BURLINGTON — The week of May 18-25 has been designated as National Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week, a nationwide effort to raise public awareness of an invasive forest pest that has destroyed millions of acres of ash forests in the U.S. University of Vermont (UVM) Extension, in collaboration with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, encourages Vermonters to get involved by planning a community activity, organizing a neighborhood ash tree tagging event or posting on social media or Front Porch Forum during the month of May.
An online Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week Toolkit (go.uvm.edu/eab-toolkit) has been created to help inspire action and ideas. It contains videos, posters, sample social media posts and other tools; teacher resources; and information on the emerald ash borer, ash tree identification and how to plan a community presentation or conduct a neighborhood tree tagging event.
During National Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week many community libraries will post informational posters on how to identify ash trees and detect and report findings of trees suspected to be infested with the emerald ash borer. This invasive wood-boring Asian beetle, first found in northern Orange County in 2018, has now been confirmed in four Vermont counties.
Young Writers Project (youngwritersproject.org) will announce the winners of an emerald ash borer writing challenge cosponsored with the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program. The three winners will be invited to read their winning poem or prose at the annual Vermont Arbor Day Conference, May 2, at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier. In addition, a number of events are scheduled throughout May. 
For details and to learn about other planned activities, visit vtinvasives.org/news-events/events. Events include an informational talk on Thursday, May 23, at the Ferrisburgh Town Hall from 7-9 p.m., hosted by the Ferrisburgh Conservation Commission.
For questions, or if planning an event or other activity, contact Ginger Nickerson, UVM Extension forest pest educator, at [email protected].