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                                    <p><span dir="ltr" id="eow-title" title="Ms. Ladybug-a sings the Bed Bug Bop">We have been very busy this year at Safer Pest Control Project, we hope you enjoy our <em>Update</em>. <br />
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                                    Thank you to everyone who made a donation this year to support our efforts to reduce pesticide use and promote alternatives. Please consider making a contribution today as we are very close to making our year end goal. We are pleased to announce that we have a donor that will match donations up to $5000, so your gift will have double the impact. <br />
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                                    Have a great holiday season.</span></p>
                                    <p><span class="headline"><span dir="ltr" title="Ms. Ladybug-a sings the Bed Bug Bop"><strong><br />
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                        <p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.spcpweb.org/donate/"><img border="0" alt="Donate to SPCP" align="absMiddle" width="180" height="41" src="http://spcpweb.org/images/button_DONATE.gif" /></a><strong>Make a donation today to help Safer Pest Control Project!</strong></p>
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                        Bringing the Message of Natural Lawn Care to the<br />
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                        Great Lakes</strong></p>
                        <p>SPCP is a partner on a three-year grant to promote natural lawn care and sustainable landscapes to the Great Lakes Region. The grant was awarded through the federally funded Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a large multi-year effort by U.S. EPA to restore the quality of our lakes. We are excited to work with our partners including Illinois/Indiana Sea Grant and the University of Illinois Extension on this project. Our top goals are to train cities, landscapers, and homeowners on the principles of natural lawn care and to educate them about the effects pesticides have on water quality. The collaborative partnership will create new and innovative approaches to reduce pollution into our Great Lakes.<br />
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                        <p class="headline"><strong>Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Goes Live at Chicago Public Schools</strong></p>
                        <p>Chicago Public Schools (CPS), through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control for Asthma Management, has contracted with SPCP to create an online environmental health learning tool for CPS staff on IPM, Green Cleaning, and Bus Idling. This on-demand training module, hosted through CPS's website, will teach users the basic principles of each of the subject matters and will introduce CPS's guidelines and rules for implementation that will protect children's health and well being. SPCP was the leading force in guiding CPS to adopt its IPM policies and continues to offer technical assistance.<br />
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                        <p class="headline"><strong>Website Builds Capacity for Spanish Audience</strong></p>
                        <p>Thanks to a grant from the Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust, we have been able to add a new Spanish tab to our website. This new page has collected and expanded our Spanish translations of our most popular fact sheets. The site will be maintained and updated on a regular basis. The easy accessibility of this information will help deliver the message of IPM more effectively to the growing populations of Spanish speakers.<br />
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                        <p class="headline"><strong>Evanston Environment Board Receives SPCP's First IPM Hero Award</strong></p>
                        <p><img alt="SPCP Board" align="right" width="320" height="240" src="http://www.spcpweb.org/images/SPCP_2010_Program_Update_board.jpg" />SPCP's 4th annual Ladybug Bash at SPACE in Evanston on<br />
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                        <p class="headline"><strong>SPCP Provides Leadership on IPM for Bed Bugs</strong></p>
                        <p>Bed bugs are big news these days, making the headlines 24 hours a day. For the past two years, SPCP has been on the forefront of addressing the complex issues of bed bug management. SPCP and its dedicated staff have developed trainings, disseminated our outreach materials, and provided expertise that focuses on using IPM as the key to addressing infestations. Without an integrated approach to bed bug control, the problem will continue to be intractable and will expose people to high levels of unnecessary pesticides. We are focusing our efforts on connecting the IPM message in all our work, and we believe it is imperative to the effective management of this problem.</p>
                        <p><strong>On the Road</strong><br />
                        This October, SPCP was invited to deliver bed bug trainings in California in partnership with Physicians for Social Responsibility/LA and Californians for Pesticide Reform. This was our first partnership with an out-of-state nonprofit to promote IPM for bed bugs. One of the primary goals was to help our colleagues develop capacity for their organizations to train and provide technical assistance on bed bug IPM in their regions.<br />
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                        On the Web</strong><br />
                        One of the primary challenges of proper bed bug management is ensuring people understand the problem. SPCP has tackled this challenge by creating the first in a series of webinars that will educate a large audience in a sustainable way without incurring the costs of direct training. Go to our training page for a complete update on how to access these trainings throughout the upcoming year.<br />
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                        <p class="headline"><strong>SPCP Helps With City, State, and Regional&nbsp;Policy</strong></p>
                        <p><em><strong>City:</strong></em> SPCP has been leading the effort to train community-based housing agencies to deal with the growing bed bug infestation. SPCP is a Chicago delegate agency that services the low-income housing community. In addition, we have provided a series of intensive trainings for the Chicago Housing Authority and delivered critical trainings for City of Chicago's Department of Family Services and their associated staff and agencies including homeless shelters and other at risk populations. We also continue to offer technical assistance through the phone and our website.<br />
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                        <em><strong>Regional:</strong></em> SPCP was asked to participate in a series of meetings designed to help this region's U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department develop and write a policy for their landlords regarding bed bug problems. Chief among their concerns are the high costs associated with proper pest control and the difficulties in assuring the health of tenants. SPCP offered expert testimony and provided our fact sheets to help develop their policy. Once the policy is finished this spring, it will be used as a template for other regions.<br />
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                        <em><strong>State:</strong></em> Executive Director, Rachel Rosenberg, as a member of the Structural Pest Control Advisory Council, was appointed to the Illinois Bed Bug Task Force. A report is due to the legislature by December 2011.<br />
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