BY BLAINE BUG CREW
A critical piece to any good weed management strategy is keeping stakeholders informed. Southern Idaho Biological Control accomplishes this through several mediums. These include: weekly newspaper articles about featured noxious weeds, cold contacting while monitoring sights, Fair presentations, summer school presentations, a presence at major community events like the Hailey parade, and finally, never missing a chance to educate. These teaching moments create partnerships that would otherwise not exist because people want to help, but the general public simply does not know what they don’t know.
One of the best ways to inform the public is through mass media. Newspaper articles like this one can reach a broad audience and help the public come to a better understanding of Idaho invasive weed species. While this is a very efficient way of disseminating information, its limitation lies in the fact that consumers of this media cannot ask questions and get immediate feedback.
The Bug Crew has presented to many civic, school, and government entities. This form of discourse allows for the Bug Crew to formally present information and create discussions surrounding best practices for noxious weed abatement. This forum is limited by peoples’ access and schedules to attend the event.
Fair booths create a unique opportunity to connect with people. This is usually more intimate and a deeper level of education can occur there. This allows for the small audience to get detailed clarification and ask as many questions as they want to. This is also beneficial because it allows for unlimited time to delve into various topics. This kind of event is limited to those in attendance which can be a problem if looking to connect with a broad audience.
An informed public is critical to the success of any weed management program. By partnering with many people we are able to more effectively influence noxious weed control. Public education will continue to be a priority for Southern Idaho Biological Control to ensure continued success.
