| For 2020 and newer grants, please go to https://grants.ipmcenters.org/ |
|---|
|
|
| Home Current RFAs PD User Guide Projects Login |
|
Funded Project |
|
Funding Program:
Regional IPM Competitive Grants - Northeastern |
|
Project Title:
IPM Displays for the Public |
Project Directors (PDs):
|
|
Lead State: NY Lead Organization: Cornell University |
| Extension Funding: $13,000 |
|
Start Date: May-01-2004 End Date: Apr-30-2006 |
|
Site/Commodity: community, urban, residential |
|
Summary:
Research has shown that citizens are interested in pest management and alternatives to chemical pesticides but remain uninformed about IPM and how to practice it at home. Because few public audiences have the opportunity to learn IPM "by doing," we will design three educational exhibits with our local science center for its 80,000 annual visitors and for use by Northeastern states. All exhibits will complement and complete the IPM interpretation underway in an adjacent city park. The first interactive IPM exhibit will help users of all ages to better understand IPM concepts. The second, traveling interactive IPM exhibit, will focus on biological control; in Year Two of this project, this exhibit will be loaned to other sites in the Northeast Region. The third project element, which will take the form of an educational kit focusing on IPM from an organismal perspective, will be loaned to visitors in the Sciencenter's Discovery Space. Upon completion of the exhibits, our community extension educator will present at least one program on IPM at the Sciencenter. We will finish an existing list of pest-resistant trees and shrubs (many of which are visible on the grounds and in the adjacent part) and print it as a brochure for visitors to take home. We will also reprint an existing introductory IPM brochure (Get the Bugs Out, NYSIPM 2003) and provide it with the exhibits. Finally, we will design an informational packet and web page for IPM programs in the Northeast so they can borrow the display and modify the brochures, helping people in the Northeast to reduce risks to human health and the environment.
Problem, Justification, and Background Pesticide use and environmental challenges More than three-fourths of American households use pesticides. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 80 million pounds of conventional-pesticide active ingredients were applied to homes and gardens in the United States in 1999 (EPA, 2002).When agricultural pesticides and wood preservatives are considered, about 2.2 billion pounds of pesticides are used in the country each year -- approximately eight pounds for every citizen (Curtis and Profeta, 1993). A recent survey of urban apartment dwellers by the New York State Attorney General's Office found that, statewide, 69% of respondents applied pesticides in their own homes and 33% did so at least once a week (Surgan et al., 2002). Water sources contaminated by pesticides are well documented. According to the United States Geological Survey (1999), "decades of pesticide use have resulted in their widespread occurrence in streams and ground water." Results from a combination of scientific studies in the past 30 years show that more than 50 percent of stream samples contained 5 or more pesticides. At least 1 pesticide was found in almost every water and fish sample collected from streams. According to the USGS, "Results indicate a high potential for problems in many streams, particularly in urban areas, where concentrations of more than one pesticide often approached or exceeded established water-quality guidelines." Volk (2003) writes that "non-point source pollution is currently the dominant threat to water quality, contributing up to 65% of the pollution in impaired streams in the northeastern United States." About 67 million wells in the country are contaminated by pesticides to some degree (Stapleton, 2000). Nearly 25 percent of groundwater samples in the studies reported on by the USGS contained two or more pesticides, and at least one pesticide was found in about half of all wells sampled (USGS 2000). Residential neighborhoods can be a major source of non-point source pollution (Connecticut River Joint Commission, 1998) when pesticides and fertilizers are washed from parks, lawns, driveways, and roads into waterways. Adverse effect of pesticides on humans are still being uncovered. The Natural Resources Defense Council claims that at least 107 different active ingredients in pesticides have been found to cause cancer in animals or humans (1993). Landrigan et al. (1999) discuss how children are highly vulnerable to pesticides because they play close to the ground, place objects in their mouths, grow rapidly, ingest large quantities (in proportion to their body mass) of previously sprayed fruits and vegetables, and