Thursday, May 21, 2009

International Biodiversity Day in the Great Smoky Mountains national parks Twin Creek Center

Tomorrow from 1 pm - 3 pm it's International Biodiversity Day in the Twin Creeks Science Center located in the Cherokee Orchard/Roaring Fork section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

The topic of discussion will be about invasive species and what to do about them. The biodiversity of the Great Smoky Mountains national park is amazing but also amazingly fragile when non native plants species be it plant or animal invade the park.

The talk will be given by the Great Smoky Mountains national park vegetation management specialist Kris Johnson who is a true expert in her field and a delight to hear her speak.

Margie Hunter the author of landscaping with the native plants of Tennessee will be also speaking about how to help conserve the parks biodiversity by only working with plants that do not threaten the local ecology.

honeysuckle is an evasive pest is a fast growing vine that chokes out other slower growing native species

To me nothing smells better in the spring that fresh honeysuckle blossoms which can perfume the air as you walk or drive by them. Unfortunately this evasive pest is a fast growing vine that chokes out other slower growing native species reducing their numbers and can eventually entirely replace an entire portion of an ecosystem driver a weaker slower growing plant into obscurity if not extinction.

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