Weed Wrangle© Week Activities with Central Florida CISMA

What is Weed Wrangle© Week?

Weed Wrangle© Week is an annual event aimed at bringing together local volunteers to rescue our public parks and green spaces from invasive species. During this week, volunteers typically will gather for hands-on removal of especially harmful invasive plant species. This year, we are keeping up the hard work with a Stay-at-Home Weed Wrangle©!

The Central Florida Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CF CISMA) along with the UF/IFAS Extension in Seminole County is calling for your help! All month long, we are encouraging volunteers to help remove invasive weed species from our local Central Florida area. From February 22^nd– 28^th, 2021, we will also be sharing exciting educational content all about invasive weeds, how to identify common invasive plants, and more! Better yet, by participating, you might be able to get some FREE stuff.

How can I participate?

Get outside and enjoy the fresh air while removing some invasives plant species from Central Florida! You can get involved by participating in our virtual events and activities locally with CF CISMA and statewide through the Joint FISP/FL CISMAs Invasive Species Action Event.

Disposal of coral ardesia — Weed wrangle efforts collecting coral ardesia; Photo: Tina McIntyre

Like us on Facebook! This will make sure you see all the exciting content we are sharing during Weed Wrangle©
- Central Florida CISMA
- UF/IFAS Extension Seminole County

Post pictures of your efforts! Show off your invasive weed removal skills and encourage others to help protect our local communities from invasive species. Use the hashtags #CFCISMA and #WeedWrangleWeek to be a part of the conversation.
For CF CISMA (Seminole and Orange counties), fill out this quick survey and upload your photo for the chance to score some free stuff! The survey will close on February 28^th, 2021 at 11:59PM.

Not sure what is considered an invasive weed? Check out this blog to learn more about the basics of invasive species. Then, take a look at our CF CISMA Early Detection/Rapid Response List and the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s 2019 List of Invasive Plant Species List to find specific invasive weeds we are concerned about in Florida.

For more information about the statewide events, check out the FISP website.

How can I score some FREE stuff?

We want you to tune in to our Weed Wrangle© Week! Six Weed Wrangle© Week survey participants from CF CISMA will be randomly selected to receive some free swag as incentives to participate. One random survey participant will get a larges swag bag filled with awesome books like a Pollinator Friendly Gardening book and a Backyard Woofs and Wildlife book, cool laminated ID decks like the Helpful, Harmful, Harmless deck, gardening gear and more! Five other random participants from the survey will get a smaller swag bag with a Weeds of Southern Turf Grass book, a Koozie and more. Randomly selected participants will be contacted after March 1^st via the contact information provided in the survey.

Photo of smaller swag bag with several educational books/booklets, a coozie and more. — Smaller swag bag

To have a chance to score free stuff, you must be a resident of Seminole or Orange County (aka CF CISMA) and fill out the survey. If you are not a resident of either county, check out this statewide Weed Wrangle© event for more ways to get involved and other local events.