Invasive plants, invasive insects - oh my!

The Brewster Ponds Coalition invites you to this free informative talk by Beth Taylor, a Barnstable County Master Gardener.

Along with development, invasive plants are rapidly reducing the biodiversity of our natural areas and our backyards.  This presentation will highlight the characteristics that make invasives so successful, the detrimental effects of their growth on natives--both plants and wildlife, a review of the species that are most aggressive on Cape Cod, cultural practices that increase the spread of these plants from our backyards to natural areas, and possible solutions to their control.  In addition, several destructive insect species that are migrating northward will be noted,  in the hopes that the audience will be able to identify and report their presence. There will be ample time provided for questions and answers. 

Please use the link above to register for this free event at the Brewster Ladies Library, Main Street, Brewster, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

About our speaker, Beth Taylor:

Growing up on a Pennsylvania farm—collecting insects, identifying birds, wandering through meadows and woods, and gardening—led Beth to choose a career in the natural sciences. Beth joined the freshwater ecology group at Michigan State University and completed her masters’ research in tropical ecology in Costa Rica. Later she joined the Peace Corps in Guatemala, volunteering as an agricultural extension agent in the highlands where she met her husband, a tenth generation Cape Codder. After a career teaching science, Beth and her husband retired to Chatham, his hometown. She and her husband steward a town conservation property, removing invasives and promoting natives. Beth became certified as a Barnstable County Master Gardener in 2021 and continues her life-long support of conservation as a trustee of the Chatham Conservation Foundation advocating for the incorporation of native plants.