Dirty Gaia & Library of Local present a Climate Solutions Week event at Morton Library in Rhinecliff:

Erik Kiviat, executive director of Hudsonia, Ltd. and an expert on invasive plant species (among many other eco topics), will present Invasives, the Cons and the Pros.

Erik, who has been studying invasives for decades and observing their evolving relationships with the plants and wildlife that surround them, will give tips on how and when to manage the likes of phragmites (those cattail imposters with the feathery tops), purple loostrife (pictured here), which runs rampant in wet areas, water chestnuts, and Japanese knotweed. The latter has become a favored nesting site for songbirds, so if you want to give it the heave-ho, wait til fall. Erik will suggest ways to optimize the balance of pros and cons where the invasives in your life are concerned.

The event is free and open to the public.