Invasive Species Spotters

The Severn Sound watershed area supports a diverse range of ecosystems including:
Great Lakes coastal dunes and shorelines, provincially significant wetlands, inland lakes, forests, agricultural, rural and urban or semi-urban landscapes.

Unfortunately, most habitat types within the watershed area are vulnerable to colonization by invasive species. With over 70 different invasive species detected in the Severn Sound area, these species pose a significant threat to our ecosystems, economy and community. Refer to SSEA’s Invasive Species Page for more information on invasive species.

The first step to managing invasive species is to detect and identify them.

Participants in the Invasive Species Spotters program will identify and monitor invasive species on and around their property and report the information to SSEA. Through this project, we hope to have volunteer support on identifying threats to Severn Sound’s communities and biodiversity. The data collected in this project will help to guide surveillance programs, prevention initiatives and management projects on publicly-owned property.

There are two ways that YOU can get involved:

1. iNaturalist: an online platform that allows users across the world to submit observations of species in the wild. The iNaturalist Community helps citizen scientists to identify species that they observe by reviewing photos and location data.
Observations can be submitted to the SSEA Invasive Species Spotters project.

2. Aquatic Invasive Species:

• Completing rake tosses and report presence/absence

• Equipment is provided by SSEA

• Training provided (virtual or in-person)

• Monitoring occurs from June to September

If you would like to learn more or are interested in participating, contact our at Citizen Science Program Coordinator.