Back
to Northeast IPM News contents
IPM
in Northeastern Schools
|
Integrated pest management (IPM) has expanded into new
arenas in recent years, as communities recognize the opportunity to reduce
health and environmental risks in places like schools, which do not fall
under the umbrella of traditional agriculture. IPM is relevant to school
settings in two major ways: first, IPM practices can be instituted on
school grounds (e.g., in classrooms, on playing fields, and in cafeterias);
second, schools can incorporate IPM into curricula so that future generations
will have a strong foundation for understanding and practicing IPM. Throughout
the Northeast, states have been promoting both the practice and teaching
of IPM in schools, and are developing resources that can be shared and
customized by other states.
IPM
in the Curriculum
Pennsylvania and Connecticut are blazing a trail for IPM education by
incorporating IPM into the school curriculum for students in grades K–12.
In Pennsylvania, 1.25 million students will be taught and tested on IPM
each year. This IPM curriculum will be part of the state’s academic
standards for subjects related to environment and ecology, and teachers
will have to earn advanced credits in subjects related to IPM to meet
new requirements. The state’s IPM program is developing a chapter
for a textbook commissioned by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Education and
is providing workshops on how to teach about IPM in the classroom, with
activities geared toward all grade levels.
|
 |
Connecticut IPM specialists are working with teachers and curriculum
coordinators to integrate IPM into the curriculum. The 7th–8th grade curriculum
being pilot tested this fall uses practical examples of pest and environmental
problems in the region to illustrate the application of science, and links this
science to writing, public speaking, social studies, and history. Curriculum
activities might, for example, encourage students to research and advocate for
a position in pest management decisions such as whether to spray for mosquitoes
as part of a West Nile virus management plan.
In states that do not formally incorporate IPM into the curriculum,
creative approaches exist for introducing children to the principles of IPM.
In Rhode Island, elementary school children tour the University of Rhode Island
Learning Landscape Gardens, which showcase sustainable plants and demonstrate
practical cultural methods for avoiding excessive use of pesticides and nutrients.
Maryland’s volunteer master gardeners have designed and created butterfly
gardens and other types of school gardens on public school sites with teachers
and students.
IPM
on School Grounds
State agencies, universities, and IPM programs work together to provide numerous
tools for helping schools deal with pests such as ants, bees, mice, weeds, and
flies. Massachusetts has been a leader in promoting the use of IPM on school
grounds, with a 60-page manual that helps schools develop their own IPM programs
and an interactive website that
will generate an IPM plan.
New Jersey’s school
IPM website offers an IPM Report Card for School Grounds, a series of self-assessment
tools that allow schools to measure their adoption of IPM and can be used
as a guide to implement IPM. In addition, the state’s pest control industry
and Rutgers University jointly offer a school IPM short course, providing those
responsible for pest management in schools with information and tools to successfully
implement IPM.
In New York, IPM specialists have helped school districts reduce
pesticide use and solve pest problems through workshops and demonstrations (e.g.,
showing proactive, low-toxic strategies for controlling stinging insects, and
teaching best practices for athletic fields). In a recent survey of school districts
in the state, two-thirds of respondents revealed that they avoid routine pesticide
applications, and most make applications only after school hours and on weekends.
To their credit, most districts conduct inspections for indoor pests and keep
buildings and grounds clean and tidy as the first line of defense. Still, there
is a need for more thorough pest management training; greater participation
by teachers, students, and staff; and more written pest management policies.
The Pennsylvania IPM Program has cooperated with Penn State
and state agencies in a major school IPM effort. In addition to their how-to
manual for schools, the program has created information packets on the state’s
recently passed school IPM legislation (available
at their website). The IPM program staff have also met with school district
superintendents, school business officials, and pest control operators that
work with schools.
Maryland public school custodians and maintenance personnel
have been trained in the basic principles of IPM, notification requirements,
and safe use of pesticides. The state’s department of agriculture will
hire an inspector and entomologist to assist with the state’s IPM in Schools
Program, and has worked with Cooperative Extension to offer IPM workshops for
school personnel. Their
website includes links to reference materials and school IPM regulations.
(See “Feasibility” project described in Projects
Funded in 2002.)
Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire are working together to promote
school IPM in their states. Efforts will include a website for school IPM and
a “train the trainer” meeting that will include Extension educators,
personnel from the state departments of agriculture, health, and education,
and public interest representatives. Trainers will then take what they learn
to their respective states and start the process of working with school administrators,
custodial staff, teachers, and parents.
Links:
NE IPM home page
Contents for Northeast IPM News, November 2002
