WEBINARS have become a new, and favored, way of attending workshops and seminars–from your desk chair. For those of us who (unfortunately) spend a good part of our work day at a desk, it has been an easy transition.
The EPA, many universities, and large funded research groups like the Northeast IPM Center offer excellent online free webinars ( workshops, presentations, seminars–call them what you’d like). We watched an excellent presentation on bedbugs last fall that was ‘attended’ online by hundreds of people around the country. Often, these presentations are archived as a research for new viewers.
While some employees in a school district or BOCES have the option to watch online, others do not. We’d like to see this valuable resource become a normal part of training for custodians and groundskeepers; many other presentations are suitable for all staff. The investment of a half hour online training is invaluable. Imagine if that same employee had to take the day away to drive to a seminar and sit to learn the same information. Okay- so you’d all miss the coffee and donuts, but not the early morning drive. Especially at this time of year!
They may never replace the experience of direct interaction, but they can’t be beat for convenience.
We, at the NYSIPM program and especially those of us working on school and childcare seek to make you aware of online, free workshops. Follow us at https://twitter.com/NY_School_IPM @NY_School_IPM IPM for Schools and Childcare, or subscribe to emailed notices. (look up in the top right corner. Yes. Right there.)
Webinars Coming up from the EPA:
- Feb 23, 2016 — Pest Prevention by Design in Schools
- March 15, 2016 — IPM for Turf on School Grounds
- April 19, 2016 — Vertebrate Turf Pests
- May 17, 2016 — Ants – The #1 Pest in Schools
- June 7, 2016 — Termite Mitigation in Schools – A Holistic Approach
Also available: Pesticide Recertification credits (prices for credit hour set by DEC) online at The Distance Learning Center, Cornell’s Pesticide Management Education Program http://coursem.cce.cornell.edu/
This site is the home to on-line pesticide applicator courses produced by Cornell Cooperative Extension. These are accepted in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia and most of New England. A partnership between PMEP and the NYS IPM program is an essential element in creating the courses. The creation of this site was made possible through grants from the US-EPA Pesticide Stewardship program and the USDA Smith Lever funds.