Education is crucial to the solution of all social issues. The public is unable to take action if they are ignorant on the existence and details of an issue. In order to improve the problem that the ecosystems and economy are experiencing due to non-native species, the spread of general education on the topic must be paramount. General education on the topic of non-native species has the potential to improve the issue as a whole and can be accomplished by utilizing social media platforms for the purpose of reaching a vast audience, creating an incentive program for the purpose of inspiring and unlikely audience, and incorporating general education of non-native species and their impact environmentally and economically into the curriculum of our impressionable youth.

The quickest way to inform a wide audience about non-native species and their environmental and economic effects is to utilize an array of social media platforms. There are many different available methods to get the public’s attention on social media.

The maximum audience can be reached by utilizing different platforms and different posts. The biggest illustration of this is different applications reaching different age groups. By using Facebook, the key audience would be adults and by using Instagram, the key audience would be teens. This will be especially effective because teens use social media as their main form of communication. Using social media to reach out to teens would be the most effective way to increase participation in the cause. Inspiring teens to become involved is crucial because they are the next generation. Teens also have the unique ability to bring about positive change to the planet’s future. Social media outreach is the best way to set these events in motion. Different posts like pictures, fact pages, advertisements, and donation links can all be used to reach out to the intended audience. These posts would be published in the hopes to inspire interest in an audience that may have otherwise been uninterested. There is a chance that widespread information on the topic would attract a celebrity to the cause. This could be monumental to the spread of non-native species awareness. Having a famous lead for the cause gives the topic a voice in the public eye. For example, when Disney channel launched their ‘Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green’ stars celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and the Jonas Brothers teamed up and instigated real change. The power that comes with having fame can be used to bring about serious change for a cause as little known as non-native species.

Naysayers may bring up the point that the online information on these social media accounts could be ignored by the public. They may also say that a public that spends all day on social media, looking at posts, is not the right audience for the topic due to the fact that they are unlikely to take action. These negative arguments are fallacies. The special thing about utilizing social media is that the public would not need to spend all day surfing the internet in order to see our information. A quick scroll could lead the audience to a link within minutes of logging on. If the job is done correctly, the audience will be inspired by the media to the point where they will become interested and take action. Using social media reaches such a broad audience that inspiration in the public about non-native species is inevitable.

Another way to inspire people to get interested in the subject of non-native species is to create an incentive program. The public cares about things when they themselves can benefit and improving the quality of the planet for future generations is not always enough. By creating an incentive program, individuals who would not normally be interested in the topic would be motivated to care (Pooley). For example, something as easy as granting school credit to a student who proves that they planted a native species in their yard could jumpstart change. An alternative to an incentive program is a punishment program. Instead of rewarding individuals for doing something right, these individuals would be punished for doing something wrong. This is a less positive approach to the subject, but it would be just as effective. There are current laws and fines geared towards companies that are used for this purpose. Taxes, fees, and other charges have been used to cover the expected environmental damages of certain actions in the past. For example, the “’intruder-pays tax’ on nurseries selling exotic plants, tradable risk permits, and tariffs or fees on imports of non-native species” (Barbier et al. [Page 132]) have all been used to make the companies bringing these species into new ecosystems pay for the damage that will follow their introduction.

Some may argue that these programs were not as effective as they would seem to be. It is true, these programs face challenges, but so does every new method trying to bring about change. This program was not designed to make companies pay taxes, but it does so in the hopes that the fees will inspire change in actions to improve the future. Once companies and individuals start to change the little things the change has already begun, and a more positive future is more of a possibility. The beginning of change is always the hardest part, but once the public has started to change, there will be no need for incentive for it will be realized that no one need not go out of their way to make a difference. Participating in the cause is much easier than imagined.

The biggest way to impact the widespread knowledge of the topic would be to implement the education of non-native species into the lessons of our impressionable youth. During their developmental years, children form long-lasting opinions and passions bases on the things that they are exposed to. This means that, by teaching children about the effects of non-native species, the new generation could adapt non-native species prevention into a new normal for society.

