Volunteers spend little time prior to going onsite to learn and can cause them to turn away from helping out. However, training is necessary for proper identification, removal, and disposal. Not knowing the correct way to handle this invasive plant leads to worse outcomes than not doing anything at all.

This module focuses on how volunteers should approach their task and why it’s so important they do it this way. It is designed to follow the same sequential steps volunteers take in the field in order to safely remove Japanese knotweed, starting with identifying the plant and ending with proper disposal.

The risk of volunteer drop-off due to extensive training is an obstacle that can be circumvented by keeping the module short and focused. While there is a tradeoff, the benefits of some training far outweigh the risks of accidentally propagating the weed.

To measure the impact of this module, I can identify content issues early by measuring users’ reaction with a post-module confidence rating for overall readiness and an open ended question on what felt unclear to identify specific content issues.

For longer term success, data should be gathered on each volunteer’s first session. First time volunteers pair up with others who have more experience, who can record the percentage of plants misidentified out of all plants identified and tagged as Japanese knotweed, and compliance with disposal guidelines.

Build seasonal variants to account for different physical characteristics.

Analyze metrics to determine whether training measurably impacts successful removal of Japanese knotweed and continue iterating on the module.

Create a short field guide with the four step procedure as a checklist to help volunteers remember their training.