What are Phragmites and why do I need to be educated about them?
If you attended the Millstone Township Committee meeting on Wednesday, March 1, you would have received an exemplary education from 19 eloquent and passionate Elementary School students ranging in age from eight to 11 years old (grades 3 to 5) who are part of the “Phearless Phragmites Phighters” team.
Several students took turns educating Township officials and residents on their supreme efforts to learn about and combat the invasive Phragmites plants found in Millstone.
Source: Zarna Desai
“We have been working to solve this problem of invasive Phragmites in Millstone,” said Rachel Glantzberg. “One of the things we have been doing is informing scout groups – 254 in total – about this invasive species. Phragmites are a problem because they are extremely flammable, they decrease property values and plenty more. The rhizomes, or the invasive seeds or roots of Phragmites, are extremely hard to dig out.”
Rachel continued, “We also have been working with the Environmental Commission and, with them, we are hoping to eradicate our target patch across from the First Aid station.”
The Phearless Phragmites Phighters are part of the Millstone Elementary School Community Problem Solvers team. They are competing in the Future Problem Solving State Bowl on Saturday, March 11th.
From left: Millstone Township Committeeman Gary Dorfman, Gabrialla Menar-Nohilly, Ryan Bailey, Rachel Glantzberg, Tia Bajaj, Gianna Iannoccone (face partially hidden) Source: Jerry Topinka
Students on the Phearless Phragmites Phighter team attended the Township Committee meeting to share their expertise and provide the Millstone Department of Public Works (DPW) with “Invase-Away kits” to assist the DPW in not accidentally spreading Phragmites.
“This is a box of five Invase-Away Kits for the road cleaners and workers,” said Prisha Kupsad. “You might be wondering what is an Invase-Away Kit?”
“The Invase-Away Kit is a kit that our group made that helps stop spreading Phragmites seeds. We have a toothbrush to scrub the dirt off your shoes, a magnifying glass to take a closer look, a dust pan to brush it all off, tweezers to pick up the burrs and we also have a lint roller for rolling the Phragmites seeds off you clothes. These tools will help stop spreading Phragmites because you don’t want to get the Phragmites seeds on your clothes and walk around and drop them all and start a whole new colony!” Tia Bajaj said.
“We thought it would be a good idea because these workers often work around the Phragmites patches and we don’t want to accidentally make this a bigger problem,” Prisha Kupsad said.
Last December, the Phearless Phragmites Phighters created a survey which received over 60 responses from Millstone residents. Click on the link below to view The Source article highlighting this effort.
A Problem Plant – Complete a Survey for the Elementary School Community Problem Solvers Club
“The information collected in this survey enabled the students to pinpoint Phragmites patches in Millstone by location and size,” said Mrs. Beth Topinka, co-advisor to the Phearless Phragmites Phighters.
“Mr. Nicholas DellaRosa volunteered three afternoons of his time to teach the students GIS mapping (Geographical Information Systems) so they could map their data on their team’s “Phragmites Sightings” Google Map. The students interviewed Phragmites experts using Skype, researched online, examined plant specimens in our STEAM lab, and presented their findings and maps to the Millstone Township Environmental Commission at their January meeting. The Environmental Commission and the Millstone Township Committee agreed to collaborate with the Phearless Phragmites Phighters on addressing a key area of concern – the Phragmites patch across from the Millstone Township First Aid Station. On January 30th, Mr. Eric Davis, chairman of the Environmental Commission, attended the students’ after-school meeting to hear a presentation by Mr. Ken Thoman, Professional Wetland Specialist with the Monmouth County Park System, to learn about Phragmites management strategies.”
“The students are quite proud of establishing a collaboration between their team, the township, and the county park system,” Mrs. Topinka said. “In addition to working with the Township, the students created Invase-Away kits and presented information about invasive Phragmites to scout leaders and packs/troops, along with enough kits for every Cub, Boy, and Girl Scout group in Millstone!”
Mrs. Topinka explained that the students brainstormed the idea themselves and had discussed many other problems such as deer, chipmunks, bear, and recycling but chose Phragmites.
“They had a lot of great ideas but, when they voted, they picked Phragmites. They wanted to tackle that problem,” she said.
“It’s been an amazing journey. They learned a lot. They learned how challenging this could be and they are extremely grateful for the Environmental Commissions participation and glad to be working together and collaborating.”
Township officials were happy to have these passionate students in attendance and asked them many questions.
L to R: Mayor Mike Kuczinski, Deputy Mayor Fiore Masci, Committeewoman Nancy Grbelja Source: Jerry Topinka
Committeewoman Nancy Grbelja, a former teacher said, “It was really great to do projects with youngsters because this is where our future scientists of the world come from.”
When Committeewoman Grbelja asked if any of the students had been sparked to pursue the area of science when they grow up, several hands went up.
“Do you know of any other invasive species that we have in Millstone?”
Students quickly answered “bamboo,” a plant that Committeewoman Grbelja mentioned was investigated by the Environmental Commission several years ago.
“A number of years ago, the Environmental Commission looked at some of the bamboo patches. They can be so dense that deer can’t even get through.”
“It’s wonderful what you have done. When you see our (DPW) guys on the side of the road with your dustpans, tweezers and all of the stuff that you provided to them, they will certainly appreciate that they are not helping to spread something that can be harmful to the environment,” Committeewoman Grbelja said.
Mayor Mike Kuczinski asked how the students learned about invasive species.
Raffery Burden said they consulted experts such as Dr. Louise Wootton, Chair of the Biology Department at Georgian Court University.
Mayor Kuczinski nodded said, “I learned something today — that’s for sure!”
Several students brought Phragmites to show to the Township Committee members.
Source: Deputy Mayor Fiore Masci
Mrs. Topinka noted that once you see them, you will start to notice them everywhere. “The students were especially concerned about the patch by the First Aid station.”
L to R; Joshua Sullivan, Jai Patel, Gavin Normand, Charlie Duffy Source: Jerry Topinka
Tia Bajaj shared a story about the Phearless Phragmites Phighters experience last weekend when she and Prisha Kupsad invited the group to their neighbor’s home to actually experience digging Phragmites.
“Last Saturday, we went and actually dug up the rhizomes of Phragmites and we saw how they can grow very deep — like three to four feet down,” Tia said. “It was very hard to get the rhizomes out!”
L to R: Rachel Glantzberg, Tia Bajaj, Prisha Kupsad.
Phearless Phragmites Phighter Team:
Millstone Elementary Community Problem Solvers Students:
Ethan Bailey Ryan Bailey Tia Bajaj
Rafferty Burden Anna DePinho Brendan DeRose
Mahi Desai Charlie Duffy Rachel Glantzberg
Evangeline Huey Gianna Iannaccone Prisha Kupsad
Thomas Maltese Gabriella Menar-Nohilly Gavin Normand
Jai Patel Dylan Quinn Francesca Scibilia
Joshua Sullivan
Co-Advisors: Beth Topinka and Jennifer Modula
Assistant: Galina Gordon
Founded in 1974 by creativity pioneer, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI) stimulates critical and creative thinking skills, encourages students to develop a vision for the future, and prepares students for leadership roles. FPSPI engages students in creative problem solving within the curriculum and provides competitive opportunities. Future Problem Solving Program International involves thousands of students annually from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.
FPSPI Mission: To develop the ability of young people globally to design and promote positive futures through problem solving using critical and creative thinking.