August is Invasive species awareness month in Manitoba.
The invasive species Council of Manitoba has declared it to foster awareness of invasive species and to highlight the environmental and economic damages they cause. Julie Pelc, Manitoba Stewardship Manager for Nature Conservancy of Canada, talks about why it’s important to understand what invasive species are and how to prevent their spread.
“Invasive species month is a really great opportunity to raise awareness about invasive species and to get the word out there to people that there are species out there that we don’t want on our lands. Prevention is key. And there is lots of stuff you can do. Preventing yourself from planting these species in your gardens, know what you are planting. If you are going and taking equipment into an area such as an ATV even a boat in water, cleaning that equipment, cleaning your gear when you are out, cleaning your road equipment. Anything that you are using out there that can transfer an invasive species from one location to another. You want to make sure that you are not causing the spread of invasive species from one location to another.”
Invasive species can impact the economy, environment, society and even human health. For more information about invasive species visit invasivespeciesManitoba.com/site or http://www.natureconservancy.ca
