KY FY25 Invasive Pest Outreach 5.0389.01

We will use three strategies to engage and educate the public about signs and symptoms of invasive pests, pathways of movement, and ongoing survey and eradication efforts statewide and nationwide. First, we will continue and expand the citizen scientist program that we started in FY22 using PPA funding. We trained citizens to deploy spongy moth traps and, in FY22, the program was a great success with citizens setting and monitoring 286 traps. Eleven of those traps captured a total of 13 spongy moths! These individuals learned about invasive pests more broadly in a training session and then got hands-on experience with the spongy moth detection survey. Their participation in citizen science fosters interest and enthusiasm and will inspire them to share their experience and knowledge with others. In FY23, we expanded the program and citizen scientists set over 500 spongy moth traps with 3 spongy moths captured. The FY24 season is underway with citizen scientists planning to set ~600 traps. This program has become even more important in 2024 with Kentucky’s Spongy Moth Detection Survey budget being reduced by 35% Second, we will educate specific groups such as county extension agents, Master Gardeners, and 4-H groups about invasive pests that threaten Kentucky, pathways by which they move, detection and eradication techniques, and our citizen scientist program. In FY23, we began creating an invasive pest module for an online learning platform that these groups can use for continuing education credits, etc. The module went live in 2024 and we will continue to update it with new information. Third, we will educate the general public about invasive pests through in-person events and via our website www.UnluckyForKentucky.com. We will have booths and give talks at outreach events throughout the year and across the state. Our booths will have informational pamphlets, promotional items, pinned specimens, and examples of pest damage. We will keep track of numbers of booth visitors/talk attendees and numbers of events attended. These three strategies will increase the knowledge of the public and the likelihood that they will look for and report invasive pests.