Philadelphia middle school 'IPM Pest Patrol' kicks out pests

Philadelphia middle school 'IPM Pest Patrol' kicks out pests

University Park, Pa. -- Students at Shaw Middle School in southwest Philadelphia are taking control of pest problems in their school as part of a Penn State service-learning project. Students will present the results of their work at the upcoming National Service Learning Conference taking place March 22 to 25 at the Philadelphia Conference Center.

The project aims to alleviate potential problems with pests such as cockroaches, ants, rats and weeds by empowering students, teachers and the community to implement integrated pest management strategies, or IPM.

IPM is a kid-safe, economical and scientific approach to managing pests. It integrates knowledge of pest identity and biology with pest monitoring so that action, if needed, can be taken at just the right time. In addition, IPM uses a combination of management tactics that are more likely to be safe and effective.

All public schools in Pennsylvania are now required to have an IPM plan in place to manage pests in school buildings and on school grounds. In addition, all public school students in Pennsylvania must learn about IPM to meet the new academic standards in environment and ecology.

The IPM service-learning program was initiated at Shaw three years ago by Pennsylvania IPM Program staff member Teresina Bailey and Nicole Webster, Penn State professor of agricultural and extension education. The program is implemented and managed by a team consisting of Penn State education specialists, schoolteachers and state IPM personnel. Under their direction, a group of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students formed an IPM team, called "Pest Patrol," to learn about the benefits of using IPM in their school to manage roaches, flies and mice indoors and address other environmental issues in a service-learning format.

This spring, students hope to expand the project to learn how to manage insects, animals and weed pests that may infest the school's outdoor garden.

"Service learning provides a tremendous asset to youth by providing them with skills to promote self-confidence, citizenship and leadership to deal with these situations," said Webster. "Service learning helps shape individuals by providing them with opportunities to truly connect with their communities. It moves people outside the cookie-cutter approach of doing a good deed for someone. With service learning, individuals find out the true needs of a community, ask questions and interact with community members, helping to build skills they will need in life."

According to Michelle Niedermeier, community IPM coordinator for the state's IPM program, the students have been working on several projects. "The students took pictures of the things in their neighborhood that they liked and didn't like. Then, the students took pictures of potential pest situations at school that they have control over (leaving food and food wrappers in lockers) and items that maintenance personnel must repair (cracks in walls). They are working on turning these pictures into posters that are being displayed at the entrances of the school."

Also, the Pest Patrol has prepared and staffed a display about the service-learning project for two NASA-sponsored Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics nights at Shaw. "This is a great way for other students, parents and the community to see what the students are learning about," said Webster.

In addition, Joe Bondiskey, pest control foreman for the Philadelphia School District, along with his associate Keith Griffin, visit the students to teach and demonstrate the basics of an IPM program. "We've given the students an overview of roach and mice IPM and shown them all the IPM tools used in preventing and controlling these pests," Bondiskey said.

Students will have the opportunity to use their new skills in homes and communities -- skills they learned practicing IPM in the school environment. According to Niedermeier, students are utilizing surveys, audio-visual displays, after-school programs, newsletters at health fairs and community outreach events. "The students are learning how to be expert leaders, team researchers, educators and peer role models while collaborating with community partners," she said.

Currently, the students are gearing up to participate in the 17th Annual National Service-Learning Conference taking place March 22 to 25 in Philadelphia. "The event will be the largest gathering of youths and practitioners in the country involved in the service-learning movement," said Webster. "The Shaw students will be participating in a Regional Service-Learning Showcase to share their experiences with the Pest Patrol project." For more information on the conference, visit the Web site at https://programs.regweb.com/metro/NSLC2006/ online.

The PA IPM program is a collaboration between Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting IPM in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. The PA IPM program's Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu contains a wealth of information about the school IPM effort in Pennsylvania and educational materials from across the country. For more information on service learning, visit Penn State's Agricultural and Extension Web site at http://servicelearning.cas.psu.edu/WhatIs.html online. For more information on PA IPM, contact the program at (814) 865-2839 or visit Web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu online.