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Students Work with Local Audubon Center to Map Non-Native Plant Species

Posted in News on June 1st, 2009 with Comments Off

This spring Focus East students were able to participate in a unique pilot program sponsored by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center within the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. Three students participated in this program, Matt Pathammavong, Sydatris Thompson and Elizabeth Valdez. The goal of the pilot study was to collect data about non-native or invasive species of plants present in the park. Each student was taught to use Trimble GPS units to target the species in the field and create maps of the area, highlighting areas where invasive species were most densely populated. The students earned a half credit of Environmental Technology for their tremendous efforts. The Scioto Metro Park will be using the students’ data to make resource management and ecosystem conservation decisions throughout the year.