have less ability to detoxify chemicals. The authors assert that children in cities are at special risk because chlorpyrifos and pyrethroids are the registered pesticides most heavily applied there. Chlorpyrifos may be a developmental neurotoxicant and certain pyrethroids may alter neurological and reproductive development. In addition to these effects, the repeated use of pesticides is known to cause pesticide resistance in weeds, insects, and diseases. According to Stapleton (2000), at least 535 insects have demonstrated resistance to insecticides. The need for IPM "brand recognition" and education When George Hamilton (2002) and Patricia Hastings (personal communication, 5/23/02) of Rutgers University investigated the possibility of "Making IPM a Household Word," they summarized four separate Northeastern surveys from 1989 to 2001 by Burgess, Hollingsworth, Govindasamy, and Mahar. Prior to the individual surveys, 73% of respondents in New York had not heard of IPM. Similarly, 61% of respondents in Massachusetts and 69% and 75% (respectively) of respondents in New Jersey had not heard of IPM. Conclude the authors, "Despite its benefits, IPM was identified as an underutilized pest control approach by the National IPM Forum sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992. Notably one of the top ten constraints to the implementation of IPM was the 'lack of emphasis on urban IPM programs as a means to educate the general public.'" Despite citizens' lack of understanding of IPM, some studies indicate that citizens are thinking about pesticides, aware of alternatives, and willing to learn more. Burgess et al. (1989) found that 96% of consumers surveyed in New York were at least somewhat concerned about the use of pesticides in growing food. According to a homeowner survey in Montana (Lajeunesse et al., 1996), 43% of those surveyed were "very interested" and another 38% "somewhat interested" in learning more about least-toxic methods of pest management. They considered the most effective methods for learning to be printed materials, hands-on participation, educational videos, and demonstrations by specialists. Mary Kay Malinoski, who directs Maryland's Home and Garden Information Center, reports (personal communication and fax, 10/24/03) that in the past three years the center has responded to nearly 7,000 email inquiries from all 50 states and the District of Columbia about pest control, pesticide safety, lawns, gardens, wildlife, and other related topics. Community IPM outreach in the Northeast generally does not focus on interactive displays for the public. One exception would be how the Pennsylvania IPM staff at Penn State, through an IPM curriculum, BugMobile, displays, publications, and other educational initiatives, have reached many thousands of homeowners and students. All states in the Northeast Region would benefit from interactive exhibits and brochures -- emphasizing nonpesticidal tactics -- that they could share and build upon. To meet this goal, we propose building two interactive IPM displays and an educational IPM kit that would help teach people about Community IPM. Two IPM brochures (one already in existence and one to be completed) would complement the exhibits. Program staff at the New York State IPM Program, since the program's inception in 1985, have set up static displays at fairs, conferences, symposia, workshops, meetings and other venues. We have offered hundreds of thousands of people a handshake and our publications about IPM, but only in rare circumstances have we conveyed to our audiences a sense of excitement and wonder about integrated pest management itself. Many of the intriguing aspects of vertebrate behavior, competition among weeds, insect life cycles and pheromones, prevention of disease, and technological advancements are rarely shared with citizens who would understand these concepts if they were "brought alive." An exhibit that encourages the viewer to move its components -- such as manipulating an imitation bat's wings to collect insects -- conveys understanding about how bats can really eat 500 insects an hour, thereby decreasing both agricultural and urban pests. Interactive displays embody the third part of the adage: "I hear& I forget; I see& I remember; I do& I understand." [Attributed to Confucius, c 500 BC] The demonstration site being considered for these IPM exhibits, the Sciencenter, is situated in an urbanized section of downtown Ithaca where the population density is 8,000 residents per square mile. On one side of the Sciencenter is the Mutual Housing Association of Tompkins County -- affordable new housing for 30 families with a total of 51 children. A second side of the Sciencenter borders Cascadilla Creek, which passes through the city on its way to one of New York's