Walter Nelson, horticulture program leader at Monroe County Cornell Cooperative Extension, received an Excellence in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Award from the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program (NYSIPM) at the Genesee-Finger Lakes Landscape and Nursery Professionals Winter Conference in Rochester. NYSIPM develops sustainable ways to manage pests and helps people to use methods that minimize environmental, health and economic risks. The award honors individuals who encourage the adoption of IPM in their businesses, schools, communities, and farms, and who develop new tools and tactics for sharing these practices.
Nelson has served New York’s horticultural industry since 1978 – forty years – first as an educator in the southern tier and most recently in Monroe County. He’s sometimes called the ‘best kept secret of Rochester’. A local resource to landscapers and arborists on IPM techniques, Nelson has remained current on invasive pests and pesticide registration. Frank Rossi, Professor of Horticulture at Cornell, described him as a “stalwart of consistency in his interpretation of weather trends and the implications for stress and pest management in turf” and praised his “lifelong interest in climatology, IPM, and his service-oriented mindset.”
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