Brett Willard will lead an online presentation called, Identifying and Preventing the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Plants, hosted by Merryspring Nature Center, Tuesday, February 18, at 12 p.m. 

Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) are aquatic plants and animals of nonnative origin that when introduced to a new ecosystem have the potential to cause ecological harm, economic harm, and harm to human health. The State of Maine currently identifies 15 aquatic plants as invasive threats, which includes 8 plants currently present and 7 more that are on their way. In this presentation, Lake Stewards of Maine AIS Program Director Brett Willard will speak about the threats aquatic invasive plants pose to the health of Maine’s lakes, how to identify and report suspicious plants, and how ordinary people can band together to protect and monitor lakes for these aquatic invaders.

Brett Willard is a naturalist and environmental educator who has worked in Maine for 15 years. He currently serves as Aquatic Invasive Species Program Director at Lake Stewards of Maine, and previously worked as Program Director at Merryspring Nature Center.

Lake Stewards of Maine is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which works to protect Maine lakes and to promote lake stewardship through widespread citizen participation in the gathering and dissemination of credible scientific information pertaining to lake health.

This talk is part of Merryspring’s Online Winter Talk series, co-sponsored by Camden Riverhouse Hotel, Renys, A Maine Adventure, and Camden National Bank.   

This one link https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83922205228 will allow access to all Merryspring online talks and can also be found on the calendar at https://merryspring.org/calendar/, or you may request the link by sending an email to info@merryspring.org.   

Online talks are held as Zoom webinars and are open to everybody, free of charge.

Merryspring is your community nature center offering walking trails, cultivated gardens, wildlife, and ecology and horticulture educational programs all year round. The park is located at the end of Conway Road, just off of Route 1 in Camden behind Hannaford Shopping Plaza. For more information on this program, please contact info@merryspring.org or call 207-236-2239.