Educating Land Stewards
Presentations and Workshops
Blue Ridge PRISM provides in-person and online educational content at many venues to meet land stewards where they are. We table at local farmers markets and festivals, send guest speakers to your school or event, and deliver custom workshops for your organization.
PRISM is proud to provide education on invasive plants for Virginia Master Naturalists, Virginia Master Gardeners, Virginia Association of Conservation District Employees, Virginia United Land Trust, Virginia Conservation Network, The Middle James RoundTable, Bartlett Tree Experts, UVA Sustainability Advocates, numerous garden clubs, and more.
We also offer Fact Sheets, posters, videos, Weed Alerts, social media posts, and newsletters.
Partner spotlight: Botanical Garden of the Piedmont
Jill Trischman-Marks and her team at the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont have a grand and ambitious vision — to create a first-of-its-kind, world class nature experience for all Virginians. The property, located within the city of Charlottesville, was overrun with invasive plants for many years before the Garden became a dream. Blue Ridge PRISM is helping educate Garden land stewards through leading invasive plant ID walks and providing educational signage along the trails. Stay tuned for regularly scheduled volunteer opportunities in 2025!
“Invasive alien species have been a major factor in 60% and the only driver in 16% of global animal and plant extinctions that we have recorded.”
— Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2024
Posters
Non-native, invasive Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) overtaking a forested embankment in Greene County, VA.
Infestations like these shade out native wildflowers that our bees need for nectar. They also prevent sunlight from warming the soil, so our native tree seeds can’t germinate. This prevents healthy forest regeneration. Without intervention, all that will eventually remain will be a monoculture of Autumn olive.
Poster image available for printing upon request.
On the same day, you can see non-native, invasive Orange Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) creating a monoculture along a streambank in Greene County, VA.
This infestation is outcompeting our native spring ephemerals — like the beautiful Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) — that our native pollinators need for nectar when they come out of hibernation in the spring. Without these wildflowers, our native bees will die, along with new generations of the native plants that rely on them for pollination.
Poster image available for printing upon request.
Virginia Master Naturalists Poster
How Do I Spread Poster
Virginia Master Gardeners Poster
Partner spotlight: Bartlett Tree Experts
Blue Ridge PRISM provided continuing education on identification and control of invasive trees, vines, and shrubs for Bartlett Tree Expert’s Client Education Day. Participants from the trade included landscape architects, property managers, garden center managers, and tree service professionals.
The VDOF Hardwood Initiative — Explained
Blue Ridge PRISM September Brown Bag Webinar with guest speaker Joe Rosetti from the Virginia Department of Forestry.
Simply Stiltgrass
Blue Ridge PRISM Summer Meeting with guest speaker Jake Hughes from Shenandoah National park.
