Study materials for Invasive Species event

[s_hmwe]

Hi,

My name is Susan , a sixth grader's mom. Trying to help my son to prepare "invasive Species" event. Any resource or information is much appreciated.

Thank you much!

[UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F]

Do you have the rules yet?
http://soinc.org/sites/default/files/up ... ecies3.pdf
Also: http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/reso ... ists.shtml

[hscmom]

Hi,

My name is Susan , a sixth grader's mom. Trying to help my son to prepare "invasive Species" event. Any resource or information is much appreciated.

Thank you much!

Hi Susan, my son did Invasive Species as an 8th grader at Nationals at WSU. He and his friend got gold, which was totally exciting even if it was a trial event and didn't affect the team standing, oh well. They had 3 weeks or so to prep. My son had done water quality that year when it included a few invasive species but that was just a small bit of that event. His friend was basically a nice guy that my son works well with. So, we decided to pour all we could into the three weeks and learn this stuff...

Unfortunately there is no (well there wasn't two years ago) field guide for invasive species, so I basically helped them create one. It took a long time, but I simply did internet searches on each species and just printed them out and put them in a binder. I organized the binder like the official SO invasive list was organized. I've not looked at the list since then but there were plants, aquatic animals, insects, and terrestrial animals or something like that. So, I organized the binder in the same way.

I didn't use one particular website but just tried to find the page for each species that was most succinct and helpful but also answered the questions of (a) what is it - common and scientific names (b) how did it get here? (c) what makes it invasive which could be something like hardy, high reproduction rate, adapts to a variety of conditions, no natural predators in new environment, hitches rides, and/or threatens native species (d) what can be done to control it - biological, chemical, mechanical, legislative such as requiring boats be checked as they enter a body of water (e) where in the country it exists - make sure you get up to date information because some of these species spread fast!

We made flash cards using internet photos (yes, I used a lot of ink in those three weeks) to help the boys learn the difference between this white flower and that white flower, etc. It's also good to note if an invasive species looks like a native species (think honey bees). If your son sees a photo of a native bee and an invasive bee, could he identify which is which (body shape, markings, etc.)?

It wouldn't hurt to find out what invasive species are found in your state. You might see real (not just photo) specimens of them at competition.

And, don't forget that they can ask about SOUNDS. Most invasive species are quiet, but beetles can make a sound, etc. So go down the list and try to figure out what sounds to learn. There won't be many that make sounds.

Good luck - totally fun event. Now my son is a 10th grader but he's done SO for so many years he's tired of it and doesn't want to do it next year. I was hoping he and his partner (also tired of SO) would do Invasives again. All I can hope is that I can talk my daughter into this next year. It was a totally fun event to coach and learn about.

And, have FUN with it. Here is a song I listened to in the late 1970s that I shared with the "Invasive boys" but they weren't that impressed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ajIUthgQw The lyrics are under the video. Oh, here's a site we used: http://eattheinvaders.org/nutria-3/

[s_hmwe]

Thank you so much for your quick response and very inforamtive email. I did prepare the binder as you suggested. Since exam is next week, we might not have enough time to study. But at least, it will be fun for them to learn and grow. Thank you again and GOD BLESS!