YouTube channel and webinars provide excellent information on tackling invasive reeds
To the Expositor:
Kudos to you for the excellent coverage of the Manitoulin Phragmites Project’s webinar series and of our new YouTube channel. Thanks also for doing such a good job that the article got picked up by the Toronto Star.
The article didn’t mention anything at all about what to do if a person has phragmites on their property.
We have a lot of information about that as well as a pamphlet for download on our Facebook page.
We also have a short seven-minute how-to video on YouTube (filmed by Fuel the Fire TV). And finally, the Manitoulin Phragmites Project makes house calls, so people can get in touch with us by emailing
manitoulinphrag@yahoo.com. We’ll be back in the field in June. We can come check out the problem and help get started on controlling it.
Regarding American phragmites, our webinar states very clearly that decisions on whether to control American Phragmites (sometimes called “Native” Phragmites) must be made on a case by case basis—we do not state that American Phragmites should mostly be controlled, as you reported.
By the way, Phragmites is pronounced “frag-MITE-eez,” not “frag-mites.” It is the Latin name of this plant and is treated as a singular even though it happens to end in S. Thus we say “Phragmites is a grass” the same way we say “Clematis is a vine.”
Yes, we always need volunteers, so anyone interested should get in touch! We’ll also be hiring two full-time (seasonal) field team members, so watch the ad in The Expositor. Otherwise, we’ll hope to see everyone at our work bees during Manitoulin Phragmites Week this summer, July 16-21.
Yours truly,
Judith Jones, coordinator
Manitoulin Phragmites Project
Facebook.com/manitoulinphrag
manitoulinphrag@yahoo.com
