Jumping worms are aggressive invaders of horticultural and forest ecosystems. Their effect extends from changing the soil ecosystem to some ecosystem services, and they are now present in Craftsbury and surrounding towns. While the larger ecosystem of the Northern Forest is at risk, controlling their spread meets with challenges.  

Dr. Josef Gorres will give a talk on jumping worms at the Craftsbury Public Library on Sunday, February 15 at 4pm.  This talk gives a brief introduction into the biology of these earthworms, their effects on the environment and the state of research aiming to manage the invasion.

Josef is a Professor of Ecological Soil Management at UVM. He has a BSc in physics, a PhD in paper engineering and an MS in Natural Resources. He has been teaching soil science at UVM for the past 18 years. His research encompasses soil erosion, soil health, invasive earthworms and restoration of riparian buffers. He has been studying jumping worms for the past 16 years and cofounded the Healthy Soil Collaborative (https://www.healthysoilcollaborative.org/)  an organization dedicated to advancing research into managing jumping worm invasions.

For more information contact the Craftsbury Library at director@craftsburypubliclibrary.org.