A common topic when discussing habitat health is invasive and non-native species. Many of us know some species that we would refer to as invasive or non-native. Many of us have also been told how to think about or manage those species. However, rarely do we discuss what makes a plant invasive or non-native, if that criteria changed, what the data is currently showing about their presence, if management practices adjusted with more data, and how climate change is impacting our view of invasive and non-native plants. These are just a few of the questions we should be asking. This lecture will discuss what classifies a plant as invasive or non-native and introduce some of those questions about a subject that touches all of our lives. 

Mark Richardson has been the Director of Horticulture for Tower Hill Botanic Garden since 2018. He previously served as Botanic Garden Director for New England Wild Flower Society, where he oversaw Garden in the Woods and Nasami Farm native plant nursery. He has a passion for ecological horticulture and native plants and is co-author of Native Plants for New England Gardens (Globe Pequot, 2018).