The Coalition for Invasive Plant Management will provide a half-day workshop for landscapers, nursery trade personnel and herbicide applicators at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at the Highlands Community Building next to the baseball field. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
The workshop has been approved by the Pesticide Section of the N.C. Department of Agriculture for three recertification credits in the categories D, G, H, N, O, and X for licensed pesticide applicators, dealers and consultants.
Principal speaker is Johnny Randall, Ph.D., Director of Conservations Programs at the North Carolina Botanical Garden and an adjunct faculty member in the UNC-Chapel Hill Program in Environment, Ecology and Energy. Dr. Randall is a member of the NC Plant Conservation Program Scientific Committee, past president of the NC Invasive Plant Council, a member of the NC Pesticide Board of Advisors, and has lectured worldwide on aspects of plant conservation and the effects of invasive plants on the environment. His topic for this workshop will be, “In my lifetime: From introduction and lag phase to invasion.”
The program moderator will again be James Costa, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Highlands Biological Station and Professor of Biology at Western Carolina University. Dr. Costa is an evolutionary geneticist and historian of science with an interest in native plant conservation and invasive insects. He and his students and collaborators are most recently studying the spread of fire ants on the Highlands Plateau, and new methods of controlling hemlock woolly adelgid.
Additional faculty will include demonstrations of invasive control methods by experts from Mountain True, a conservation organization whose mission champions resilient forests, clean waters and healthy communities in Western North Carolina; Equinox Environmental, a consulting firm with a focus on conservation, sustainability, and environmentally responsible land development projects; and the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust whose mission is to protect valuable natural resources for all generations.
Cost for the workshop for those seeking CEUs is $50 per person payable by credit card online, or by check or cash at the door. The workshop is free for those not seeking CEUs, but a donation is appreciated.
Although the workshop is principally aimed for landscape personnel, nursery trade personnel and herbicide applicators, the public is invited.
All who wish to attend must register through the website highlandsbiological.org/invasive-plants/. An accurate count will help with plans for lunch, which will be provided by the Laurel Garden Club members and to assure workshop materials for all attendees.