Invasive Wintercreeper (Euonymus Fortunei)

The Orchard School Indianapolis, Indiana

Invasive Wintercreeper (Euonymus Fortunei)

The Orchard School Indianapolis, Indiana

How Our Project Started *During our 3rd Grade Tree Study, we saw vines growing everywhere in the Orchard Woods!

*Researched: Called wintercreeper. Discovered in the 1800s in Asia by Robert Fortune, a famous plant explorer, and was brought to the U.S. around 1907.

*Many websites said “Do not plant wintercreeper,” including the National Park Service, the National Forestry Service, the Nature Conservancy, and the DNR.

*Some states have banned it. Why Wintercreeper is BAD

*Takes over trees and chokes out other native plants

*Loss of diversity of native plants in our woods.

This is what wintercreeper looks like: How to get rid of wintercreeper *Remove it immediately. Start by pulling out what you can. Pull it off of the trees so it won’t produce seeds.

*Experts say spray it with Glyphosate. We partner with Eco Logic Company from Bloomington to remove the wintercreeper from the Orchard Woods. Experiments We Tried

*Mrs. Touloukian lended us 3 goats

*They ate the wintercreeper, but didn’t eat the vines or the roots

*Conclusion: Goats aren’t the best method for removing wintercreeper, but they were FUN! NEW EXPERIMENTS!

*We started experimenting. We made our own safe herbicides with vinegar, salt and dish soap.

*We learned about independent, dependent, and controlled variables

*So far, results have been promising! Orchard 3rd Grade Wintercreeper Rule

WE proposed a rule to the Natural Resources Commission so that people cannot plant wintercreeper, sell it, buy it, handle it, or transport it across Indiana.

The Orchard School Third Grade Wintercreeper Rule I. The following are prohibited invasive terrestrial plants and are declared pests or pathogens regulated under this section: Euonymus Fortunei (wintercreeper) and any and all cultivars, such as purple wintercreeper

A. Any property owner or business entity (such as a nursery or landscape company) who is known to have Euonymus Fortunei on the owner’s property must take efforts to eliminate this species in such a manner as is consistent with federal and state law.

B. A person or business entity (such as a nursery or landscape company) must not do the following with respect to Euonymus Fortunei: (1) Sell, possess, offer or grow for sale, gift, barter, exchange, plant it, or distribute it. (2) Transport or transfer it. (3) Introduce a species of it. C. All persons or business entities who are found noncompliant with sections A and B above will be subject to a fine or fines. When the DNR saw how serious we were about making a rule, it renewed their interest in a rule that they were working on! The Natural Resources Commission voted to include our rule within the DNR rule. It has been revised and now includes 42 invasive plant species. We were waiting on Mike Pence to sign it when he was the governor. We are now waiting on Governor Eric Holcomb to sign this important rule. The Orchard School Woods - Our MISSION

We want our school woods to be as diverse as possible with native Indiana plants.

There are other invasive plants and animals in Indiana, like kudzu, garlic mustard, burning bush, and honeysuckle. We want to get rid of those as soon as possible, too.

If we get wintercreeper outlawed in Indiana, when we finally get it removed from the Orchard Woods, we will try to make sure that it doesn't come back. WHAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED *STARTED OUR OWN CLUB - BECAME THE LARGEST SCHOOL CLUB! *PROPOSED OUR OWN WINTERCREEPER RULE WITH THE NRC

*MADE A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO *CREATED FIRST YOUTH ENVIRONMENTAL CIVICS SUMMIT

*SPOKE AT A NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION MEETING *SET UP A DISPLAY AT THE INDPLS. CENTRAL PUBLIC LIBRARY

*MADE A FUNDRAISER, RAISING OVER $2000 TO HIRE ECO LOGIC *WON FIRST PRIZE AT THE INDIANA STATE MUSEUM ECO-SCIENCE FAIR!

*STARTED A STUDENT BUSINESS SELLING OUR HERBICIDE *WROTE AND PRODUCED WINTERCREEPER: THE MUSICAL and WE MADE A MUSICAL!

WINTERCREEPER: The Musical Students as Playwrights

● We wrote the Wintercreeper play to entertain kids, learn about plants and tell adults that wintercreeper is not a good species to have around

● We worked together on Google Docs for months to: ○ Shape the project ○ Write dialogue ○ Compose song lyrics ○ Then worked side-by-side with Mr. Mylin and Mrs. Underwood to edit and revise the play line-by-line

● We learned about how ideas become laws as well as learning about wintercreeper and native plants Learning Across the Curriculum

● ● Writing ● Botany ● Law ● Chemistry ● Art ● Environmental ● Drama Science ○ Staging ● ○ Costuming ● Research ○ Directing ● Experimentation ○ Lighting ● Scientific Process ○ Sound Design ○ Prop Design ○ Play Production ALL KINDS OF PLANTS and MUSIC MOREL meets OPERA

“I learned a little about how

hard it is to sing opera and

how much harder it is to actually

hunt and find a morel.” --Dylan ALL KINDS OF PLANTS and MUSIC WILD GINGER sings in 20’s STYLE

“ On stage, Wild Ginger is a peppy plant that is

always energetic with a bit of an attitude.” --Amelia ALL KINDS OF PLANTS and MUSIC WILD GINGER

“Every time I go in the woods I keep an eye out for wild ginger, but I’ve never found any.”

“Wintercreeper is crowding out and killing native species like wild ginger.” --Amelia

● Heart shaped leaves

● Three leaved violet flower

● It smells good but is NOT A SPICE, like commercial ginger root ALL KINDS OF PLANTS and MUSIC JACK IN THE PULPIT meets ELVIS

“The plant typically grows 30–65 centimetres (12–26 in) in height with three-parted leaves and flowers.

If the plant is properly dried or cooked it can be eaten as a root vegetable. A preparation of the root was reportedly used by Native Americans as a treatment for sore eyes. Preparations were also made to treat rheumatism, bronchitis, and snakebites.” (Wikipedia) ALL KINDS OF PLANTS and MUSIC

Introducing: Euonymus Fortunei

Wintercreeper meets friends in the

Orchard woods, then begins a haunting

change and covers the other plants.

● Melodic Ballad then Hauntingly Dramatic TWO SHOWS, SUCCESS and FUN

Matinee and Evening Shows

The 40 minute play took nearly seven months to write and stage. The production involved more than 20 students, a STEM teacher, a teacher/actor/director and a teacher/composer/playwright along with older student-volunteers and parents. Questions? *PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE DANGERS OF INVASIVE SPECIES! *YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY! THANK YOU :) THANK YOU FOR COMING Join us in a musical exit:

For more information, contact: Nate Mylin [email protected]