Grants to Reduce Pesticide in the Bay Area

Two Bay Area organizations are being awarded almost $400,000 in grants to find ways to deal with pests around homes and children, that will reduce the risk of harmful pesticide exposure, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced Tuesday. These grants support the development of integrated pest management (IPM) programs.

The awards, funded by DPR’s Pest Management Alliance Grant program, will go to:

• Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA). It will receive $199,927 for its project ‘IPM Focus on Multi-Unit Housing’;
• University of California San Francisco (UCSF). It will receive $179,973 for its project ‘Developing an IPM Program to Reduce the Exposure to Pesticides for Young Children in Family Child Care Homes in California.’

BASMAA’s project, “IPM Focus on Multi-Unit Housing,” will find ways to reduce pesticide use in and around apartments, so that everyone from building managers to tenants are trained to deal with pests using non-chemical means, if possible. The intent is to curb pesticide overuse and encourage pest prevention practices. See project summary

UC San Francisco’s project, “Developing an IPM Program to Reduce the Exposure to Pesticides for Young Children in Family Child Care Homes in California,” will develop an IPM (integrated pest management) program specifically for home-based daycares, to prevent young children from potentially being exposed to pesticides. Twenty-one home-based daycares – in Alameda, Santa Cruz and Stanislaus Counties – will take part in the pilot project. See project summary

DPR has awarded more than $7 million in Alliance Grants to nearly 70 projects since the program started in 1997. The program supports pest management systems to reduce risks associated with pesticide use.

--Submitted for publication by California Department of Pesticide Regulation

--Photo: Patch Archive