Green Turf Management

Our talk will be how to manage turf & ornamental plants utilizing “Green” techniques, proper cultural practices. Also discussed will be destructive and beneficial pest identification, control measures, establishing reasonable thresholds and how to recognize the environment around you and how it impacts your Management strategies/ tactics. Come with questions and how you do things and be willing to contribute, there are many right ways to do things. You be surprised to learn that you currently implement many of the cultural practices incorrectly and this contributes to stress on plants creating an opportunity for pests.

Termite Management

Termites are found in every landscape.  Sometimes they invade structures, and sometimes they find enough cellulose material in the soil.  The key is learning how to reduce conducive conditions so that termites aren’t encouraged to feed on cellulose in structures.  There are also several species of termites that are of structural concern.  This presentation will cover the basics for identifying drywood, subterranean, Formosan subterranean, and agricultural termites.  It will also cover basic biology of the termites, when they swarm, key characteristics of their damage, and inspection tips.

Providing an effective IPM program to improve the health of ALL students

North East Independent School District will discuss the importance and best practices of maintaining a healthy environment for its 67,000 students/ 9000 staff members as it relates to school funding and productivity of student’s capacity to learn.  NEISD will describe its four component approach and the six key driver framework that have been effective in implementing a successful program to ensure the health of all students, especially for our 8000 environmentally-sensitive students.  The NEISD Indoor Air Quality and Asthma Awareness Education programs have received numerous awards from the EPA, most recently the 2010 Model of Sustained Excellence Award.

P.E.T.A.    YOU CAN’T TELL THEM TO BUG OFF AND YOU CAN’T IGNORE THEM.

Mike Carter Director of Maintenance Elgin Independent School District

Training for Success in IAQ and IPM

Peggy Caruso and Arnold Anderson bring experience from three school districts.   They will share their failures and successes in implementing and sustaining excellent indoor air quality and integrated pest management programs.  Katy ISD’s IAQ and IPM programs grew from nothing to a culture of knowledge.  They attribute the program growth to administrative support and communication.  The Katy ISD team has integrated training, fliers, newsletters, and outreach to begin and sustain the program.

“Acting as a Resource for the AgScience Program”

How well do you know your AG Science programs? Do you have floral departments, greenhouses, animal barns? Who maintains them? Do the teachers spray for bugs? Do they bait the barns for rats and mice? Can they? What laws do they have to follow? Do they follow IPM? If so, who do they report to? Who keeps their records?

In the presentation “Acting as a Resource for the AgScience Program” we will visit these questions and many more. I will show you how I became a resource for the AgSciences so you can too!

Landscape pests

This presentation will discuss how to identify various pests that may occur in the landscape- from fire ants to aphids to chinch bugs- and how to manage them.

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