Encourage your state department of education to participate in Green Ribbon Schools!

The U.S. Department of Education (U.S. ED), with the assistance from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), recently launched Green Ribbon Schools. This is the first comprehensive and coordinated federal award program that encompasses three institutional roles of schools related to environmental impact and energy efficiency, healthy environments, and environmental literacy.

How to Bring Green Ribbon Schools to Your State: Schools must be nominated by their state departments of education. Contact your state department of education if you would like to inquire about the application process in your state or to confirm whether your state plans to nominate schools. If a state does not nominate schools, U.S. ED cannot select any Green Ribbon Schools in that state. Green Ribbon Schools has asked state departments of education to notify U.S. ED by November 22, 2011, of their plans to participate by nominating schools. For more information, visit http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools.

This recognition award aims to prompt state education authorities and school communities to take action on the following:

· Energy and resource conservation measures that provide opportunities for cost savings and job creation.

· Environmental and behavioral changes to promote health and productivity among students, staff and other occupants.

· The use of environmental and sustainability education to support students’ preparedness for some of the nation’s fastest growing employment sectors.

EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools guidance is prominently featured as one of the recommended resources that schools can use to help meet the award criteria. Information on EPA’s guidance for creating healthy school indoor environments can be found on the IAQ Tools for Schools website.

November School IPM 2015 eNewsletter

The November School IPM 2015 eNewsletter features the following articles: Building Out Pests, Environmentally Conscious Schools Receive a Green Ribbon, and EPA Releases School Siting Guidelines.

http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_ipm_2015/Nov11_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

7th International IPM Symposium 2012 – Call for Poster Abstracts

The 7^th International IPM Symposium, "IPM on the World Stage—Solutions for Global Pest Challenges," will be held March 27–29, 2012 in Memphis, Tennessee USA at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

http://www.ipmcenters.org/ipmsymposium12/

Call for Poster Abstracts
The online submission form for the call for poster submissions is open. This is a great way to share your projects and research with your colleagues.

Abstracts must be submitted using the online submission form available at

http://www.ipmcenters.org/ipmsymposium12/index.cfm?page=posters

Submission deadline is Monday, January 9, 2012.

International IPM Achievement Awards
The organizers of the 7th International IPM Symposium are seeking nominations for the "Achievement in IPM Awards". Nominations are open to individuals, organizations, or companies practicing in agricultural, urban and natural settings and worthy of recognition for implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) and innovative approaches to reduced-risk pest management.

Anyone may nominate another individual, organization or business, and self-nominations are accepted. Individuals or teams will be considered and nominations of commodity groups, private organizations, non-profit organizations, consultants, growers, and municipalities are encouraged.

Award nominations must be submitted using the online nomination form available at http://www.ipmcenters.org/ipmsymposium12/index.cfm?page=AchievementAwards. Deadline for nominations is December 15, 2011.

Sessions
The Program Committee will be finalizing the program in the next few weeks. Watch the website for updates.

Sponsors, Contributors and Exhibitors
Corporations, agencies and other organizations with interests in IPM are invited to provide financial support to the Symposium. Your support is critical to the networking and collaboration this event facilitates, increasing IPM adoption and benefits to health, economics, and the environment. For more information, contact Brenna Wanous, Finance and Exhibits Committee co-chair, at 307-460-9578 or bwanous@uwyo.edu.

Special Invitation for Regional Meetings, IPM-Related Programs, and Informal Conferences
To save travel costs, take advantage of the opportunity to schedule meetings for your group or organization before the symposium on Sunday, March 25 or Monday, March 26 or after the symposium on March 29 or 30. Facilities have been reserved to accommodate such meetings. Several groups have already asked for space.

Meeting rooms are also available in the evenings during the event for informal conferences.

To reserve space for your group, please send an e-mail to ipmsymposium@ad.uiuc.edu by December 15, 2011. Please include the name of the group, date and time desired, anticipated number of attendees, and preferred meeting room setup. For informal conferences, please include a brief proposal along with your request that will be reviewed by the program planning committee. The room rental fees will be covered by the IPM Symposium. Any food or audio-visual costs will be the responsibility of the meeting group.

There is a limited amount of space, so space will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

IAQ Tools for Schools Guidance Featured in Green Ribbon Schools!

The U.S. Department of Education, with the assistance of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), recently launched Green Ribbon Schools. This is the first comprehensive and coordinated federal award program that encompasses three institutional roles of schools related to environmental impact and energy efficiency, healthy environments, and environmental literacy.

This recognition award aims to prompt state education authorities and school communities to take action on the following:

· Energy and resource conservation measures that provide opportunities for cost savings and job creation.

· Environmental and behavioral changes to promote health and productivity among students, staff and other occupants.

· The use of environmental and sustainability education to support students’ preparedness for some of the nation’s fastest growing employment sectors.

EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools guidance is prominently featured as one of the recommended resources that schools can use to help meet the award criteria.

· Information on EPA’s guidance for creating healthy school indoor environments can be found at the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools website. Access the latest information on topics such as IAQ and student performance, asthma management and developing an IAQ management program.

For more information on Green Ribbon Schools, including eligibility, applicant information and FAQs, visit the Department of Education's informational website or contact green.ribbon.schools@ed.gov.

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.