July Webinar: Mold and Moisture - Double Trouble for Schools

Upcoming Webinar! Mold and Moisture: Double Trouble for Schools

Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. EST.

How do I know if my school has a mold and moisture problem? What can I do to prevent mold growth in my school? Join school mold experts Peggy Caruso from Katy Independent School District and Todd Spore from Roof Consulting Division, PBK Architects to arm yourself with the knowledge to control mold and moisture in your school.

Attend this webinar to:

• Discover practical and cost-effective solutions to prevent and control mold and moisture issues at your school.
• Learn the most common sources of mold and moisture in schools and the technical information and resources available to help you remediate mold in your school.
• Learn how to visually detect mold growth and when it may be necessary to test.
• Hear from a school district that struggled with mold issues and has used the IAQ Tools for Schools guidance to successfully implemented mold and moisture prevention practices.
  

This webinar is offered at no cost to participants. Don’t miss your chance! Register today at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/294571153.

On behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Indoor Environments Division (http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/)

Upcoming Workshop: Eco Healthy Futures for Child Care Centers

JULY 14, 2011- MONTGOMERY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT, NORRISTOWN, PA (Hosted by Montgomery County Human Services Center)

TBA- BUCKS COUNTY
TBA- DELAWARE COUNTY

Registration begins: 9:15AM Workshop: 9:30 -3:30 PM
Cost: $20 includes lunch.

Program to assist childcare centers in becoming more environmentally sound.

Who should attend? Childcare center directors or representatives

Topics to include:
• Non-toxic cleaning
• Less toxic and preventative pest management
• Healthy, Sustainable foods

PQAS credit hours will be awarded to participants for Keystone STARS or DPW purposes

Registration at www.pakeys.org Search for “Eco Healthy Futures”

For more information contact Dianne Moore: Dianne@WHEN.org

School Grounds Best Management Practices Workshop set for July 7

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Children are more sensitive to potential negative effects of chemicals in their environment. Thus, reducing the use of pesticides in and around schools is attracting attention of parents, school facilities managers, administrators and lawmakers. Several states have passed laws mandating pest management techniques that reduce or eliminate the need for insecticides and herbicides in schools. In Pennsylvania, public schools are legally bound to practice “Integrated Pest Management” or IPM. IPM is an approach to pest management that uses knowledge of pests’ biology and multiple control tactics to improve success while reducing reliance on pesticides.

So, how can school grounds managers reduce the need for chemicals while maintaining excellent “greenscapes” around their schools? Penn State Cooperative Extension and the Pennsylvania IPM Program are offering a special full-day workshop on this topic July 7 at O’Hara Elementary School, 115 Cabin Lane, in Pittsburgh from 8:30-3PM.

The workshop entitled “Lean & Green: Best Practices for School Grounds” will focus on keeping school grounds both safe and attractive in the lean years—using an IPM approach and few or no pesticides. It will give attendees a practical perspective on cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods in these challenging times. The workshop will include outdoor demonstrations of practices, walking discussions and presentations by experienced educators. Participants will see comparison plots showing the effects of different practices on lawn health and weed suppression.

Who should attend: Those with responsibility for grounds maintenance including public and private schools staff, commercial landscape contractors, cooperative extension educators, and parks & recreation staff.

Speakers: Cornell University turf IPM expert, Jennifer Grant will discuss prioritizing and selecting best management practices for turf maintenance. Dr. Grant has many years of experience working with turf and grounds managers. Some golf course managers working with Grant were able to reduce their fertilizer and pesticide inputs by 90 percent. Dr. Grant will also lead a discussion on how grounds managers can communicate their program to administrators, school boards, parents and staff. Jeff Fowler, Venango Co, Cooperative Extension agent, will lead a field walk to show demonstrations of side-by-side comparisons of practices and discussions of challenges and opportunities. Sandy Feather, Allegheny Co. Cooperative Extension agent will speak and demonstrate IPM techniques for ornamentals on school grounds.

Lunch is provided during the workshop. In addition, participants will receive a number of valuable informational resources. Pesticide credits will be provided in Categories 6,7,18, 23 and “private”. Registration is $20 and is required for attendance. Attendance is limited to 50 participants, first come, first-served. To register on-line, go to http://www.cvent.com/d/4dqhsn

For more information contact Sandy Feather, (412) 473-2540 .
The workshop is sponsored by the IPM Institute of North America and USEPA; USDA Northeastern IPM in Schools Work Group, Cornell University IPM Program, Penn State PA IPM Program and Cooperative Extension.

