2026 CIPWG Invasive Plant Symposium

Theme: From Awareness to Action: Strengthening Our Response to Invasive Plants

Wednesday, October 28, 2026

UConn Student Union, 2110 Hillside Rd, Storrs, CT

**Attend in person or purchase the recording** 

The symposium will be recorded and made available after the event. 

Choose one of the following registration options: 

 

Registration Options:

2026 CIPWG Invasive Plant Symposium: From Awareness to Action - Strengthening Our Response to Invasive Plants!  

Wed. Oct. 28, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm 

At the UConn Student Union in Storrs

$90 General Registration (In Person + Recording) 

$40 Matriculated Student Registration (In-person + Recording) - must use a student/university email address

Registration includes: continental breakfast, lunch, refreshments, admission to sessions, and recording of the event.

Please note that parking is not included in registration. Registered attendees will receive parking instructions approximately two weeks before the conference.

If you require an accommodation to participate fully in this event, please email alyssa.siegel-miles@uconn.edu or conferences@uconn.edu and a staff member will contact you.

$80 Recording Only

NOT attending in person.
**Note that you may have access to the PAGE where the recordings will be posted but they will not be available until 1-2 weeks after the symposium.**

Instructions for this registration site:

  • You will need to create an account. Enter your name/email and submit/create the account. You will be emailed a login username and password. (If you added this product to your cart before you made an account, it will still be in your cart once you have logged into your new account.)
  • Once you have logged into your account, click on "browse course catalog." Click on 2026 CIPWG Symposium - RECORDED. Add to cart (or go to cart, if you had already added it to the cart before making an account).
  • Click on View Cart.
  • Scroll down to Payment Method. Select "Touchnet" and click "make payment". Select "pay by credit card."
  • Enter credit card and other requested information. Select Continue and you're done!

You must CHOOSE to attend in person on 10/28 OR receive the recording only and not attend in person on 10/28. You cannot switch once you have registered.

ALL IN PERSON ATTENDEES WILL RECEIVE ACCESS TO THE FULL RECORDING AFTER THE EVENT.

Pesticide recertification credits: Pending, Details to come

CIPWG T-Shirt Fundraiser!

Shirts can be picked up at the 2026 CIPWG Invasive Plant Symposium on Wed. Oct. 28, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Storrs, CT

Shirt design: the text "CIPWG" on the front pocket and the CIPWG logo on the back

  • Color: Steel Blue
  • Size Options: small, medium, large, x-large, and 2X-L

Shirt Information:

  • Shirts must be PICKED UP at the symposium on Oct. 28. They will not be shipped.
  • Shirts must be ordered ahead - we will not have them for sale on the day of the symposium.

Shirts can be ordered ONLINE HERE (must be picked up at Symposium 10/28)

 

Questions? Contact Alyssa Siegel-Miles, Alyssa.Siegel-Miles@uconn.edu

CIPWG tshirt illustration

Text on the shirt will be white.


 

Resources from the 2024 CIPWG Symposium

2024 Les Mehrhoff Award Winner: Tom Zetterstrom

Tom Zetterstrom has driven Sharon Land Trust’s ongoing restoration of a 15 acre preserve section. "Tom’s relentless advocacy for rescuing trees and besieged landscapes from the ravages of invasives arises from more than fifty years of environmental activism," states his nomination letter. Learn more about Tom through the Lakeville Journal Article and Jessie Mehrhoff Peters' Video Introduction.

We extend our gratitude to Jim Moore, DEEP sawyer at the state sawmill, Portland CT, who designed and created the plaque for the Les Mehrhoff award. The plaque was created from native CT grown wood (black cherry). The Portland sawmill is the only remaining sawmill owned by the State of Connecticut.

 

UConn Daily Campus Article: UConn hosts 12th bi-annual invasive plant summit

Frank Belknap presents the Les Mehrhoff award to Tom Zetterstrom
Frank Belknap presented the Les Mehrhoff award to Tom Zetterstrom at the 2024 CIPWG Symposium.

 


Resources from the 2022 CIPWG Symposium: 

inaturalist app video
iNaturalist instructions webinar.

Mile-a-Minute: Lessons Learned from Long-term Work in South Litchfield County, CT - Kathleen Nelson, Mad Gardeners

Invasive Plant Management at Home - Kathy Connolly, Landscape Designer

Propagating From Seed Resources (Links and Book Recommendations) - Jim Sirch, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Seeds: Resources to Help You Locate, Purchase & Collect - Anne Rowlands, Connecticut Gardener Magazine

 

INVASIVE PLANT IDENTIFICATION RESOURCES:

CIPWG Photo Notebook

 

INVASIVE PLANT ID & MANAGEMENT (some include Native Alternatives)

CIPWG Invasive Plant Management CALENDAR

CIPWG's Meet the Plants Web Page

Elimination of Ailanthus (Picone 2024)

Weed Control Methods Handbook, The Nature Conservancy

CT Council on Environmental Quality: Invasives 2022 Report

Do Not Sell list, with native alternatives (not all native to New England) - from RISCC Management Challenge

CT Native Plant Availability Guide

UConn's Native Plant and Sustainable Landscaping Guide

CIPWG Alternative Plant Resources

CIPWG Native Alternative Perennial Plant List

 

MORE ABOUT THE CONNECTICUT INVASIVE PLANT WORKING GROUP (CIPWG)

Meet the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group

CIPWG History