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Funded Project

Funding Program: Regional IPM Grants (S-RIPM)

Project Title: IPMImages and BugwoodWiki: Tools and resources to support IPM education and implementation across the SER and Beyond

Project Director (PD): G. Keith Douce [1]

Lead State: GA Lead Organization: University of Georgia

Undesignated Funding: $38,670

Start Date: Jul-01-2010 End Date: Jun-30-2012

Summary: This project will - increase IPM education, adoption and implementation by providing image and informational "tools" that can be used; and - improve and maintain the collaboratively-build IPMImages and BugwoodWiki Information Technology backbone systems. The Web offers Extension educators new tools and ways of delivering information and programming to our clientele. Web technologies are evolving and to be effective, requires subject matter specialist to have ready access to technically savvy IT personnel, and use of expensive computer and information technology systems. Images and information are tools that can be used in locally-developed IPM programming. IT systems can be built that enable extension specialists to collaboratively build, and utilize information that can be used as is or modified as needed to support IPM program needs. IPMImages (www.IPMImages.org) contains 113,000 downloadable images that can be and used in IPM education. IPMImages received 18.8 million hits and served 11.2 million pages of information in 2008. BugwoodWiki (http://wiki.bugwood.org/) uses Wiki technology and allows professionals to collaboratively develop materials that can be retrieved and modified to meet the local program needs. BugwoodWiki received 1.9 million hits and served 227,000 users during 2008. Objectives: 1. increase and leverage BugwoodWiki and IPMImages to support IPM education and implementation across the SER and beyond; 2. migrate content from ForestPests (www.forestpests.org) and other CISEH web-available non-Wiki resources into BugwoodWiki; 3. obtain and serve additional SER-focused IPM information and images through BugwoodWiki and IPMImages; 4. improve and upgrade interfaces and usability of BugwoodWiki and IPMImages to more effectively serve IPM educators, user groups, clientele and programs; 5. implement the developing BugwoodVideo and Bugwood Presents features into BugwoodWiki and IPMImages; and 6. insure continued access to servers, systems and resources maintained by CISEH that are being used to support the IPM and make those resources accessible to users.

Final Report:

Results Virtually all of the objectives of the project were accomplished. Substantial progress was accomplished in obtaining and making extensive sets of information and images of the species, symptoms and diagnostics of plant pathogens as part of this project. IPMImages and BugwoodWiki usage continues to expand and are educational resources available through them are being widely used (and built) by individuals, state IPM specialists and persons working in regional IPM programs. IPMImages and BugwoodWiki are being used as backbone systems on which IPM programs are being delivered to users and practitioners (such as the High Plains IPM Guide; the Diagnosticians Cookbook; Widely Prevalent Fungi, Widely Prevalent Viruses, etc.). The SPDN Education and Training Committee is developing Training Modules that use images from IPMImages to support First Detector Training; PestTracker, the public access web system that supports the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program is using images that are displayed within the context information on the PestTracker system, from IPMImages that are acquired by web services, as well as images and information generated by and carried out by many other IPM specialists and educators and programs are using images, resources and IT capabilities available through Bugwood systems.

Outcomes 1. Content Publicity: A. There were 604 posts sent from The Bugwood Center to users relative to content additions and updates B. There were 57,697 views of the posts by users C. At the end of this project there were an average of 46 Blog Subscribers, with a maximum number of 118 subscribers during the project D. We had: a. 313 Facebook Page Likes b. 93 Facebook Group Members c. 158 followers on Twitter d. And there were 10,452 visits by 9,300 unique visitors who had viewed 17,272 blog pages (data were not available before 1/24/2012) 2. 10 Popular articles about BugwoodImages, BugwoodWiki and partnerships/collaborations were written and distributer through the National Plant Diagnostics Network Newsletter during 2010 and 2011. 3. Publications migrated include: A. Four publications by Georgia Forestry Commission on forest health/IPM in forests; B. Three identification / IPM publications by The Hungarian Forest Research Institute; C. Approximately 100 one-page factsheets on insect and disease pests of forest by The Polish Forest Research Institute D. Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Councils Invasive Plant Manual; E. Seven University of Georgia publications dealing pests of pastures and turf; pecans; termites; tomatoes; love bugs and agricultural crops; F. USDA Forest Service, Forest Insect Biological Control publication and Invasive Plants in Forests; G. USDA Forest Service: Nine Field Guides; Six Biology and Management publications and Seven publications dealing with The Biology and Biological Control of important invasive plants of forested; H. A set of factsheets on Bark Beetles of France developed by French Département de la santé des forêts (Forest Department). I. Integrated Pest Management in Georgia, Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. 49p. 4. There were 333,625 Page Views by 252,526 Unique Users to the articles listed above 5. An archive template was developed to automatically link between articles based on the scientific name of the subject being discussed. It has been implemented on 334 pages and it will continue to be implemented in the future to provide links to archived material. 6. Images recruited and added to IPMImages: A. 8,151 images of 1,344 species were added that received 7,737,104 views, 3,382 image use requests for 13,610 images, 25,683 direct downloads B. 42,831 images on 4,881 subjects were updated and/or completed. C. 103 images of 21 subjects were added by the UGA-Tifton Diagnostic Lab. These images received 9,910 views, 4 image use requests for 4 images and 50 direct downloads 7. 138 photographers added images. Most of the editing of the images and input of image information was done in-house. 8. We developed an archive template to automatically link between articles based on the scientific name of the subject being discussed that was implemented on 334 pages and it will continue to be implemented in the future to provide links to archived material. The States and Regions Template that provides linkages to articles for other states and regions is in use on 121 pages and will also be utilized to aid in crosslinking of relevant material.

Impacts 1. We were able to leverage this project by developing or continuing cooperation and supporting the projects listed below. A. Diagnosticians cookbook; \ B. National Plant Diagnostics Network (NPDN) First Detectors; C. NPDN Entomology D. IPED; E. High Plains IPM; F. NPIPM; G. Invasipedia; H. Legume PIPE I. Onion PIPE 2. This project resulted in substantially increasing the traffic to websites served by The Bugwood Center that are associated with the cooperative projects and groups identified above A. Diagnosticians cookbook; 6,164 page views; 2,577 visitors B. NPDN First Detectors; 2634 page views; 1,396 visitors C. NPDN Entomology 3,148 page view; 1,528 visitors D. IPED; 5,747 page views; 3,671 visitors E. HPIPM; 176,295 page views; 137,370 visitors F. NPIPM; 13,054 page views; 9,911 visitors G. Invasipedia; 6,049 page views; 3,301 visitors H. Legume PIPE; 634 page views; 369 visitors I. Onion PIPE; 511 page views; 299 visitors 3. Overall web traffic on these sites during the period of this project: A. IPM Images received: 41,873,397 Hits with 4,525,985 Page Views by 1,766,798 Visitors B. BugwoodWiki received 1,060,958 Page Views by 470,494 Visitors 4. Partially as a result of this effort, we have become partners in the southern IPM Center and will be leading the Facilitation of Innovation Through Technology (FITT) initiative to improve communication within and between groups of IPM stakeholders. 5. An outside group was asked to evaluate IPMImage usage. They interviewed extension agents, researchers and ag teachers to have them evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the site as well as provide suggestions for improvement. Many of the users find the system easy to navigate and find the images very useful. Some difficulty was encountered if the user did not know exactly what they were looking for as is the case when they are trying to identify an unknown organism. There is also the need for review of image collections to remove images that were originally included to illustrate a species but better images have been added since.

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