2022 Spring Meeting
Saturday, April 16, 9:30 am – 1 pm
Middlesex County Extension Center
1066 Saybrook Rd., Haddam, CT 06438
Dr. Annise Dobson (Yale School of the Environment) will present a lecture on invasive jumping
earthworm management for forest and soil fauna conservation.
“My research is motivated by forest conservation for all, particularly in urban and managed forests. I am interested in the role of soil fauna in community and nutrient dynamics of these ecosystems. My current focus is characterizing and mitigating the invasion of Megascolecid earthworms in North America, identifying their impacts on plant communities and mutualists, and understanding how human activities or landscape features facilitate or prevent invasion. I am looking for adaptive responses of native and invasive plants to these drivers, including plant chemistry, architecture and reproductive strategies. I study how these stressors determine plant community composition, and how the traits of plants in these novel ecosystems influence biogeochemistry. I hope to develop innovative ecological solutions and management guidelines to mitigate jumping worm spread and impacts.”
Meeting Schedule
9:30 AM – Light refreshments and book sale (outdoors, weather permitting*)
10:30 AM – Business meeting (indoors – masks required)
11:00 AM – Guest lecture (indoors – masks required)
Noon – Potluck lunch (outdoors, weather permitting*)
*Refreshments, book sale, and potluck will move indoors in case of rain.
What to bring: Please consider bringing your own reusable dish, mug, and utensils to cut down on
waste. Masks required indoors except while eating. Book sale: cash/checks only.
Directions: From the north: Route 9 south, to exit 10 (Aircraft Rd.) and go right at the light onto
Saybrook Rd. (route 154 south). The Extension Center is 5.7 miles ahead on the left, just after the Post
Office. From the south: Route 9 north to exit 7 and continue on route 82, then turn left on Saybrook Rd
(154). The Extension Center is 3 miles up, on the right (blue sign).