Interested in supporting the management of invasive plants in Vermont?

See below For a variety of opportunities.

I’m a Volunteer On-the-Go Who Wants to Help 

Maybe you're a Vermonter who's always on-the-go? Maybe you're visiting Vermont? And still want to volunteer? Check out the opportunities below where volunteers can provide important data from wherever they happen to be that day in Vermont!

 

Statewide Invasive Plant Phenology Monitoring Project (SIPPMoP) 

Interested in volunteering, but always on-the-go? Consider joining our statewide phenology monitoring project! In the second full week of each month of the growing season, volunteers from across the state observe the seasonal changes of invasive plants (their phenology), submit that data, and it is reported in the monthly FPR Insect & Disease reports. This effort gives us a coarse but quick snapshot of what is happening for a wide variety of the invasive plant species in Vermont, and helps us all adjust this year’s treatment plans accordingly. Please be in touch if you’d like to be part of this collection effort.    

Involvement Level: Monthly  

Tree-of-Heaven Early Detection 

Click here for more details about a project being run by the Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative to track the location of invasive Tree-of-Heaven in Vermont. If you’re on the go, hiking, birding, for work or for fun, keep an eye out and up for Tree-of-Heaven!  

Involvement Level: Occasional 

Mapping for Healthy Forests, Vermont 

Help track which invasive plants are present in Vermont and where they are found. You can participate by adding observations in our Mapping for Healthy Forests, Vermont iNaturalist project when you’re afoot and afield.  

Involvement Level: Occasional 

I’m a Volunteer Who Wants to Record What’s Happening Locally 

Looking to volunteer, and have invasive plants in your backyard, neighborhood, or community? Check out the opportunity below where volunteers can provide important data from their own "backyards" in Vermont!

Pesky Plant Trackers Campaign 

Concerned about wild parsnip or knotweed in your community? Join a regional effort to better understand the seasonal changes (the phenology) of these plants. In order to manage these plants, specialists need to time treatments with plant phenology. This is because there are key stages when plants are most responsive to management. Long-term datasets created by dedicated observers make it possible to calculate this information. Learn more by clicking here.

Involvement Level: Weekly during growing season* 

*generally, March to October 

I’m a Volunteer Who Wants to Get Involved with a Local Organization 

We are working to build up a list of projects and ways to get involved at the local level. If you are, or know of, a group or project that would like to be listed here, please be in touch. 

Learn more about CISMAs (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Areas) by clicking here! 

Forest Hero! Network 

Maybe you want to start a local effort, champion an existing cause, or be the community expert on invasive plants? There are annual opportunities to take part in trainings and continuing education workshops to empower you in your work to motivate neighbors, family, and community in invasive plant management. As we like to say – this work is a process not an event! 

Click here to see if the Forest Hero! Network is right for you! 

Involvement Level: Ongoing 

I’m a Volunteer Who Wants to REgularly contribute to scientific research

Are you interested in taking part in a long-term research project to observe the seasonal changes of invasive plants in Vermont? The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation recently (2022) launched a new research study, Vermont Invasive Plant Phenology Project (VIPPP) to capture phenology data on invasive plants to better inform the timing of management and provide a baseline for plant changes we expect to see with a changing climate. If you can contribute weekly observations, and want to know if you live near one of our study sites, check out our project partner, Nature's Notebook, and select our group under "partner groups" (hint: we're tucked under the subheading for USGS). 

Involvement Level: Weekly