Pest Management Alliance Grants Awarded 2017
Back to Funded Pest Management Alliance Grants (2007 - present)
Project Summaries
Restricted Pesticide Use Notification Near Schools
Sponsor: Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, Monterey County
Principal Investigator: Heather Healy
Funding totals: $94,240
The Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner's Office launched a pilot project in 2016 to provide parents, teachers, students, school employees, and the community with information about fumigant use on farmland near schools in Monterey County. The farmingsafelynearschools.com website, launched in 2018, is part of a model communications network designed to notify the school communities before a fumigant is applied on a farm near a school. This grant expands on the pilot project by increasing community outreach, expanding the notification website, and increasing educational training and outreach for farmers and applicators.
Media contact: Heather Healy, Principal Investigator, 831-759-7316, healyhs@co.monterey.ca.us
Training California’s Pesticide Applicators to Reduce Drift Near Schools
Sponsor: Central Sierra Cooperative Extension (UC ANR)
Principal Investigator: Lynn Wunderlich
Funding totals: $218,896
Many agricultural fields near schools routinely receive pesticides as part of IPM programs and communities are concerned about pesticide illness risk to children attending these schools. Spray drift and pesticide illness risk are minimized when applicators receive training on best spray practices. The project will support safer school sites by delivering practical spray application trainings to reduce spray drift near schools. The project team of trained UC professionals, Spray Safe staff, Agricultural Commissioners, and industry leaders will develop and conduct a survey to determine applicators’ knowledge gaps on spray practices. The project will create and deliver a unique hands-on course on sprayer calibration and drift reduction. At least five training courses will be provided at agricultural sites near schools in northern California. At least two trainings will include Spanish. For lasting impact, the project will create and post an online course. Post-training surveys for participants of the hands-on courses will assess the participants’ adoption of good spray practices.
Media contact: Lynn Wunderlich, Principal Investigator, 530-621-5505, lrwunderlich@ucanr.edu
For content questions, contact:
Tory Vizenor
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95812-4015
E-mail: Tory.Vizenor@cdpr.ca.gov