©2025 Kaleigh Farrell
Please do not use image without permission from the artist.
14″ x 11″
Colored pencil
In Collaboration with Chris Hamerla, Regional Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator, Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.
Purple loosestrife is a beautiful flower that doesn’t belong in Wisconsin. The plant crowds out native species, causing muskrats to move out of the area. This affects the entire ecosystem, causing a cascade that harms species from insects to eagles. Chris taught me about this complex puzzle in our ecosystems that is being dismantled by invasive species. Without people like Chris educating others about invasive species, many of us would be blind to the damage to our local ecosystems. I hope my artwork brings an emotional response to environmental issues and inspires action. It takes all of us working together to protect the natural world from our own interference.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kaleigh is a biology student at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. She hopes to build a career in taxonomy after graduation. She enjoys camping, hiking, and hanging out with her dog.
ABOUT THE WATER PARTNER
Chris Hamerla graduated from the University of WI Stevens Point in 1998 with an English major and writing minor. In 2007 he became a certified law enforcement officer and is a former WI Conservation Warden. As a Regional Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Coordinator for Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc. he has engaged volunteers and partners to identify and manage invasive species for over a decade. Hamerla has collaborated with WI Waterfowl Assoc., WI Trappers Assoc., the WI AIS Partnership and WDNR Furbearer staff to create publications and AIS prevention videos. He has written AIS articles for national and state magazines as well as local media outlets Chris’s work regularly includes his yellow lab, Cisco. In 2020 Cisco and Chris were awarded an Invader Crusader award from the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council.
MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH SUPPORT FROM
