Published July 19, 2008
by iris_author
On the final evening of the YSTOP program, students were asked to identify environmental issues they had learned about during the week, and then, in groups, to write about an issue of their choice. The following is what one group wrote about what they had learned about invasive species. They had learned was about invasive species in a session with York grad students Corinne Sperling and Margot Sloan, which included a scavenger hunt to locate invasive species on the York campus.
Ever wonder how dandelions started growing in our country? Well, a dandelion is an example of an invasive species, meaning Canada is not its native country. It could have been brought over by boat, car, plane, etc. There are many examples of invasive species in Canada, including Norway Maple, Norway Spruce, common teasel, Japanese knotweed, dog-strangling vine, white clover, white poplar, lilacs, ivy, common tansy and the garlic mustard plant. Oh, and that grass you see all over Canada? Yeah - that's an invasive species, too, called Kentucky Blue Grass.