Meeting of Like Minds — Eyes in the Field with Sharon Collman
October 19, 2021 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm PDT
Free – $10.00
This MOLM will be available to members at no cost; nonmembers are able to purchase tickets to this presentation for $10.
The Pacific Northwest is experiencing multiple invasions by insects (and diseases). These arrive with plants, soil, and seeds, in shipping containers, on shipping vehicles, and in household goods. Several are poised on our borders, ready to move into uninfested areas. Learn to recognize and report, these new arrivals, and those poised on our borders. Report them before they become a raging infestation with no hope of control: Japanese beetle, spotted lanternfly, European chafer, and more.
Join Sharon Collman as she discusses the impacts that these invasive species can have on our gardens, forests, economy, and society. Beyond obvious foliar damage and productivity reduction, less obvious impacts may not be seen or recognized for years.
You are the Eyes in the Field, and you are needed! Many of you are in multiple landscapes each day, checking and working among a variety of plants in many locations. WSU and WSDA analyzed first notifications of new invasive species and found that roughly 35% were reported by WSDA and USDA detection programs and about 30% were first detected and reported by Master Gardeners. The others were reported by people who pay attention to anomalies in landscapes, people who are regularly working and observing in a variety of landscapes and who frequently return to the same locations and can observe changes over time. Observe and report!
As Sharon says, “Better to report something that isn’t an invasive than not report one that is!”
Bring your questions to our special “observations and questions” session after the presentation.
Sharon J. Collman is Emeritus Professor, WSU Extension Educator in Horticulture and IPM. She has a B.S. in biology, M.S., and Ph.C. in Entomology. Sharon was the first woman Agriculture Agent in Washington. In 1973, she was a founding member of the pilot WSU Master Gardener Program and provides pest id and diagnosis training. She was the first Extension Liaison to EPA working on water quality and pesticides issues, then became EPA’s Regional IPM Coordinator. She’s written 75 bulletins, been a guest on Ed Hume’s Gardening in America and Ciscoe Morris and public radio shows, and her photographs have been published in the Ortho Problem Solver and others. She has won many awards including the Ed Lacrosse Distinguished Service Award by Washington State Master Gardener Foundation (2017); EPA Team Award of Excellence for the Urban Pesticide Initiative (2003). Outstanding Urban Horticulture Program in the U.S.(1986), 2nd place national for her column, Bugs and Blights (1986); “Nurseryman of the Year”, “Educator of the Year” (2008), Honorary Lifetime Membership (2008), and “Pioneer Award” for enduring contributions to the green industry (2014) by WSNLA; Achievement Award from the NACAA (1979), as well as awards for her slide shows, writing and photography. Her presentations and hands-on workshops are fast paced, light and enjoyable. She is totally committed to the value of extension and Master Gardeners in protecting the environment and human health. She is passionate about the insects in all their diversity and continues to teach and photograph insects for enjoyment.
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