Incorporating this general education of non-native species and their impact environmentally and economically into the curriculum of these students insures positive, long-term improvements for the issue. This early education on the topic will also positively affect the entire economy. The young students will take the information that they have learned in class about non-native species home to their parents. Parents are involved with the early education of their children. Assigning a reading or project on the subject of non-native species to students will teach the parents on the subject by proxy. By teaching the children, the entire family is affected by the information. (Pooley) Once the family learns of the problem, they are able to take action. This will encourage good habits in the children. This means adding lessons about non-native species into early curriculum will likely lead to the development of life-long aforementioned good habits regarding such environmental issues.

In fact, there has already been an effort to educate young children on the subject. For example, Eric Carle’s book, the Tiny Seedis a fun children’s’ book with pretty pictures and a very important lesson about the challenges a seed goes through before it becomes a tiny plant. Not only does this information reach the intended audience of young children, but it also reaches the parents who are reading the book to their children.  Another good example of this is Dr. Seuss’s book, the Lorax. Not only was his book made famous for its tree-hugger-like message, but it was also made into a movie. This means that its intended message is now able to reach a whole new generation of children. Although these books are a way to implement the lessons of natural ecosystems in a home environment, the implication of such lessons in a school environment is key to the guaranteed widespread knowledge of the subject.

There are many challenges in the effort to implement the lessons of non-native species into the education of youth. Some people argue that there are more important things for these children to learn. However, what could be more important than the lessons that will help the planet? Also, lessons on non-native species can be incorporated into task-based learning. This means that the children have the opportunity to benefit from hands-on lessons. This creates a meaningful learning experience with a tangible result. For example, if students plant milkweed, or Asclepias, into a school garden they will be able to see the result, more butterflies in the area. It is a lesson in which they can experience the results in real time and continue to enjoy its long-term benefits.There is also the challenge of the complications found in the effort to implement such lessons. Common core would have to be adjusted to fit in the new content, which would be very challenging considering that this change would have to go through the state level. The school’s administration and school board would have to support the idea of teaching the new material. If they do not agree and support the changes, there will be no movement on the efforts. This is made even more challenging due to the fact that state testing reflects on the administration and there is no state testing that includes the topic of non-native species. However challenging, the implication of this information at an early age is extremely beneficial. The effects of early education on the subject can be seen in the following examples: in Jacob Llodra’s TED talk he states that his interest in the topic of non-native species started when he joined the “roots and shoots” (Llodra) environmental club in his elementary school. He became interested in the subject through his school when he was very young and has been passionate about the subject ever since. There was also a study done on the effects of education on a subject’s choice of yard décor. It showed how the subjects would positively change their yards to be more natural in the effort to make a better, more supportive environment for the local bird population. In the end, it was proved that “education level can … influence preferences” (Rodriguez et al. [Page 490]). This also supports the argument that education on the topic of non-native species will improve the current situation.

The issue of non-native species impacts everyone, whether it be environmentally or economically. Certain invasive species are destroying the economy of the recreational activates that people enjoy. For example: the emerald ash borer is decimating the ash tree population. This is affecting the baseball industry because the bats that are used during game play are made of ash wood. If this invasive, non-native species is not controlled, America’s favorite past time could be changed forever. Another example of the destruction of a recreational activity that people enjoy through a non-native species is the spotted lantern fly. The spotted lantern fly is destroying orchards. This is greatly affecting wineries. If this invasive, non-native species is not controlled, the wine industry will decrease and may even disappear. In whichever ways that the economy is affected, it is the environmental impacts that are the primary concern. For example: the dandelion, or Taraxacum, is an invasive species. Individuals spend money for yard care companies to keep such weeds out of their yards or they do it themselves using Round Up. The use of this chemical could lead to different forms of cancer.If nothing is done there will be no ecosystem or economy that will go untouched. Many species will be forced into extinction due to the changes in the food web. In fact, some species have already been snuffed out.