IPM contest on UNL PSEP Facebook Page

The UNL Pesticide Safety Education Program would like to announce a contest for all of our Facebook friends and fans! The focus of the contest is integrated pest management, or IPM. IPM uses a variety of methods to deal with pests, including sanitation, exclusion (screening windows or sealing holes), habitat modification (fixing water leaks), mechanical controls (such as trapping), and using pesticides with low toxicity. We are limiting this contest to IPM in structures such as homes, schools, child care facilities, office buildings, etc.

The contest will run June 6th through 17th, and we will select a grand prize winner on June 20th! The grand prize will be an IPM kit containing a tool pouch, mirror, flashlight, Leatherman, putty knife, insect forceps/tweezers, collection vial, and insect ID magnifier and is valued at over $100!

If you are unfamiliar with IPM concepts, please visit http://pested.unl.edu/schoolipm for more information.

To enter the contest, please visit our PSEP Facebook page. Click the "Like" button to become a fan, then respond using the comment section within the "Notes" tab to reply to both of the following:

Please describe how you use IPM at home, work, school (or other building structure)? And, if you win the grand prize, how will you use its contents to better your IPM efforts?

Limit 1 comment/contest entry per person. UNL employees are encouraged to share their IPM use descriptions, but are ineligible to win the grand prize due to official policy.

University of Maryland - New Lawn Care Resources

The University of Maryland is happy to announce a new educational poster series. This project is a collaborative effort with the Community IPM Working Group of the Northeastern IPM Center and University of Maryland Extension. The posters have been on display at the US Botanic Garden since August and at various field days, earth days, etc. There is a series of 8 posters on sustainable lawn care and 15 posters on low-input, sustainable plants for the landscape. The project was funded by a Northeastern IPM Center Publications Grant in 2010.

The downloadable posters link will take you to a page request contact information and how you are going to use them. We need to collect impact information for the universities involved. If you click on the samples first you can get a preview of the files before going to the download page. The samples are highlighted below (Persian parrotia and “Mow Right, Feed Right, Water Right”)

New Educational Resource Section! - Downloadable posters on
"Sustainable Lawn Care" and diversify your garden with "Expert Plant Picks". Here are examples of available posters: "Mow Right, Feed Right, Water Right" for lawns, and Persian parrotia (tree) in "Expert Plant Picks". Low resolution files are available for viewing and printing and high resolution files are available for printing posters up to 24" X 28". Download page.

Weslaco to host Children's Environmental Health Workshops June 23-24

Two Children’s Environmental Health Workshops will be held at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslaco during the fourth week of June, according to the event’s coordinator.

The center, located at 2415 E. Highway 83, will host an Environmental and Children’s Health Training from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on June 23, then a School IPM Coordinator Training from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.on June 24.

Janet Hurley, Texas AgriLife Extension Service school integrated pest management program specialist and coordinator for the training's, said the events are open to anyone with an interest in children’s health, particularly school nurses, health inspectors, childcare directors, public health educators, teachers, and hospital, nursing home and school administrators.

“The June 24 class will be more specific to school integrated pest management coordinators, pest management professionals and anyone needing to be certified as a school integrated pest management coordinator,” she said.

Hurley said all Texas public school districts must have an integrated pest management policy and plan, and every school district must appoint and train an integrated pest management coordinator to oversee all pesticide and pest control operations.

“Children deserve a safe place to learn and grow,” Hurley said, “and pest control is an important but often overlooked aspect of school safety. In addition to pest hazards such as cockroaches, mice and weeds, improperly used control products can also pose a hazard to child safety. Problems related to pests and pest management can cause both children and adults to have asthma and allergy attacks.”

She said while children’s health is an important issue, finding quality information can be confusing.

“The Environmental and Children’s Health Training will provide objective, research-based information from experts at AgriLife Extension, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas A&M Kingsville and the Texas A&M Health Science Center,” Hurley noted. “This daylong training is designed to assist school, hospital and nursing home administrators who face many tough decisions each day when it comes to patient and student health.”

Topics addressed at this training will include: the top 10 mistakes in a health inspection, transmission of disease by animals and insects, asthma triggers in homes and schools, pesticide safety and regulations and adopting integrated pest management.

“The Environmental and Children’s Health Training presentations by AgriLife Extension and other experts can help make facilities a safer place for people to live, work, learn and play,” she said.

