Purple Loosestrife curriculum
The Biological Control of Purple Loosestrife curriculum was developed for informal educational settings.
Download: Youth manual, Educator/ Facilitator manual
Print copies of the youth guide are still available. Contact Natalie Carroll (ncarroll@purdue.edu) for more information.
The youth manual includes the following activities:
- - Introduction to wetlands
- - Aliens among us
- - Annual wetland plant diversity survey
- - Is purple loosestrife a problem in our county?
- - Biological control of purple loosestrife
- - Biological control agent: host-plant specificity
- - Purple loosestrife & galerucella beetle rearing
- - Observations & life cycles
- - Galerucella beetle release
- -Evaluating the impact of galerucella on purple loosestrife
Educational Standards
The leaders guide (4-H 918) has answers to the youth manual activities (above) and the following, additional topics:
- Overview of the purple loosestrife project
- Experiential learning
- Frequently asked questions
- Meeting the standards
- Finding a wetland
- Timeline for student activities
- Appendices:
- -Removing Purple Loosestrife by Hand
- -Purple Loosestrife Control Options
- -Natural Enemies to Control Purple Loosestrife
- -Raising Galerucella Beetles Indoors
- -Outdoor Rearing of Galerucella Beetles
- -Life History and Ecology of G. calmariensis and G. pusilla
- -Life History and Ecology of Hylobius transversovittatus
- -Site Selection Guidelines for Release of Galerucella Beetles
- -Wetlands: Habitats in Peril
- -Alternative Lesson Plan
Additional resource: Galerucella life cycle (in a wetland habitat)
Youth Natural Resource programs home page