Announcement for a Pesticide Risk Reduction Education Short Course in Hilo, April 11 - 12, 2019
December 28, 2018
LOCATION
Hilo (zip code 96720) on Hawaii island
DATES & TIMES
April 11 - 12, 2019. 8:15 AM - 4:00 PM each day.
Breaks are about 60 minutes apart. Lunch break on your own is one hour. (No food or beverages will be provided.)
INTRODUCTION
This in-depth two-day short course is about handling pesticides, including herbicides, in ways that will reduce risks to people and our environment. It will be conducted by an instructor from the Cooperative Extension, a part of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
WHO WOULD BENEFIT?
The course would benefit people who want to be better informed about handling pesticides properly or prepare for the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s examination for restricted use pesticide certification.
Certified applicators will not earn re-certification credits by attending this course.
TOPICS
The instructor will discuss the topics in the study guides in a basic or “core” study packet, which provide information common to all categories of restricted use pesticide certification. (More information about study guides is below, under STUDY GUIDES.) But, topics such as identification and life cycles of specific pests and specialized application techniques, equipment and calculations are covered only in the study guides in “category-specific” study packets, not in the short course. So if you plan to take a certification exam, you should also study the “category-specific” study guides, such as those in the “Private 1,2,3” study packet or the “Commercial 2 Forest pest control” study packet” or the “Commercial 7a,b,c,d,e pest control” study packet. (The complete list of categories of study packets is at https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/epp/Education/Study-Guide-Packets.)
The basic or “core” topics to be covered in the short course include:
• Types & formulations of pesticides
• Laws & regulations about buying, storing, transporting, applying, and disposing of pesticides
• Importance of a pesticide product’s labeling and safety data sheet (SDS).
• Concepts and components of integrated pest management (IPM).
• Common pests’ general identification features & life cycles
• Application methods
• Main parts of common spraying equipment
• Dilution and dosage instructions on pesticide labels
• Calculating sizes of treatment sites
• Pesticides in the environment
• Hazards to pesticide handlers
• Protective clothing & safety equipment
• Mixing, loading, application, transport, storage, and disposal
• Washing work clothing
• Preparing for accidental pesticide exposure
REGISTRATION
Deadline for registration is March 15, 2019. Enrollment is limited to 20 people.
If you have a disability and may need accommodations to participate, contact the UH Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center (in Honolulu), 808-956-6706, by March 15, 2019.
Fee for registration is $125 per person. The fee is for the two days’ presentations and classroom handouts. No food or beverages will be provided. The fee for taking an exam for restricted use pesticide certification is not included. (If you plan to take one of the certification exams offered by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, read the note “EXAMS FOR CERTIFICATION” near the bottom of this page.)
Form for registration is available either from the instructor or by downloading the blank or fillable version:
Here's the BLANK FORM. Print it. Fill it in manually. Then send it with your payment.
Here's the FILLABLE FORM. Fill it in on your computer. Print it. Then send it with your payment.
Use page 4 of the form to register. Use page 3 to order packets of printed study guides, if you need them.
STUDY GUIDES
Study guides for certification exams are not the same as the classroom
handouts. You should get the study guides if you plan to study for a
"restricted use" pesticide certification exam offered by the Hawaii
Department of Agriculture. There is more information about this at t
https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/epp/Education/Study-Guide-Packets.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact the Agricultural Diagnostic Service Center: ph. 808-956-6706 (Honolulu) or the instructor: ph. 808-956-6007 (Honolulu), email: cynagami@hawaii.edu, or Mail: Pesticide Safety Education Program Coordinator, P.E.P.S. Dept., 3190 Maile Way, Room 307, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822.
EXAMS FOR CERTIFICATION
Test takers must make an appointment to take the exam to qualify for certification to buy or use restricted use pesticides in Hawaii. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s employees will sign up a test taker for a specific location, date and time. There is a fee for taking an exam. (This fee is not included in the registration fee for the short course.) Read more about the exams at hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/pest/pesticide-applicator-certificationrecertification-2/
FREE BOOKLETS AVAILABLE BEFORE SHORT COURSE BEGINS
For a free copy of the booklet, “Test Your Math Skills,” contact the instructor or download it HERE. The leaflet presents exercises and answers that will help trainees refresh basic math skills needed to understand the instructor’s calculation examples. Trainees who find the exercises difficult will get more benefit from the short course if they get tutoring before the course begins. The exercises review (1) common fractions and their decimal number equivalents, (2) rounding-off, (3) percent, (4) conversions between • seconds and minutes • ounces and pounds • fluid ounces, pints, and gallons • square feet and acres, (5) reading tables, and (6) calculating square feet of rectangular areas. Test-takers must have these skills to answer some of the questions in the certification exams.
You can download another free leaflet, "Practice Analyzing an Insecticide Label", from HERE or by contacting the instructor. Study the examples to boost your pesticide label reading skills, which you will need to plan a pesticide treatment or to prepare for the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s restricted use pesticide certification exam.