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Invasive Species Video Wins Awards - September 2003
September 17, 2003
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - What do zebra mussels, purple loosestrife, Asian longhorned beetles and plum pox have in common? They are all invasive species that share billing with "The BugMobile!" in the Pennsylvania IPM Program's award winning video, "BugMobile vs. Invasive Species".
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences' ICT Department has won National Communications Awards and several from the Agricultural Communicators in Education (ACE) Critique & Awards Program. Some of the awards include top honors for scriptwriting (John Dickison), graphic design and animation (Pete Warren, John Dickison), video (John Dickison, Pete Warren, Tom Cherry) and editing (John Dickison). The video also garnered the ACE's Outstanding Professional Skill Award in Writing (John Dickison), which recognizes the "best of the best" among all entry categories.
Geared toward lower and upper secondary students, the video addresses the several categories of the state's new Academic Standards: 4.1 - Watersheds and Wetlands, 4.3 - Environmental Health, and 4.5 - Integrated Pest Management. The video also offers suggestions for managing invasive species using integrated pest management (IPM).
IPM aims to manage pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe and environmentally compatible.
The video, hosted and narrated by the famous BugMobile, the talking Volkswagen, identifies the effects of humans and human events on watersheds, explains species diversity, introduces species that are classified as pests in their new environment, and analyzes the benefits to the environment and society associated with alternative practices used in IPM.
The video can be used independently or coupled with a teacher-ready lesson plan. Each video includes a lesson plan with content objectives, assessment strategies and procedures. The lesson plan also includes pre and post-tests for the students to complete, discussion questions and suggests other related extension activities.
To obtain a copy of the video and lesson plan, send a check or money order for $35 made payable to The Pennsylvania State University to ICT, 119 Ag Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802-2602. Visa and MasterCard orders will be accepted by calling (814) 865-6309. Shipping and handling costs are included in the price.
For more information on School IPM, see the PA IPM Program's web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu. Under the "Schools" link find out more about the School IPM effort in Pennsylvania and links to educational material from across the country. You can also download a new publication, IPM for Pennsylvania Schools, A How-To Manual. In addition, there is an interactive database on the web site to assist teachers with IPM background information, lesson plans and support materials throughout the U.S.
The PA IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.