Hurley said the cost for the Environmental and Children’s Health Training is

$35 for early registration and $45 for late or at-the-door registration. For more information and online registration, go to the Texas AgriLife Extension Conference Services website at https://agrilifevents.tamu.edu//index.cfm and enter the word “environmental” into the keyword search.

“If you’re a new integrated pest management coordinator and haven’t yet taken the six-hour mandatory training, then the June 24 School IPM Coordinator Training is for you,” Hurley added.

She said the training fulfills state requirements for integrated pest management coordinators under the Texas Administrative Code as it relates to school integrated pest management.

“Whether this is your first time or you need six hours to cover your IPM coordinator requirements, this day’s training will help make your school district's pest management program something to be proud of,” Hurley said.

The training addresses legal requirements for schools, an introduction to integrated pest management and how to monitor schools per the state’s administrative code requirements.

“The training is open to anyone interested in learning more about IPM, so interested individuals are welcome to share information about them with their pest control contractor or other school employees as well.”

The cost for the School IPM Coordinator Training is $135 for early registration and $155 for late or at-the-door registration. For more information and to register online, go to https://agrilifevents.tamu.edu/and enter “IPM” into the keyword search. For registration and payment questions regarding this training, call 979-845-2604.

For more information about school integrated pest management, go to http://schoolipm.tamu.edu or call toll-free, 877-747-6872.

55th Annual ASPCRO Meeting

Join us at the beautiful historic Marriott Point Clear Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, on the shores of Mobile Bay for the 55th annual meeting of the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials. This year’s conference promises attendees a valuable opportunity to hear presentations and sessions on some of today’s most timely and important structural and urban pesticide issues affecting regulators.

Monday starts off with a re-visit to the pest du jour – bed bugs, to discuss new treatment technologies, current legislative trends, and how are states dealing with the pest, the public and the pressure for action. The afternoon includes a focus on integrated pest management put into practice with a look at the Grand’s successful incorporation of the green concept and sustainability. We will have a behind the scene tour of the facility, grounds and gardens. Several other topics during the conference will tackle other pertinent issues facing regulators including dealing with delusory parasitosis, understanding issues related to liability and contract litigation, the emerging incorporation of nanotechnology in pesticides, and demonstrating the results of training as a compliance tool. A timely panel discussion of implementation of the risk mitigation measures for rodenticides and what that means for regulators and applicators is also on the agenda.

Never participated in ASPCRO? Structural pest control not your highest priority, but often you biggest headache? These are both great reasons to attend the conference not only for the quality presentations but the chance to network and interact with your regulatory peers who may provide beneficial insight. We encourage everyone attending the conference to also attend our Board meeting on Sunday or the various working committee meetings before and throughout the conference.

55th Annual ASPCRO Meeting Brochure

EPA Releases School IPM Funding RFP

EPA School Integrated Pest Management Grants
EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announces the availability of approximately $1 million for assistance agreements to further through research, development, monitoring, public education, training, demonstrations, or studies the adoption of verifiable integrated pest management (IPM) by the nation’s kindergarten to 12th grade public and tribal schools. IPM is a sustainable approach to managing pests that combines biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks. A school IPM program uses easily implemented strategies to reduce sources of food, water, and shelter for pests in school buildings and grounds. Verifiable school IPM is an ongoing activity that includes all of these documented elements: understanding pests; setting action thresholds for key pests, i.e., knowing when to take action against key pests; monitoring for pests, their locations and populations; removing conditions that allow pest infestation; and using one or more effective pest control methods including sanitation, structural maintenance, and nonchemical methods in place of or in combination with pesticides.

Proposed projects must further through research, development, monitoring, public education, training, demonstrations, or studies the adoption of verifiable IPM by kindergarten to 12th grade public and tribal schools that identify and reduce the risks associated with pesticide use. EPA strongly encourages projects that utilize consortia, partnerships, and other collaborative means in conducting the project. Proposed projects must conform to applicable state and/or tribal pesticide application requirements and IPM regulations. This program will not support projects the primary aim of which is to address the use of antimicrobial and cleaning agents in schools or pest management in school greenhouses or demonstration gardens.

The total estimated funding expected to be available for awards under this competitive opportunity is approximately $1 million. The Agency anticipates funding a number of projects ranging from approximately $50,000 up to no more than $250,000, subject to the availability of funds, the quality of proposals received, and other applicable considerations. The project period of performance is limited to two years. Selections and awards will be made by EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs with funding from EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

To read the full RFP click here.