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The objective of the pesticide safety education program is to coordinate with the Georgia Department of Agriculture to create and deliver education for commercial and private pesticide applicators to become certified and maintain certification to apply pesticides according to federal and state regulations. <P> Educational activities will include: presenting educational programs or hands on environments; developing and updating manuals and other training materials; developing and/or coordination of re-certification education programs; informing pesticide applicators of programs and materials though newsletter and web sites; and other educational programs that are effective.
Non-Technical Summary: <BR>Appropriate application of pesticides is essential for management of pests in agricultural and urban settings. Training in correct application of pesticides is crucial for pest managers to ensure the safety of agricultural products, homes, businesses and schools. This project will provide training to private and commercial pesticide applicators in the correct and safe use of pesticides. These training materials will be used in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Agriculture as part of the pesticide applicators licensing program. It is expected that this training will help ensure the safe application of pesticides to agricultural crops, businesses and schools, and homes and lawns. <P> Approach: <BR> 1) Update training manuals for hard copy and electronic distribution: During this funding period, several category training manuals including Animal Agriculture, Plant Agriculture, Aquatic Pest Management, Right-of-Way, and Demonstration and Research will be updated and made available in both a hard copy and electronic format. 2) Develop and Implement Online re-certification training modules: The PSEP coordinator will work with Georgia Department of Agriculture personnel to develop interactive, online training modules for CEU credit for commercial and private pesticide applicators. 3) Deliver training presentations at certification and re-certification workshops: In addition to the development of online training materials, the PSEP coordinator and extension specialist will deliver in-person training presentations at certification workshops throughout the state of Georgia. Presentations may also include Wimba sessions designed to reach larger audiences more effectively. 4) Additional Education Materials: The PSEP coordinator and extension specialists will produce educational materials such as brochures or pamphlets to address specific issues that may arise throughout the year.