Finger Lakes -- the nearby Cayuga Lake. Hundreds of residents influence the health of the creek each day as they fertilize and tend to their lawns and gardens, walk their dogs, and dispose of their refuse. On a third side of the Sciencenter is a city-owned park that serves 900 neighbors who otherwise would have little access to public green space. The City of Ithaca, the Sciencenter, and neighbor associations are enthusiastic about IPM interpretation in this area, which already models thoughtful decisions about appropriate plantings. Addressing regional priorities This project addresses, in part, three of the ten priorities developed in 2003 by the Northeastern Pest Management Center's Community IPM Work Group. *(Priority #2): Develop outreach to homeowners, retailers of homeowner pest management products, and 'multipliers' (e.g., libraries, teachers). IPM Displays for the Public will be available to the Sciencenter's 80,000 annual visitors, many of whom are homeowners and teachers. Located in the City of Ithaca, the museum has more than 2,600 family and individual members and serves the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. The goal of the Sciencenter is "to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to discover the excitement of science through programs and exhibits that promote learning through interaction." The traveling display will be made available to the Tompkins County Public Library and a notice of the pest-resistant plants brochure will be posted with the NYS Library Document Depository Program (http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/nysdep.htm) and corresponding programs in other Northeastern states. *(Priority #4): Research, develop and outreach methods for low-input landscape and turf maintenance strategies including development and distribution of a pocket field guide for the pest management of landscapes and turf. This project will be situated adjacent to a park where low-input landscape and turf maintenance strategies will be featured, and the indoor exhibits will point visitors to the site. One theme under consideration for our exhibit is nonpesticidal weed management. *(Priority #8): Research and outreach on wildlife pest management including landscaping "Do's and don't's". The brochure on pest-resistant trees and shrubs will provide citizens with background information on how landscaping choices were made that help ensure long-lived plantings that resist damage from vertebrates. Furthermore, objective 5.2 of the five national priorities set by USDA-CSREES is "To increase the capacity of communities, families, and individuals to improve their own quality of life." By providing community members with opportunities to learn about pests and integrated pest management, we are increasing their capacity to improve their personal health, the health of their yards and neighborhoods, and, ultimately, their quality of life. Linking to previously funded projects In 1998, Mary K. Malinoski, Jon Traunfeld, and David Clement were funded by the NE IPM Regional Grants Program for "A Diagnostic, Problem-Solving Web Site for Plants, Pests, and Landscapes" by which the Home and Garden Information Center was more fully developed. Two years prior, B. Maynard, R. Casagrande, M. Gold, S. Gordon, and K. Lagerquist received funding for "Selling the nursery industry on sustainable trees and shrubs." We plan to incorporate some of the information developed in both of these projects into the pest-resistant trees and shrubs brochure. Additionally, we have already learned which questions are most commonly asked by those who contact the HGIC, and these will inform our interactive IPM exhibits. Objectives: 1. Build two interactive IPM exhibits for displaying at indoor public places: one that emphasizes basic IPM concepts, and another that features biological control. 2. Create an interactive educational kit that will interest children and accompanying adults in IPM. 3. Deliver a hands-on program about IPM to audiences at the Sciencenter. 4. Reprint an introductory IPM brochure (Get the Bugs Out, NYS IPM 2003) and provide it with the IPM exhibits, to point audiences to more IPM information. 5. Complete an existing list of pest-resistant trees and shrubs (many of which are visible on the grounds and in the adjacent park). Design it as a brochure and print it for visitors to take home. 6. Distribute information about the biocontrol exhibit and web-based versions of the brochures to New York and Northeast audiences so that others may view them and increase their practice of IPM. Progress Report 2005 Final Report |
| Close Window |
|
Northeastern IPM Center 340 Tower Road Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 NortheastIPM.org |
 |
Developed by the Center for IPM © Copyright CIPM 2004-2026 |
|