presentations

– 133 teachers

– 5,890 students

– 75 kits

• Assist teachers with implementation

– Plant Camp professional development session

– Training video + accompanying documents

– In-class demonstrations (also a way of

distributing materials)

– Lakeville loaner kits

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Pre- and Post-tests

• 8 knowledge-based questions:

– Definitions of native, non-native, and invasive

plants

– Examples of native plants

– Problems associated with invasive plants

– Invasive plant management

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What do students learn?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Pre-Test Score

Post-Test Score

Average percent change is 24%

Schools

Sco

re

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Plant Camp

Day 1: Welcome session – Why are we here? Day 2: Upland invasive plantsDay 3: Management of invasive plantsDay 4: Aquatic invasive plantsDay 5: Lakeville curriculum unit + graduation

September 16, 2016


Plant Camp

• Plant Camp teachers

• 320+ teachers reached

• 84% reported continuing to use materials in classrooms

• Approx. 78,000 students reached

• Plant Camp partnerships

• 25+ presenters + volunteers

• Additional sponsorships (12 total)

• Plant Camp assessment

• Pre- and post-test and survey

September 16, 2016


Knowledge Gains 2016

Please indicate the following:

I am knowledgeable about the methods used to manage aquatic

invasive plants (mechanical, physical, biological, and chemical)

02468

10121416

PRE-TEST

POST-TEST

September 16, 2016


Attitude Changes 2016

Please indicate whether you OPPOSE or FAVOR the

following methods:

Herbicide control methods (the use of chemical substances) for

controlling invasive plants.

02468

101214

PRE-TEST

POST-TEST

September 16, 2016


Attitude Changes 2016

Please indicate whether you OPPOSE or FAVOR the

following methods:

Biological control methods (the use of insects, fish, diseases, and

other biological agents) for controlling invasive plants.

02468

1012

PRE-TEST

POST-TEST

September 16, 2016


Conclusions

A successful teacher outreach program combines:

Professional development

Engaging curricula

Resources and support

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Expanding the Florida Model

• 2012 - Teacher training on Lakeville Unit

Georgia

• 2014 - Teachers attended FL Plant Camp

• 2014 - Lakeville Unit created

• 2015 - Plant Camp for students implemented

North + South Carolina

• 2015 - Alabama teachers attended FL Plant Camp

• 2015 - Midsouth Lakeville Unit Created

• 2015 - Midsouth Plant Camp for teachers implemented

• 2016 - Tennessee teachers attended FL Plant Camp

Alabama/Tennessee/Mid-South

September 16, 2016


Next Steps

• Program expansion with additional

funding sources

• Partnerships with other groups and

organizations

• Collaboration with other UF departments

– UF Agriculture Education and Communication

– Digital Worlds

September 16, 2016


Thank you

CAIP Invasive Plant Education Initiative Staff:

Karen Brown, Information Office Coordinator

Dehlia Albrecht, Education Initiative Coordinator

Lynda Dillon, Program Assistant

Italo Lenta, Education Initiative Assistant

invasive plant education: invading a classroom near you! · 2016-10-04 · september 16, 2016...

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