Alien invaders: Know them to eradicate them

GEORGE NEWS - Getting locals to become well acquainted with invasive plant species in their own area is the aim of local landscape designer Juanita Knox who is organising a fun Invasive Plant Awareness Campaign that she hopes will draw lots of people's attention.

The campaign includes a fun competition on Sunday 15 August in Hoekwil and Wilderness during which they must take photos of invasive species that they have to identify through a system of sign boards and posters.

Six posters have been created that identify invasive plants, with their categories. These will be put up at six prominent notice boards and businesses around Hoekwil and Wilderness to create awareness of these invasive weeds.

Twenty signboards with numbers correlating with the invasive plants listed on the posters will also be erected where the plants grow along a route through Hoekwil and Wilderness. Competitors must follow a map to find these boards and then photograph the plants.

People can bring their photographs to the Village Green in Wilderness from 11:00 till 12:00 where they will be judged to see if they got all 20 signboards with the specific weed.

There will be five live invasive plant specimens at the Village Green that will need to be identified from the new knowledge the competitors acquired.

Prizes will be handed over at 12:00. There is no cost to enter and the first five entries that get this correct will receive a R300 cash prize.

Tools to remove invasive plants and protective clothing will be on display at the Village Green and there will be a demonstration on how to use them.

Family fun

"It is crucial that we make residents aware of the harm that invasive species do to the environment," says Knox. "The purpose of this campaign is for people to understand that there are many invasive plants around us and to learn what they are, how to identify them and to remove them if possible, according to their category. This is going to be an exciting outing ideal for families."