Our current administration is not helping the situation. Trump has done his best to reverse Obama’s work on reducing the carbon footprint of the United States. This has put the endangered species we were trying to protect at even more risk. This means that, currently, people have more pressing issues to worry about than non-native species. Climate change and Trump’s new laws need to be addressed first. For there is no reason to fight to protect our ecosystems if there are no more ecosystems to protect. This means that, while Trump is making people do their very best to reverse his damage, other issues that need attention are getting overlooked. One website compared Trump himself to an invasive, non-native species. “Donald Trump is kudzu. He is out to strangle anything and everything in his path”(Feffer). To understand the comparison, one must understand a kudzu. A kudzu vine, or Pueraria montana,is a vicious over taker of trees, telephone poles, and anything else in its path. The vine grows thick and fast, choking out light and life from everything around it. This comparison to Trump is as accurate as ever. He is doing his best to create problems in the hopes that they will distract from other pressing issues. This technique is called a ‘red herring fallacy’. Essentially, he’s playing a distracting game, hoping that no one will notice how truly dire our situation has become.

Americans need to start taking action in the efforts to improve our situation regarding non-native species. Tackling one situation at a time is the only way to bring about any improvement. It is not challenging to help; every individual is able to pitch in. Volunteering, donating, or passing down information and education on the subject are all easy ways to support the cause. Every little thing, every little positive choice or action, helps to improve our current situation. Lehigh is helping our situation by doing nothing. There will be a native meadow incorporated onto the mountaintop campus. This means that native plants will be unattended, and nature will be left to take its course. This is a positive plan of action for both the environment and the economy. The natural garden at mountaintop campus will be all native plants all in their natural states, this is fantastic for the environment. Also, there is no upkeep; the school plans to just let the plants grow. This means that no money needs to be spent on the upkeep of the land, this is good news for the economy of the school (Pooley).

The sooner that the public becomes involved the better. These positive changes do not need to be groundbreaking, but they do need to be made in a team effort. Checking to make sure only native species are planted, not buying non-native plants from nurseries, washing the bottom of hiking boots between trails, rinsing off boats between bodies of water, volunteering personal time, donating money, or just spreading the word about non-native plants and their environmental and economic impacts are all easy ways for individuals to involve themselves with the improvement of the issue and the cause. If the public does not work together, change will not occur. Society has a responsibility to work together in order to improve the issue of non-native species because it was society that created this issue in the first place.

The best way to instigate change regarding any social issue is the spread of education to the public about the issue; the topic of non-native species is no different. The general education of the public will guarantee an increase the number of individuals who will be inspired to take action. This will eventually lead to positive improvement on the situation as a whole. General education on the topic of non-native species can be accomplished by utilizing social media platforms for the purpose of reaching a vast audience, creating an incentive program for the purpose of inspiring an unlikely audience, and incorporating general education of non-native species and their impact environmentally and economically into the curriculum of our impressionable youth. By utilizing these methods of spreading education to the public, more people will be inspired to take action in the hopes to improve our situation regarding non-native species. Without this increase in public motivation, there can be no hope for a hasty recovery to the environmental or economic problems caused by the effects of non-native species.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Barbier, Edward B., et al. “Implementing Policies to Control Invasive Plant Species.” BioScience, vol. 63, no. 2, Feb. 2013, pp. 132-38.

Feffer, John. “Donald Trump: An Invasive Species.” Fair Observer, 6 Apr. 2017, www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/donald-trump-climate-change-policy-epa-us-ews-84218/. Accessed 8 Apr. 2019.

Llodra, Jacob. “Invasive plants and their effect on native ecosystems.” TEDx Youth, 28 Sept. 2016. Speech.

Pooley, Karen. Interview. By Sara Davis. 6 Mar. 2019.

Rodriguez, Shari L., et al. “Does education influence wildlife friendly landscaping preferences?” Urban Ecosystems, vol. 20, no. 2, Apr. 2017, pp. 489-96.