In partnership with Planet New Canaan and New Canaan Land Trust, New Canaan Library is pleased to welcome Scott Williams, PhD, whose expertise in wildlife biology makes him the ideal person to speak about the many aspects of our environment that foster an overabundance of “deer” ticks.
The talk will be held in the Adrian Lamb Room on Wednesday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. Please register online at newcanaanlibrary.org.
Japanese barberry is a non-native invasive shrub that became established on much of New England land in the early 1900s, and has since invaded the forests in which we live. Barberry stifles native tree and wildflower regeneration and can alter soil chemistry. Ten years of research has revealed a positive association between Japanese barberry infestations and blacklegged (aka “deer”) ticks and the causal agent of Lyme disease they are infected with. Japanese barberry is a scourge on the landscape and is detrimental to the health of Connecticut’s forest and citizenry alike. Dr. Williams will discuss the ways in which we can reduce the prevalence of blacklegged (“deer”) ticks and associated disease in our own backyards in Fairfield County.