Established in 1997, the Coalition for Urban/Rural Environmental Stewardship (CURES) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to create and deliver science-based solutions and education to ensure that tools to manage pests and grow plants are used in ways that protect people and the environment.
CURES works with producers, industries, academic institutions, regulators, environmental advocates, and other public interest groups, and provides a collaborative platform for projects that help farmers, homeowners, and urban pest managers adopt IPM practices that reduce water pollution and protect worker health.
CURES provides IPM technical and financial assistance and outreach in both agricultural and urban settings in addition to providing financial assistance and oversight for practices that minimize, recycle, or clean up water that leaves agricultural lands. CURES is being recognized for demonstrating unique and outstanding leadership in the promotion of IPM and the development of creative practical solutions to protect water quality and public health in California.
More information is available at www.curesworks.org or by contacting Parry Klassen, executive director, by email or 559/288-8125.
Hearts Pest Management operates in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. It is the only EcoWise-certified company outside the San Francisco Bay Area. Hearts provides pest management services to residential and commercial customers and others IPM-based solutions to all of its customers, not just to those that specifically request it.
Hearts has completely eliminated its use of fipronil and has converted from metaldehyde to less toxic iron phosphate for snail control. The company provides organic pest control solutions and individualized pest control programs for each client, such as the use of bee vacuums in appropriate areas and non-chemical bed bug treatment options. In addition to its extensive Internet web site, Hearts has developed http://bugsinmybed.com/, a website that provides information specifically on mites, bedbugs, and other biting arthropods.
The cornerstone of Hearts’ pest management program is its “Green Thumb“ approach, which focuses on the use of organic products, EcoSmart products, and pest exclusion tactics tailored for the unique needs of each client. Hearts has demonstrated strong leadership in the pest management industry and is committed to providing IPM solutions to its customers.
More information is available at www.heartspm.com or by contacting Gerry Weitz by email or 800/986-1006.
Limoneira, based in Ventura County, has a long history of IPM practices in the California citrus and avocado industries. Limoneira also owns several area developments and has included landscape and structural IPM strategies in its plans for new developments in Santa Paula. In Ventura County, farm land is interspersed with residential and urban developments and poses farming challenges. However, Limoneira has successfully integrated agriculture into Ventura County’s increasing urban sprawl.
The company’s IPM program includes intensive scouting and monitoring for pests and using mulch to suppress weeds and insects that lay eggs in the soil. Other examples include developing pest-resistant citrus and avocado varieties, raising beneficial insects, planting native vegetation to keep dust down, and reducing incidence of fungal diseases through proper water management.
Limoneira built one of the first private insectaries in California to raise beneficial insects. Limoneira partners with Agromin to convert green waste collected from Ventura County communities into mulch and compost used by Limoneira, as well as other area companies and individuals. The company also owns a 5.5-acre solar panel “orchard” that powers its packinghouse and storage facility and uses sheep to control weeds around the solar panels.
More information is available at www.limoneira.com or by contacting Gus Gunderson by email or 805/525-5541, ext.259 or Tomas Gonzalez by email or 805/525-5541, ext. 250.
In 2007, the UC San Francisco California Childcare Health Program (CCHP) in collaboration with UC Berkeley’s Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health (CERCH), UC Statewide IPM Program, and child care providers and child care health consultants, received a grant from DPR to develop an IPM program for child care providers throughout the state. The group surveyed child care providers to establish current pest management practices and then developed an IPM Toolkit for Early Care and Education Programs (Toolkit) in English and Spanish for the management of pests common in child care centers.
The Toolkit is comprehensive guide that provides information on excluding pests and removing conditions attractive to pests, identifying and monitoring pests, identifying safe and effective pest treatment when necessary, and hiring pest management professionals. Many child care centers throughout California are now using the Toolkit, which is distributed at workshops and professional meetings in cooperation with various agencies. The Toolkit is the first publication of its kind in the U.S. and has provided an invaluable IPM resource for child care providers and child care referral services. More information on the Toolkit is available on the CCHP website or the CERCH website, or by contacting Abbey Alkon by email or 415/476-4695, or Asa Bradman by email or 510/643-3023.