The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG) is a consortium of individuals, members of environmental organizations, and affiliates of municipal and state agencies whose mission is to promote awareness of invasive plants and their non-invasive alternatives. Formed in 1997 as an ad-hoc group, CIPWG is now in its 21st year of operation. The working group meets 1 to 2 times per year to collaborate and share information on the presence, distribution, ecological impacts, and management of invasive plants affecting Connecticut and the region and to promote uses of native or non-invasive ornamental alternatives. CIPWG members are affiliated with federal and state agencies, municipalities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), educational institutions, the green industry, and the general community. Donna Ellis (UConn Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture) and Charlotte Pyle (formerly with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) serve as CIPWG Co-Chairs.
The CIPWG website address is cipwg.uconn.edu. Kristen Ponak serves as the CIPWG webmaster. The website provides information on invasive plant topics that include identification, management, various lists of invasive plants, photos of invasive plants, invasive alternatives, resources, legislative updates, and Connecticut Invasive Plants Council activities. In addition to the Connecticut List of Invasive and Potentially Invasive Plants determined by the Connecticut Invasive Plants Council in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes
- 22a-381a through §22a-381d, the website includes an Early Detection list and a list of plants for which more research is needed. During the 2018 calendar year, there were 172,092 page views on the CIPWG website, and 50,884 users participated in 60,100 sessions.
Online reporting forms for mile-a-minute weed (Persicaria perfoliata), giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) allow website visitors to provide distribution information on these species. A separate, related website exists for mile-a-minute information at www.mam.uconn.edu. The CIPWG website provides links to the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS; www.eddmaps.org) to submit reports of other invasive plants. Additional features and updates have been added to expand the CIPWG website, including a photo notebook with a gallery of Connecticut invasive plants, an event calendar, and links to invasive plant fact sheets and management information.
CIPWG’s news and events list serve has approximately 860 members from Connecticut and other states in the region. Requests to subscribe to the list serve may be submitted online from the CIPWG website or via request to Donna Ellis, CIPWG Co-Chair.
Since 2002, CIPWG has hosted biennial invasive plant symposia. The ninth biennial symposium was convened on October 4, 2018 at the UConn Student Union in Storrs, CT, with 450 people attending. The symposium theme was Invasive Plants in Uncertain Times: Achieving More with Less. The all-day event featured national, regional, and local experts as well as citizen volunteers sharing practical solutions for invasive plant management and actions needed to promote native species and improve wildlife habitat. Symposium information is available on the CIPWG website.
The Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group maintains the following subcommittees:
- Education and Outreach (educational outreach about invasive species and their alternatives)
- Management (develop and disseminate information on invasive plant control options)
- Native Alternatives (explore and promote use of native plant species as alternatives to invasives)
CIPWG provides a List of Speakers who are available to give presentations on many invasive plant-related topics, including identification, control, and non-invasive alternatives. CIPWG speakers and other members coordinated and presented many lectures, workshops, demonstrations, guided field walks, and invasive plant management events during 2018. Two portable CIPWG exhibits that feature invasive terrestrial plants and aquatic species continue to be displayed at numerous public events.
Summary of 2018 Educational Outreach and Management Activities
The CIPWG exhibits were displayed, invasive plant talks were presented, invasive plant educational materials were provided, and/or invasive plant management activities occurred at the following local, statewide, and regional events during 2018 (All towns are in CT unless otherwise noted; activities occurred in 30 CT towns). The 652 activities reported below reached over 23,325 Connecticut citizens, including agency and municipal staff. A minimum of 9,414 hours was provided through intensive invasive plant training sessions and management activities, as well as brief technical educational outreach:
- Andover, management activities; Crompton (on behalf of the Andover Conservation Commission) (16 participants)
- Avon, invasive plant field trip; Moorhead (18 participants)
- Beacon Falls, 37 management and educational outreach activities, Matthies Park Native Garden Project; Zyla (on behalf of the Beacon Falls Conservation Commission) (102 participants)
- Bridgewater, educational outreach activities, Bridgewater Fair; Nelson (on behalf of Mad Gardeners, Inc.) (3 days)
- Bridgewater, management activities; Nelson and others (multiple days)
- Canton, 13 management activities; Berger (on behalf of the Cherry Brook Garden Club) (24 participants)
- Cheshire, outreach to media; Gadwa (multiple days)
- Colchester, educational outreach activities, Farmers Market; Reynolds (on behalf of the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program) (25 attendees)
- Concord, NH, training workshop, University of New Hampshire Extension; Mervosh (31 participants)
- Coventry, television interview, Fox61 News; Ellis
- Cromwell, educational outreach activities, Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions; Hiskes (300 attendees)
- Cromwell, educational outreach activities, Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association Turf and Landscape Conference; Ellis (300 attendees)
- Cromwell, presentation, Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions; Pyle (53 attendees)
