Granlibakken Resort

We have just returned from an eventful two days at the Granlibakken Resort in Tahoe City, CA celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the California Invasive Plant Council. While the weather outside was cold and snowy, the atmosphere inside was warm and welcoming. This is my favorite conference of the year because for every presentation about research being done to better understand problems associated with invasive species there is one on management, applying research to the control and eradication of various species across the state. Everyone at the conference is very approachable and always a joy to talk with. The passion these people share for invasive species management is electric and inspiring, and every year I leave with my batteries recharged for the next 12 months.

The number of students that attended this year’s symposium was down from years past, but their presence was just as strong.  Students showed up from CSU Sacramento, CSU Monterey, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced, and UC Riverside. Four students (Rachel Brownsley, Chelsea Carey, Kai Palenscar, and Marit Wilkerson) presented at a very well attended student section, which received raves reviews from attendees I talked with afterwards. All of the presentations were great, but Kai’s research on the effects of shading on the growth of Arundo donax took home the prize of Top Student Paper. Outside of the student session, Amy Concilio presented her work on the response of Bromus tectorumto climate change during the Thursday morning session. I was the only person to submit a poster for this year’s poster session, so while there was no competition, I received great feedback from researchers across the state and received some very useful ideas of how I am going to further analyze my data. I want to thank all the students who participated and encourage students considering attending in the future to submit an abstract to present at one of the sessions. Feedback from people who have worked with these species for over many years can be invaluable.

Student Chapter members past and present with Doug Johnson

The Student Chapter provided two posters for a display on the history of Cal-IPC. The first poster highlighted student presenters from previous symposia who currently have careers working with invasive species as researchers or land managers. The second highlighted a weed removal trip to Catalina Island where the Riverside Branch brought together students and land managers to collaborate on weed removal projects and gave students “real world” experience.

The highlights of the second day of the conference (at least in our eyes) were the student lunch and student discussion section. While the number of students attending the symposium decreased, our number of allies remained strong. We were joined at lunch by land managers, restoration ecologists, and one of our greatest supporters Doug Johnson (Cal-IPC executive director). We also attracted many attendees who are going to be looking into graduate school in the coming years and were looking for information from current students on what programs to look into.

Discussing the future of the Student Chapter over lunch

Looking at the changes that have occurred within the invasive plant community since the first Cal-IPC symposium was one of the focuses of the conference. As such, Doug asked us to discuss where we saw the Student Chapter in the next 20 years and how we wanted to become more integrated into Cal-IPC. With an energetic crowd of young scientists and attendees with varying perspectives beginning a brainstorming discussion on ideas for how to expand the student base of Cal-IPC was easy.

This conversation carried over into the discussion section, which was attended by a majority of the student attendees from the lunch session as well as two Cal-IPC boardmembers Julie Horenstein and Doug Gibson. The group was able to create a few concrete tasks for the chapter to pursue over the course of the next year in order to better integrate current and future students into Cal-IPC. Our plan is to increase communication among students and provide them with assistance with locating resources for starting research projects, direction on presenting results, and a venue to share their knowledge through outreach activities.

As the conference concluded I was saddened to be leaving this centralized wealth of information, but I left feeling excited about the future of the Student Chapter. I would like to thank Cal-IPC staff for putting together a flawless conference and for timing the winter wonderland experience perfectly so we were all able to safely drive home. I would also like to thank the attendees who purchased Cal-IPC Student Chapter pint glasses (and our last SC t-shirt!), which provide money for student activities across the state.

Mike Bell
Location: Symposium 
Tags: Cal-IPC, Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe, Presenters, Student Chapter, Symposium
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