We’re all aware of how healthy ecosystems can be altered and harmed by invasive species, many of us already volunteer to remove buckthorn, garlic mustard and other threats to our natural areas.
Today, a new threat is hitting us where it touches us personally, our own back yards. Jumping Worms, a highly destructive invasive species, have moved into Minnesota gardens and landscapes, especially urban settings. Wild Ones Twin Cities believes this is so important that we are using both March and April to share all we can about how to identify and contain Jumping Worms to protect not only our own gardens, but also our natural areas. We need to act as if Jumping Worms already exist in our home gardens as we transfer plants from one space to another.
We will begin in March with Ryan Hueffmeier teaching us what to look for and how to identify Jumping Worms. In April, Julia Vanatta will demonstrate gardening practices that will help us protect our gardens. Changing our garden habits will not only help with this new threat, it will help us prevent more familiar invasive species from traveling from one garden to another.
Both programs will allow ample time for discussion during the question and answer period. They will also be recorded and added to Wild Ones Twin Cities YouTube channel for later review and sharing.
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 7 pm
Jumping Worms, the Latest Threat to Our Gardens and Wild Areas.
An introductory level presentation on how to identify jumping worms, information about their life cycle, early detection and reporting.
Presenter: Ryan Hueffmeier, University of MN Duluth
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UW-Madison Arboretum |
Jumping worms are the latest invasive worm to arrive in Minnesota. They live in the top few inches of soil and alter soil structure and chemistry through their feeding and burrowing behaviors. Found in garden beds, mulch and compost piles they represent a threat to the health of our managed and wild landscapes. This will be an introductory level presentation on how to identify jumping worms, information about their life cycle, early detection and reporting. Prevention will be covered more in April and May, but tips for early detection and primary sources of how these travel is important. Jumping worms are spread through composting, horticulture, landscaping and bait. The overall goal of this project is to characterize the status of the jumping worm invasion in Minnesota.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 7 pm
Tips and Techniques for Safe Transfer and Sharing of Native Plants
Presenter: Julia Vanatta
In 2020, as we just became aware of how quickly Jumping Worms were infesting our local gardens, Wild Ones Twin Cities considered canceling our popular donated plant sale, which was hosted by Julia at her garden in Minneapolis. While not wanting to unknowingly spread an invasive species, we believed we were thorough in our efforts to minimize any risk. As we continue to learn more, we can no longer make that assumption and will no longer host this event. In the fall, Julia began to experiment with transferring plants via bare roots. This technique is new to many of us, and testing is still in progress. She will share what she has learned thus far along with other tips for managing our gardens to protect them from unwanted guests, more importantly to be certain we don’t accidentally share any invasive species with another gardener.