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IPM
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Seaford Union Free School District Seaford, NY
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| May 29, 2008 Seaford Union Free School District's IPM program was born out of a desire to do right by their community and environment. Andrew H. Ward, Director of School Facilities, was new to the district when the IPM STAR evaluation was conducted in 2007, but he was excited about the possibilities. “I knew we could benefit from the Cornell Cooperative Staff as we developed a comprehensive IPM policy throughout the district”, Ward said. He was right – in May 2008, Seaford became the 32nd school district in the country to achieve IPM STAR certification. Lynn Braband, Community IPM Extension Educator at Cornell University, was part of the team that conducted Seaford's comprehensive, 37-point inspection. He was immediately impressed by the positive changes Seaford had already made, including limited pesticide use, need-based chemical applications, pest-resistant garbage cans and on-going monitoring. “These are issues that we still run into with experienced districts,” Braband said. “Seaford already had some exceptional practices.” With a population of just under 17,000, Seaford is a beautiful town near the Atlantic coast of New York state. Seaford Union Free School District is both a part of the community and the natural environment – with over 60 acres of property, landscape maintenance is a major concern. For this reason, improving sports field maintenance practices was a top priority. After receiving several bids, the district chose a local organic lawn care provider to service the fields. In addition to aerating and overseeding to choke out weeds, applications of organic fertilizer, compost tea, lime, and corn gluten were made on an ongoing basis, depending on the results of soil testing. Now, the fields are beautiful and functional, and toxicity has been reduced tremendously. Indoor environmental health was another concern. After the evaluation, the district made several improvements, and now Seaford boasts an impressive chemical inventory. They carefully choose green cleaning products, no carcinogens, no reproductive or nervous system toxicants, and no products that are toxic to non-target wildlife. Not only that, but application practices are outstanding – if a pesticide application is necessary, notification is posted at least 24 hours in advance, and every effort is made to keep children away from pesticides. Since children are both more susceptible to pesticides than adults and more likely to come into contact with them, Seaford's practices are admirable. One of the mottos of IPM is that “children are not just small adults”. This idea is put into practice every day at Seaford Union Free School District, for the benefit of the community and the environment. In October 2007, the district's Board of Education approved a policy which specifically addresses pesticides and pest management. Their overriding motivation is implementing the least toxic approach to integrated pest management in order to protect the health and safety of students and staff. Prepared as part of the IPM STAR Certification Process by the IPM Institute of North America for posting on its website with permission from Seaford Union Free School District. |
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