Left to Right: Barb Grabner-Kerns, September Program Chair Bill Kerns, and Kiwanis President Gina Prinzavalli. 

Do you know that many of the popular plants and trees available in nurseries are invasive species? Barb Grabner-Kerns, a member of the Trees Forever Organization, spoke about invasive species of plants and trees at the Taylorville Kiwanis meeting on Tuesday. Invasive species are plants, trees, and insects, that are not native to the area that cause problems to the environment. This can be due to an absence of predators, the ability to spread over large areas, and/or rapid reproduction. These invasive species cause up to $120 Billion per year in economic losses. Most of us are familiar with the invasive insects emerald ash borer and Japanese beetles. However many do not know that Honeysuckle, Norway Maple Trees, Burning Bush, Bradford Pear Trees, and Japanese Burberry are all invasive species. Barb recommends that you research any tree or plant before you plant it and avoid purchasing invasive species. The Trees Forever organization began in 1989 and has over 7,000 volunteers. Their mission is to care for trees and the environment by empowering people, building communities, and promoting stewardship. They have planted over 3.2 Million trees and have many programs to support their mission. For more information on Trees Forever go to www.treesforever.org For more information on Kiwanis go to www.taylorvillekiwanis.com