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Activity - Pest Management Assessment of a Park: Balancing Multiple Needs

E & E Standards: 4B, 4C, 7A, 7B, 10C, 12 A, 12 B
Skills Problem solving

Introduction:
Parks are places that are we humans enjoy for relaxation, sport and learning. Park managers do their best to maintain parks for maximum human enjoyment. This sometimes is no small task. Parks not only have diverse habitats and species that must be maintained in a relatively wild state, but also bodies of water, buildings, lawns, landscapes and other managed areas that may not mesh well with the "wild side" of parks. Additionally

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the types of pest situations found in a park
2. Understand the trade-offs necessary to e us
3. Understand how IPM tactics are used in park situations

Materials Needed:
IPM for Parks Checklist and notebook for taking notes
Park manager or educator willing to host you and your students

Timeline: Several hour field trip

Procedure:
1. Prepare students by asking them their impression of what kinds of species might be pests in
parks and what could be done about them.
2. Tour the park grounds with a park manager who can explain pest problems in the park
3. Have students use their IPM in parks checklist to jot down the basic information and possible
IPM solutions to the pest situations.
4. Encourage students to discuss with the park manager all the pest management options and
rationale for using them.

Analysis & Discussion:
"Debrief" students upon their return - were the same species they thought would be pests in the park the actual pests? What did they think was the most important pest problem and why? Can they think of other solutions to that problem?

Illustrations: IPM Action Plan Summary