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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March
8, 2005
By:
Denny Fleenor, WSU Extension, Seattle, WA (206) 972-8590
Thomas A. Green, IPM Institute of North America, Inc., Madison, WI, (608)
232-1410
Mike Louisell, Department of Agriculture, Olympia, WA, (360) 902-1813
Aimee Warthen, South Kitsap School District, Port Orchard, WA (360)
874-7003
For Immediate Release South
Kitsap School District (SKSD) Becomes Second in State
to Achieve Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Star Status
On Monday, March 7, 2005 SKSD was awarded the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Star Certification from Washington State University. With this award, SKSD became the second school district in the state to receive this award.
The award recognizes school districts for achieving effective, least toxic pest control and has made SKSD a participant in the model schools Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program started by Washington State University.
Mike Riley, the current grounds and maintenance department manager for the school district, has been the sparkplug for getting the program off the ground over the last few years and now acts as the IPM coordinator dealing with day-to-day implementation of the program. “Our priority has always been to keep pesticides away from kids,” explains Riley.
The model schools program has delivered IPM experts from Washington State University and the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to South Kitsap to work with the district to refine its program and in the process, learn what works best so that IPM can be exported to other school districts throughout the state.
One of the lessons learned in the early going was that the WSDA’s database for tracking pesticide applications had room for improvement to make the program more useful to schools. Deborah Anderson, secretary to SKSD Facilities Director Tom O’Brien, worked closely with WSDA to program improvements into the database. “The database is great for keeping track of what we do when a pest problem is reported. We can note if a pesticide was applied, or if a non-chemical method solved the problem, ” said Anderson. This capability will help South Kitsap accurately measure how their IPM program is paying off in reducing the reliance on pesticides.
Another factor in working to limit pesticide applications at South Kitsap is the state law requiring school districts to contact parents who want to be notified prior to the application of a pesticide.
South Kitsap goes above and beyond the requirement, notifying all parents and staff. “We feel that the risk involved in missing someone who wanted to be notified isn’t worth it – so we notify everyone,” says Tom O’Brien, facilities director. “It’s burdensome to let everyone know, so we consider every potential pesticide application carefully and look for alternatives.”
IPM STAR was initiated by the IPM Institute with funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the National Foundation for IPM Education. School systems must pass a rigorous on-site evaluation and make any required improvements to achieve IPM STAR status. Visit the Institute’s website at
www.ipminstitute.org for more information.
Contacts:
Carrie Foss, Washington State University Puyallup Research & Extension Center, (253) 445-4577, Fax (253) 445-4571,
Email
Tom O'Brien, Facilities Director, South Kitsap School District, (360) 874-7013, Fax (360) 874-7024,
Email
Dan Suomi, PCO Specialist, Washington State Dept. of Agriculture, (360) 902-2044, Fax (360) 902-2093,
Email
Thomas Green, Ph.D., President, IPM Institute of North America, Madison WI (608)
232-1410, Fax (608) 232-1440, Email
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