Nominate a friend to IPM in the southern region

Only one week to go until the deadline for nominations for the Friends of IPM Award! This will be the fifth year of the award, and we’ve had 19 winners in the past four years. The highlight of the award (and the true award) is a public recognition service in front of the winner’s peers. Winners get to choose the venue for their award service. People who have received the award have told us that they really appreciated the recognition.

Nomination forms are located at http://www.sripmc.org/friendsofipm/. Only a 2-page nomination is required (with the form), and we announce the winners in December. You can e-mail me the completed form and the 2-page nomination at rhallberg@sripmc.org.

Geographically, the Southern Region IPM Center covers the following states and territories: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Virginia

The deadline is next Monday, November 14, at 5 PM Eastern Time. If you have any questions before Monday, please call me at 919-513-8182, or drop me an e-mail at rhallberg@sripmc.org. I’ll be out of town on Monday but I’ll be checking e-mails in the evening.

Please consider sending in a nomination. In these times of tight budgets, the award is a great way to give someone some well-deserved recognition

Upcoming Webinar: The Virtual School Walkthrough

Learn to diagnose your school’s IAQ issues!

The Virtual School Walkthrough Webinar: Identifying and Solving Common IAQ Problems

Friday, December 9, 2011, 1–2:30 p.m. EST.

Register today for this free webinar!

Speakers:

• David Blake, Environmental Specialist/Indoor Air/Asbestos, Northwest Clean Air Agency
• Richard Prill, Building Science and Indoor Air Quality Specialist, Washington State University

Facilitator:

• Jennifer Lemon, Indoor Environments Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Attend this webinar to:

· Gain insight on how to identify potential IAQ issues before they become major problems for your school community.

· Learn when and how to take, interpret and use IAQ-related measurements to determine the condition of your school buildings.

· Discover tools and resources your school can use, including checklists within the IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit, to conduct a thorough and effective walkthrough investigation.

· Learn the importance of prioritizing IAQ issues and the power of effective communication when responding to reports and concerns.

· Hear about Dave and Rich’s follow up webinar on measuring and testing, which will be held in January 2012.

Listen to a clip of Dave and Rich’s webinar presentation to hear how conducting a walkthrough in a school should be as routine as getting a physical at a doctor’s office.

This webinar is offered at no cost to participants. Don’t miss your chance to have your questions answered by the speakers – send your questions to IAQTfSConnector@cadmusgroup.com by December 2, 2011.

Register today at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/345795698.

Webinar: Effective Policies to Reduce Exposures to Cleaning Products in Schools

To promote a national framework for the prevention of chemical incidents in schools, ATSDR and ICTW have teamed up to bring you the second of four webinars that explore policies to reduce exposures to chemicals in schools. Join us to learn about the national landscape for green cleaning policies and to hear about the cost effectiveness of implementing such a program from colleagues in New York State.

Thursday, November 10
12:30pm - 2:00pm EST, 9:30am - 11:00am PST

Presenters:
- Mark Bishop, Healthy Schools Campaign
- Beth Meer, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
- Carol Westinghouse, Informed Green Solutions
- Debbie Shrem, Cleaning for Asthma Safe Schools (CLASS), California Department of Public Health

Meeting Password: ICTW ; Meeting Number: 572 859 165
1.Go to https://cdph-ooa.webex.com/cdph-ooa/j.php?ED=180942302&UID=1248063572&PW=NMGE4OTNjZGNk&RT=MiM0 If requested, enter your name and email address If a password is required, enter the meeting password: ICTW
2.Call-in toll-free to1-866-745-1015 (US) and use access code: 962 195 6
3.WebEx will automatically setup Meeting Manager for Windows the first time you join a meeting. To save time, you can setup prior to the meeting by clicking this link: https://cdph-ooa.webex.com/cdph-ooa/meetingcenter/mcsetup.php
4.For assistance during the call go to https://cdph-ooa.webex.com/cdph-ooa/mc and click "Support“ on the navigation bar.

Extension School Integrated Pest Management: Tool Box

School IPM resources from www.eXtension.org:

National and State School IPM Programs in the U.S.
Click the above link to find national school IPM information as well as find out what School IPM programs are running in your state. Some of the websites you might find particularly useful are the school IPM sites that are put up by the Environmental Protection Agency, IPM Technical Resource Center, The IPM Institute of North America, The National School IPM Information Source (University of Florida) and the Southwest Technical Resource Center (Texas A&M University).

School IPM Newsletters and Pest Presses
All of these pages link outside of eXtension.org and are excellent resources to consider as part of your school IPM program. Be aware of the fact that the topics covered in these newsletters may be area specific. For example, if your schools are located in the northeast, Arizona's publication on scorpions will not apply to you.

Forms for Professionals
These forms have been created, modified and used across the United States. In some cases there are variations of the same form. Our goal in providing these resources is that you will modify them to suit the needs of your school IPM program.

