Letter to the Editor, January 30, 2015

Below is an excerpt from a Letter to the Editor I wrote, published in The Lakeland Ledger at the end of January. Because it is posted in its entirety on The Ledger's website, I won't report the entire letter here. If you're interested, please click on the title to be taken to the Ledger's publication of this Letter. 

A Solution to Air Potatoes
Published: Friday, January 30, 2015 at 12:01 a.m.
For those of you not familiar, air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) is an exotic invasive vine with large, heart-shaped, shiny leaves. It quickly grows into and over trees, shrubs, fences and anything left in your backyard too long...To reduce the population of air potato in your yard or neighborhood park, collect the potatoes and throw them away. They should not be put in compost piles or vegetation piles to be mulched or left in the garage. They are aggressive growers and will sprout and grow even in a dark room without water or soil. Trust me on that one. 

To read the rest of the article, which includes information on residential air potato control, please click here. 

If you are an educator looking for a new way to enhance your outreach efforts, consider submitting a Letter to the Editor to your local paper. The opinion section, often filled with anger, could use some uplifting information to engage the community! Letters to the Editor may be a great avenue for Extension faculty to engage a new audience in their program areas. 

If this post has inspired you to write a letter to the editor, about natural resources or otherwise, let me know in the comments. I would love to read your letter! 

Carnevale, S. “A Solution to Air Potatoes” The Lakeland Ledger 30 Jan. 2015: A12. Print.