Invasive plant program expands statewide

The Traverse City-based Go Beyond Beauty program has received funding through two projects from the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program to tackle such plants as Japanese Barberry, baby’s breath and blue lyme grass that are spread by people putting them in gardens.

Ohio tries to prevent foodborne Illnesses

Nearly a quarter of foodborne illnesses in the United States are cause by fresh produce, according to Ohio State University researchers. Research shows that leafy greens and sprouts cause the most illnesses, said Sarah Klein, senior attorney in Food Safety Program at the Center of Science and Public Interest in Washington D.C. Leafy greens and sprouts cause the most illnesses. She explained that leafy greens are grown in soil where manure can be used and it is fertilized with irrigation water. Sprouts can carry bacteria in their seed. Sprouts are normally grown in warm and moist conditions that cause the bacteria to grow.

Photo Friday: Pitcher’s thistle

Here’s a reminder of Great Lakes beaches in warmer times. This plant is the federally and state-protected Pitcher’s thistle, which is also known as a dune thistle. The photo was taken last summer by habitat restoration specialist Terry Heatlie at Bois Blanc Island in north Lake Huron between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The Pitcher’s thistle is native exclusively to the Great Lakes region, according to the National Fish and Wildlife Service. It was added to the government’s list of threatened species back in 1988.