Live plants and animals are valuable teaching tools! However they can also become invasive species if they escape from the classroom. Take good care of classroom plants and animals AND become stewards of your local environment and community. Here are some simple things you can do:

• Never release live plants or animals!

• Learn about invasive species (build scientific skills to meet standards).

• Volunteer to remove or prevent invaders (build stewardship and community connections).

More information

• Check out the latest tools:

  • Marine Aquarium Biodiversity and Trade website.

  • Aquarium and Pond Plants of the World website.
     

• "Don't Let It Loose" Poster 
   

• Classroom Pet Adoption Pledge Form
   

• Oregon Public Broadcasting Video on Crayfish in the Classroom 
   

• Education Toolkit on Aquatic Invasive Species 
   

• FOSS/Delta Policy Statement on Living Organisms in the Classroom  
   

• Information about invasive species from Canada
   

• Ways you can prevent invasions
   

• The Urban Tides Community Science Initiative
   

• The aquarium trade as an invasion pathway in the Pacific Northwest (Strecker et al. 2011)