Overview:
Staff from the Bloedel Reserve, the University of Washington Botanical Gardens Arboretum Location, and The Bellevue Botanical Garden will educate us about the national network for identifying and monitoring plant pests and pathogens and give us some ideas as to how it could be useful to us in the Pacific Northwest.
They have been through the training program and are implementing the program at their gardens currently. This program was created through a collaboration of the American Public Garden Association and the National Plant Diagnostic Network. The Program schedule is as follows:
Part 1: An Introduction to the Plant Sentinel Network: how it is structured, and how it functions
Part 2: Discussion of the shared diagnostic tools for monitoring and control of diseases and pests available with some examples pertinent to NW landscapes
Part 3: Panel Discussion of pest problems and how to use the Sentinel Plant Network to improve control of pests and diseases and how the network can be used to improve garden-plant management here in this region and help avert the introduction of pests new to the Northwest