2014 Highlights: UC IPM Annual Report

Loaner Collections Enhance Outreach

Loaner Collections

Loaner collection containers and specimens. (Photo by K. Windbiel-Rojas)

IN BRIEF

  • Master Gardeners can borrow supplemental materials to enhance their IPM training.
  • Empty pesticide containers facilitate learning to use pesticides safely.
  • Natural enemy specimens show what real insect predators and parasites look like.

To enhance hands-on learning, UC IPM’s Urban and Community Program has begun providing loaned sets of materials to UC Master Gardener programs for use in educating their local communities on IPM concepts.

These loaner collections contain specimens of natural enemies and empty, never-been-filled containers of home and garden pesticide products. Users of the collections are also provided with scripted presentations, optional handouts, and suggestions on conducting a training using the material. The empty pesticide containers and their training program facilitate education about reading a label, using pesticides safely and according to label instructions, and choosing less-toxic products that are compatible with IPM programs. The natural enemies set includes 18 preserved and labeled specimens of commonly occurring predators and parasites of insect pests, each accompanied by a fact sheet from UC IPM’s Natural Enemies Gallery.

The collections have been extremely popular, having been borrowed by more than 16 county Master Gardener programs for 30 events since July 2013. Due to this positive response, we will soon be creating collections on invasive pests, common garden insect and weed pests, and household pests. The new loaner collections and training materials will be demonstrated during a series of planned train-the-trainer workshops for UC Master Gardeners in the coming years.

Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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