Professional Development at Cowanesque Valley High School

On March 28^th, I traveled up to Cowanesque Valley High School to attend a Pesticide Education Meeting hosted by Penn State Extension and coordinated by Heather Wasson. Penn State Extension Agent, J. Craig Williams, facilitated the workshop for 22 community members who wanted to gain 2 core and 2 category (2 + 2) credits for their pesticide applicator license.

This meeting contained several components, as you can see in the agenda shared. The meeting began with a demonstration of Sprayer Calibration by Cowanesque students,and ended with an update on weed control & weed ID. Throughout the meeting there was many discussions held concerning the new PA Noxious Law. Craig explained this how this law replaces the Noxious Weed Control Law that has been in place since 1982.  It classifies noxious weeds based on the ability to manage and eradicate.  Therefore, grouping weeds into one of three classes: A, B, or C. Additionally, sharing controlled plants requires permits that can allow propagation.

Craig Williams shares about PA Noxious Law

Although I am not a certified pesticide applicator, I hope to earn my pesticide applicator’s license soon. I share this because in attendance at this meeting were two agricultural educators, previous/current students, and community members.  The educators in attendance shared that they attend these meetings to gain credits, so that they can provide opportunities through supervise and facilitate of their students while handling pesticides in their program’s greenhouse. Additionally, it is evident that students benefit from hands on application of pesticides in the greenhouse because there were 5 previous/current students in attendance. In turn, this benefits the community because these students are current or future employees of agriculture businesses. Therefore I believe attending and hosting a pesticide meeting as an agriculture educator, present a great way to engage with other agricultural educators, students and the community.

Although, I was not able to earn credits by attending this meeting, I learned a lot about weed identification, and weed control through pesticide application.