Project:

Plant Invaders: a survey of invasive species in public green areas around NYC

Students:

Izzy Koo, Ingrid Astley, Antonia Gialamas

School:

Friends Seminary, Manhattan

Mentors:

Hassan Wilson

Abstract:

With the rise of attention on climate injustice in the political arena, the Earth is under the spotlight most days. However, the topics of interest tend to highlight the larger, trendier concerns like global warming and beach cleanups. A large population of those who take environmental action overlook the smaller issues; however, terrestrial invasive species are actually one of the largest threats to NYC’s biodiversity, wreaking havoc on plant and animal life, contributing to habitat degradation, and affecting human health. The purpose of this proposal is to see whether or not artificial green spaces are doing more harm than good for the larger ecosystem of NYC based on how much harm is being done to the green spaces by any invasive species. We will use DNA barcoding to identify plant species in unkempt and kempt green spaces throughout NYC and determine whether they are invasive or native to New York.

Poster:

Team samples: