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Activity & Colouring BookAges 6-12

INVASIVE SPECIES ON OUR LANDSCAPES

Welcome to Invasive Species on our Landscapes! This resource contains activities that will help you learn about invasive species, particularly those that impact our landscapes, and highlight ways you can help prevent their spread, including the Play Clean Go steps.

Here are some definitions for you:

Native Species: A species that naturally occurs in an area. A native plant, for example, is a plant that has lived and evolved in a certain place for a long time (i.e. thousands of years) and is part of the natural ecosystem.

Non-Native but Non-Invasive Species: Not all introduced species are invasive – many ornamental plants such as roses and tulips won’t survive outside of gardens. Other introduced species, such as tomatoes and wheat, are beneficial food resources.

Invasive Species: Invasive species are non-native species that cause economic or environmental harm and can spread rapidly to new areas.

Invasive Species Characteristics:There are four main distinguishing features of invasive species:

• they produce many seeds,

• their seeds spread easily and effectively,

• they quickly establish and spread on open ground,

• they lack natural predators and diseases that keep them under control in their native locations.

We hope you enjoy learning about invasive species on our landscapes!

Match the Invader!Draw a line to connect the invasive plant to the correct image based on each species’ description.

Garlic MustardAn invasive plant from Europe with small white flowers and leaves that smell like garlic and mustard when crushed in your hand. One plant can produce 1000’s of tiny black seeds that can get stuck in mud on the bottom of your shoes and spread to new areas!

BurdockThis invasive plant has large leaves close to the ground and can grow tall stems with purple flowers. The flowers turn into seed-containing burrs that easily stick to clothes and animal fur, which transport the seeds to new areas.

Canada ThistleThis invader has a long stem with purple flowers that can produce over 1000 seeds. The seeds have feathery tufts that help them to glide to new locations and onto your clothes, gear and pets!

Himalayan BalsamThis invasive plant grows up to 3 metres tall with pink flowers that produce nearly 800 seedpods. When the pods are ripe, they explode and fling their seeds up to 7 metres away from the plant!

Common TansyThis plant can grow about 1 metre tall and has fern-like leaves and yellow flowers that resemble buttons. This plant can produce up to 50 000 seeds in one season that can be spread by pets, and on gear and vehicles.

A1

B2

C3

D4

E

5

Answers: 1. Garlic Mustard (B), 2. Burdock (D), 3. Canada Thistle (E), 4. Himalayan Balsam (A), 5. Common Tansy (C)

Play Clean Go Mix Up!Invasive plant parts and seeds can spread to new areas when they stick to clothing, gear and pets. Stop the spread with these steps:

1. Start your adventure!

1. Play: Enjoy your time outdoors!

2. Clean: Before leaving, wipe off your clothes, shoes, vehicles, gear and pets of plant parts and mud.

3. Go: Head home or to your next adventure with clean gear!

InstructionsLabel the 4 scenes below in the correct order (1, 2, 3, 4) to keep our natural areas healthy and free of invaders when we enjoy the outdoors!

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Wipe your feet!UH OH! The mud on the bottom of your shoes has collected all sorts of invasive species, including seeds and critters. Get to the boot brush so you can clean off your gear and keep invasive species out of the next place you adventure to!

Invader Identifier Find the 25 words hidden in the word search below!

Word List:

BackpackBikingBurdockCampingClothes

FurHiking HoovesInsectsInvasive

MudPlantsSeeds Shoes Tires

TrailPlayClean GoCanada Thistle

Common TansyDog strangling vineGarlic MustardHimalayan BalsamOutdoor Gear

L U S P C S B U Y C S H E C T I W S S P

B I U E E O F U A F W Z L V N T H H T Q

E A A V H O M M R X U E Z S I T I O N R

N N O R B T P M X D A X E B U S M E A U

N O T H T I O N O N O C O G N T A S L F

H Q W A N Z K L G N T C B C I S L V P O

B K Y G A M U D C S T V K F C M A D N W

H A Q I P S V H C P A A P L A U Y R I I

V M C V M L R Y R H R M N V M K A A N K

O A S K I U A R T M W Z W S R T N T U W

P D Q C P T Q Q A Q B H Y S Y W B S T H

G Y B Q Y A B M Q F S S L I E I A U W I

K A G Z D T C T K Y D D A W V F L M H K

K Y M Z Z B I K I E T X K P Z R S C P I

O U T D O O R G E A R Z O E B E A I L N

Y X W I M T Y S X M U A H P Z B M L A G

E N I V G N I L G N A R T S G O D R Y O

J L A R R J V D S E R I T G C V E A G N

D C A N A D A T H I S T L E R L F G K Z

K P G S G N I K I B E R L A I J X S V K

Spot the Invader! Invasive plants and their seeds can be hard to spot in nature – spot the ones hidden in this picture!

5 Canada Thistles

6 Himalayan Balsam Plants

4 Garlic Mustard

4 Burdock Burrs

4 Common Tansy Plants

Bonus Find!3 boot

brushes

On your next adventure, report invasive species at ReportCanadaInvasives.ca

Thanks for protecting our landscapes! Learn more & take the pledge at PlayCleanGo.ca

This book was developed by the Canadian Council on Invasive Species (CCIS) and the Invasive Species Council of BC, a CCIS

Chapter, in Fall of 2021. This project was supported by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

The CCIS is the national voice working to protect Canada from the impacts of invasive species. Join our network at

www.canadainvasvies.ca and report invasive species at www.ReportCanadaInvasives.ca