Educators: PA Integrated Pest Management Program Wants Your Opinions

The PA Integrated Pest Management Program is partnering with the Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center to assess teachers’ interest and need for curricula that apply science, math, and language arts to environmental and human health issues associated with pests and pesticides. The NE IPM Center is a non-profit organization funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As you may know, pest-vectored diseases such as Eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease present critical opportunities to educate students and families about the importance of pests and how to manage them. In addition, how we as individuals approach pest management in our homes, schools and yards affects our immediate environment and personal and environmental health.

Similarly, food safety, world food supply, and pesticide impacts on our environment are relevant topics that fit well within science, math, social studies, and language arts curricula.

Take a few minutes to participate in this short on-line survey.

The information gained in this survey will be used to develop new lessons, to tailor and expand teacher-training opportunities, and to make curricula available to teachers in all northeastern states. Your participation is critical to the success of this grant-funded project, which aims to bring useful teaching tools and teacher-training resources to educators in our state. Your responses will be kept confidential.

If you have any questions about the survey or would like more information about integrated pest management curricula please contact Kathy Murray by sending email to: kathy.murray@maine.gov