Pest Vulnerable Areas Within Schools
There may be more to a school than meets the eye. When the lights go out at the end of the day, two, four, six, and eight legged invaders may abound. Researchers at many locations are working with public schools to apply an integrated approach to pest management in the school environment. With an integrated approach, pest managers may reduce pest problems while reducing pesticide applications…

School IPM Personnel Communication
Communication is the key to beginning and maintaining an IPM program. The success of IPM depends on cooperation of many individuals. Pest management is not the sole responsibility of the pest manager. Proper maintenance, housekeeping and sanitation of buildings are important for successful long-term management…

School Integrated Pest Management: Content for Parents

How parents can get involved
Parents across the U.S. are asking this question: "As a parent, how do I get Integrated Pest Management implemented (IPM) in my child's school?" Often parents can provide the most influential voice on issues regarding school policies. Getting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) into your child's school or even the entire district can begin at the grass roots level by organizing concerned parents. If your school or school district is not currently using IPM, the following five-step process can help you initiate IPM. Full Article.

ATSDR Fall Webinar Series - Effective Policies to Eliminate Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools (1st Webinar - Oct 13)

Fall Webinar Series – Effective Policies to Eliminate Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools

To promote a national framework for the prevention of chemical incidents in schools, the ATSDR National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP) has teamed up with Interstate Chemical Threats Workgroup (ICTW) to bring you this exciting fall webinar series. During the sessions we’ll explore policies and prevention efforts for three chemicals/chemical categories that lead the NTSIP incident list: elemental mercury, cleaning products, and pesticides. At the conclusion of the webinar series, the summary notes will guide the development of a white paper entitled, Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools. This paper will be distributed nationally and will serve as a basis of ATSDR’s outreach to those who can effect change.

Save the dates:
Effective Policies to Eliminate Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools

All sessions will begin at 12:30pm EST/9:30am PST and run for 75 minutes.

• Mercury exposures and effective policies October 13th
• Green cleaning policies to eliminate exposures November 10th
• Pesticide exposures and effective policies December 15th
• Discussion on white paper development: “Best Practices and Policies for Eliminating Chemical Releases and Exposures in Schools”. January 12th

Session 1:
Effective Policies to Eliminate Mercury Exposures in Schools
October 13, 12:30- 1:45 Eastern

Elemental mercury is most toxic in its vapor form. It evaporates slowly at room temperature and more quickly when heated. Children are drawn to mercury by its silvery color and novel properties. Children playing with elemental mercury can be poisoned by breathing the vapor from mercury beads held in their hands or from mercury spilled on carpeting, furniture or other surfaces. The HSEES and NTSIP data have shown mercury to be the most frequently released substance in schools and very costly to clean up. This session will focus on the extent of the problem of mercury releases in schools and experiences with legislation and outreach to remove mercury from schools.

Roundtable Discussants:

• Robin Lee, PhD, MPH, ATSDR Division of Health Studies
• Martha Stanbury, MSPH, Michigan Department of Community Health
• Wanda Lizak Welles, PhD, New York State Department of Health
• Sue Casteel, BS, MS, ATSDR Regional Representative

Meeting Password: mercury; Meeting number: 572 153 685
1. Go to https://cdph-ooa.webex.com/cdph-ooa/j.php?ED=180940797&UID=1248059447&PW=NNzdhYzJmMWMw&RT=MiM0 2. If a password is required, enter the meeting password “mercury” and click "Join"

• Provide your phone number when you join to receive a call back (this option will not work if you have an extension. Alternatively, you may call: 1-866-745-1015 and use access code 962 195 6 .
• WebEx will automatically setup Meeting Manager for Windows the first time you join a meeting. To save time, you can setup prior to the meeting by clicking this link: https://cdph-ooa.webex.com/cdph-ooa/meetingcenter/mcsetup.php
• For assistance during the call go to https://cdph-ooa.webex.com/cdph-ooa/mc and click "Support“ on the navigation bar.
• For more information before the call, contact Lori.Copan@cdph.ca.gov

Note: This meeting will be recorded

October School IPM 2015 eNewsletter

The October School IPM 2015 eNewsletter features the following articles: Building Out Pests, New School IPM Business Case and Asthma Documents Spread the Word about IPM Benefits and Three New Texas School Districts Become IPM STAR Certified.

http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_ipm_2015/Oct11_eNewsletter.htm

If you have not done so already, please consider signing up for the monthly School IPM 2015 newsletter mailing list to:

• Learn how you can reduce pesticide use and pest complaints by more than 70%!
• Create a successful IPM program with no long-term increase in pest management costs.
• Learn strategies for managing pests all year:
  
• Fall – stinging insects
  
• Spring – ants
  
• New pests – bed bugs
  
• Improve your ability to educate and gain cooperation from key staff including maintenance, custodial and food service.
  

Signing up is easy. Email your name and contact information to: newsletter@schoolipm2015.com