2012 Highlights: UC IPM Annual Report

UC Master Gardeners learn to read pesticide labels in hands-on training. Photo by K. Windbiel-Rojas.

UC IPM workshops reach diverse urban audiences

A number of collaborative efforts enabled UC IPM to expand its educational reach to urban audiences during the last year.

UC IPM partnered with the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Control Board and the Pesticide Applicators Professional Association (PAPA) to deliver IPM information to professionals who work in landscapes and public agencies. More than 660 pest managers attended workshops in San Jose, San Ramon, and Petaluma that featured presentations from UC IPM and UC Cooperative Extension experts about IPM and ways to reduce water quality problems associated with urban pesticide use.

Retail nursery and garden center employees were the focus of a series of three regional, hands-on, train-the-trainer workshops co-sponsored by the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers. About 150 store employees representing 60 different stores in 22 counties learned about online IPM resources, how to give customers advice about pesticides, and how to diagnosis pest problems. Attendees left the workshops with materials they could use to train others in their stores.

UC IPM has long worked closely with UC Master Gardeners, who are critical for delivering IPM information to local consumers. With close to 5,000 Master Gardeners in 45 counties and new ones being certified all the time, it is important to keep them updated on IPM techniques. In 2012, UC IPM conducted advanced IPM training workshops at UC Davis and UC Riverside for about 130 Master Gardeners who represented 24 county programs. Topics included less-toxic pesticides, biological control of pests, weed management, and household pests, and participants received educational materials to be used in presenting this information to others in their counties.

Recently, UC IPM began coordinating content and trainers for a series of turfgrass IPM workshops to be delivered as part of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s IPM for Schools program. The hands-on workshops for school maintenance staff will be held on school sites.

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