UC Santa Cruz earns award for its integrated pest management approach

From left: Sapna Thottahil, deputy director of sustainable pest management, Department of Pesticide Regulation; Jose Gallegos-Jeronimo, grounds IPM technician, UCSC; Julie Sutton, associate director grounds & custodial services, UCSC; Bill Reid, grounds coordinator – campus site stewardship program, UCSC; Joshua Goldman, superintendent for grounds specialty crew, UCSC; Rudy Balderas, grounds IPM technician, UCSC; and Karen Morrison, Director, Department of Pesticide Regulation. PHOTO COURTESY OF UC SANTA CRUZ

In recognition of long-standing efforts to safely and sustainably manage pests, UC Santa Cruz has earned the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s Integrated Pest Management Achievement Award.

“We have a talented and dedicated team in Ground Services that continually looks for safe, sustainable and creative ways to steward the UC Santa Cruz lands that it manages,” said Ed Reiskin, vice chancellor for finance, operations and administration. “It’s an honor to have the state of California recognize our team for this longstanding commitment to sustainability.”

UC Santa Cruz Grounds Services practices an IPM approach that considers the campus’s natural ecosystem when making pest management decisions. UCSC Grounds Services developed its IPM Program in 2016. Grounds Services staff focus on non-chemical preventative methods, use insecticides and herbicides sparingly and do not use any rodenticides.

UCSC Grounds Services is responsible for maintaining the 440 acres of developed campus grounds, including landscaped and hardscaped areas, roads, turf and athletic facilities, as well as the 1,500 acres of undeveloped campus property that remains as natural habitat for wildlife. In addition to roughly 10,000 campus residents, the campus is also home to endangered Ohlone tiger beetles, threatened red-legged frogs, mountain lions, bobcats and more.

“As we work to foster sustainable pest management (SPM) in California, the leaders and innovators we are recognizing at this year’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Achievement Awards provide a model for others looking to increase practical adoption of IPM and SPM,” said DPR Acting Director Daniel Rubin.