By Abby Marino & Kassidy Robinson
With bird banding, weed torching, drone demonstrations, and presentations on the latest invasive species research, this year’s NYS Invasive Species Expo in Saratoga Spa State Park was an event unlike any other. LIISMA was proud to help organize, present, and learn at this unique meeting.
The week kicked off with Community Conservation Day – the first ever family-friendly invasive species-meets-environmental fair in New York. With crafts, games, and demonstrations, kids and parents were able to learn about invasive species in a fun and positive way. After shopping at the nearby Spa City Farmers Market, expo-goers created their own biocontrol hero bugs from craft materials, won temporary tattoos, and watched Peat the detection dog practice searching for invasive species. As co-chair for planning this event, Abby was especially excited to see the smiles on approximately 500 people in attendance, learning from the 36 tabling organizations that were invited. She did an amazing job planning this one-of-a-kind event!
Monday and Tuesday hosted the professional content of presentations, plant walks, demonstrations, and more. To highlight a few of our favorite moments from expo demos, LIISMA staff got to see hands on bird banding, emerald ash borer biocontrol releases, and a riverside botany walk with views of the iconic Saratoga “springs”. Engaging presentations on using native plants as ecological indicators, updates on biological control research, and more rounded out the week.
In collaboration with education and outreach staff from other PRISMs around the state, Kassidy led a workshop on Storytelling and the Language of Invasive Species Outreach. This workshop covered how to craft engaging narratives about invasive species work for use in newsletters, social media, and more, and how to improve the inclusiveness of invasive species language while doing so. After learning these communication strategies, attendees broke into groups and applied their new skills by writing their very own invasive species narratives which they shared with the group followed by discussion and feedback. Participants had fun crafting their stories and conveyed complex invasive species topics in creative and engaging ways.
Apart from the great content of the event, being able to see our colleagues from across the state was a delight. These meetings and conversations help us generate new ideas, and share failures and successes, so we can continue to grow and support each other. We’re looking forward to the next Expo in 2025!
