Gorham Middle School students spent May 3rd and part of May 4th outside collecting data and treating the plots. Students came up with a variety of ways to try and eradicate the knotweed. Methods for treating plots include: covering with tarps, digging knotweed out, spraying with a mixture of vinegar and soap, also trying a coffee-based spray and sprays with essential oils, spreading coffee grounds over the plots, and combinations of these different methods. Students are working to make a website to inform others of their work and to describe their methods. We are also hoping to enter the data into the Gulf of Maine’s Vital Signs database and the online iMapInvasives database. Would be great to share our results as many ways as we can!
As the students removed the knotweed from their plots, we collected the knotweed shoots, and I took them home and cooked them. After cooking the knotweed I pureed it and set it to dry in a dehydrator—our plan is to sample the knotweed fruit roll-ups!
—Guest post by Angela Gospodarek, Gorham Middle School Science Teacher
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