- Danbury, outreach to media; Gadwa (multiple days)
- Durham, educational outreach activities, Durham Fair; Reynolds (on behalf of the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program) (808 attendees, multiple days)
- Durham, presentation, Durham Fair; Reynolds (on behalf of the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program) (31 attendees)
- East Granby, 27 management activities; Clifford (on behalf of the East Granby Land Trust) (73 participants)
- Falls Village, educational outreach activities, Mad Gardeners Symposium; Nelson (on behalf of Mad Gardeners, Inc.) (130 attendees)
- Goshen, educational outreach activities, Goshen Fair; Nelson (on behalf of Mad Gardeners, Inc.) (3 days)
- Guilford, presentation, Guilford Conservation Commission; Suhr (45 attendees)
- Haddam, educational outreach activities, Ag Day; Reynolds (on behalf of the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program) (28 attendees)
- Haddam, educational outreach activities, Haddam Neck Fair; Reynolds (on behalf of the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program) (569 attendees, multiple days)
- Haddam, presentation, Haddam Neck Fair; Reynolds (on behalf of the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program) (5 attendees)
- Hamden, educational outreach activities, Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association Summer Symposium; Ellis, Dacey, and Wallace (275 attendees)
- Hamden, educational outreach activities, Plant Science Day, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station; Gadwa and Pyle (937 attendees)
- Hamden, presentation, Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association Summer Symposium; Ellis and Allen (60 attendees)
- Hampton, educational outreach activities/media; Kilpatrick
- Hartford, invasive plant consulting activities; Pyle (multiple days)
- Hartford, educational outreach activities, Connecticut Flower and Garden Show; 28 CIPWG volunteers worked 84 hours (organized by Crompton) (30,000 attendees)
- Hartford, educational outreach activities, UConn Extension Legislative Reception; Ellis, Concklin, and Wallace (200 attendees)
- Maryland (Baltimore), poster session; Ellis (520 attendees)
- Maryland (Baltimore), presentation; Ellis (50 attendees)
- Massachusetts (6 towns), management activities, The Trustees of Reservation; Knox (49 participants; multiple days)
- Middletown, radio interview, WRMD; Pyle, Preston, and Thompson
- Mystic, management activities, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center; Jones (134 participants, 35 days)
- Mystic, 3 presentations, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center; Jones (40 attendees)
- Mystic, presentation, Horticultural Inspection Society, Eastern Chapter; Ellis and Wallace (17 attendees)
- New Haven, television interview, News8 WTNH; Ellis
- Newington, 3 training sessions; Boone, Donnelly, Picone, Pyle, and Villwock (79 participants)
- New London, outreach to media; Gadwa (multiple days)
- New London, presentation, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center; Jones (25 attendees)
- New London, presentation, Wild Ones Mountain Laurel Chapter; Tewksbury, Pan (50 attendees)
- New Milford, educational outreach activities, New Milford Garden Club; Nelson (on behalf of Mad Gardeners, Inc.) (150 attendees)
- New Milford, 6 management activities; Nelson and others (2-person teams)
- New Milford, presentation, Still River Watershed Connections; Nelson (on behalf of Mad Gardeners,)
- New Milford, training and management activities; Gadwa, Nelson, and others (14 participants, 3 days)
- New York (Millerton) 4 management activities; Nelson and others (2-person teams)
- Plantsville, educational outreach activities, Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association Winter Symposium and Expo; Ellis, Allen, and Wallace (322 attendees, 2 days)
- Plantsville, presentation, Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association Winter Symposium and Expo; Ellis and Wallace (15 attendees)
- Portland, educational outreach activities, Portland Fair; Reynolds (on behalf of the UConn Extension Master Gardener Program) (92 attendees, multiple days)
- Roxbury, management activities; Nelson and others (2-person teams, multiple days)
- Southington, educational outreach activities, Community Farm Market; UConn Extension Master Gardener Program (Hanlon) (109 participants, 4 days)
- Southington, presentation, Connecticut Environmental Council Annual Meeting, Mervosh (270 attendees)
- South Windsor, educational outreach activities; Marshall (on behalf of the South Windsor Invasive Plant Working Group); 175 participants (multiple days)
- South Windsor, management activities; Marshall (on behalf of the South Windsor Invasive Plant Working Group); 175 participants (54 attendees)
- Sprague, presentation, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center; Jones (15 attendees)
- Statewide, mile-a-minute weed biological control project, multiple release and monitoring sites visited; Cheah, Ellis, Nelson, Varricchio, and volunteers (10 participants, multiple days)
- Statewide, CIPWG list serve; Ellis and Pyle (862 subscribers)
- Statewide, CIPWG website updates; Ponak, Ellis, and Pyle
- Statewide, invasive plant inquiries; Pyle (13 people)
- Statewide, social media; Walsh (on behalf of the Connecticut Grounds Keepers Association)
- Statewide, giant hogweed and other invasive plant inquiries and educational outreach activities; Ellis (700 inquiries, multiple days)
- Statewide, UConn Nursery and Landscape Updates; Ellis, Dacey, Wallace, Pundt, and Siegel-Miles (60 subscribers, multiple issues)
- Storrs, CIPWG Symposium; 19 speakers and moderators, 12 poster presenters, 10 exhibitors, and 20 staff (450 attendees)
- Storrs and Windsor, administrative support for Invasive Plants Council meetings; Ellis (9 members, multiple days)
- Washington, presentation, Town of Washington Community Day; Mervosh (10 attendees)
Submitted by Donna Ellis (UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture; CIPWG Co- chair), with contributions from Charlotte Pyle (CIPWG Co-chair) and many other CIPWG members included above.
17 December 2018