Horticulture Invasive Species: What’s Changing with Climate Change Event
Thank you so much to everyone who attended our invasive species event on February 5th, 2026, at the Super 8 in Windsor! You were such an engaged audience and sparked great discussions about the future of invasive species in horticulture with climate change. Special thanks to Hughstin Grimshaw-Surette with Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council for presenting on current and emerging invasive species and for leading a fun iNaturalist scavenger hunt! Another thanks to Dr. Arti Singh who joined us virtually to talk about AI in pest management.
Please see below for speaker presentation slides and their bios.
Speaker Bios:
Hughstin Grimshaw-Surette, Terrestrial Project Lead, Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council (NSISC)
Hughstin Grimshaw-Surette is the Terrestrial Project Lead with the Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council. He holds a B.Sc. in Environmental Science and an M.Sc. in Applied Science from Saint Mary’s University. As the Terrestrial Project Lead for the NSISC, he is involved with invasive plant and insect surveys, invasive plant management, and outreach activities. He is passionate about working with communities to engage in discussions about invasive species and how we can protect native biodiversity.
Email: hughstin@invasivescanada.ca Website: Homepage – NS Invasive Species Council
Dr. Arti Singh, Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University
Dr. Arti Singh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University with more than 15 years of plant breeding experience. After obtaining her PhD from G.B. Pant University in India, she worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Saskatchewan and then at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada before joining Iowa State University.
She has authored two textbooks ‘Disease and Insect Resistance in Plants’ and “Plant Breeding and Cultivar Development.” She has published peer-reviewed research articles in reputed and high-impact journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS), PNAS-nexus, and Trends in Plant Science. She has been awarded competitive grants by the National Science Foundation, DARPA- Department of Defense, USDA-NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Food and Agriculture Cyberinformatics and Tools (FACT), National Science Foundation, Iowa Soybean Association, IA Soybean Research Center, and United Soybean Board.
She leads a green (Vigna radiata), black gram (Vigna mungo), and Field Peas breeding program focused on developing new varieties for plant-based protein markets. Her research projects are geared toward harnessing genetic diversity for genetic gain and conducting genetic/genomic studies on abiotic and biotic stress resistance and developing cultivars in three crops. She also works with a team of Plant scientists, engineers, computer scientists, and extension scientists to bring AI applications in agriculture, particularly for plant stresses.
Email: arti@iastate.edu Website: Singh, Arti – Department of Agronomy
Other Resources:
NSISC Homepage: NSISC
NSISC Invasive Species Guide: Invasives Guide
NSISC Common Reed Nova Scotia Sightings Map: Map
NSISC Japanese Knotweed Nova Scotia Sightings Map: Map
Invasives Canada website: Home | Invasives Canada
Pest ID Application: Pest ID