Wildland Weed Field Courses

Looking to hone your wildland weed management skills? Our full-day courses provide expert instruction on core topics for your work. Courses are designed for professional land managers and restoration volunteers — newcomers and old-timers, professionals and committed volunteers alike.

Thanks to the generous support of major donors, Cal-IPC is able to offer discounted rates for restoration volunteers for the entire 2011 Field Course Season!

We are now in our seventh year of offering field courses - learn more about our past courses.

Training Videos - NEW!

Cal-IPC, in partnership with the National Park Service's California Exotic Plant Managmement Team, presents training videos straight from our 2009 Field Courses. Click here to see them.

Registration for 2011 Field Courses is now open!

In 2011 we are offering courses on several topics:

  • Strategic Approaches
  • Biology & Identification
  • Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants
  • Mapping
  • Control Methods
  • Herbicide Control Methods

2011 Calendar

All courses start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m.

Newark - Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge
    Wednesday, April 6 - Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants

Fairfax - Sky Oaks Watershed Headquarters
    Friday, April 8 - Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants

San Luis Obispo - San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden
    Wednesday, April 13 - Biology & Identification
    Thursday, April 14 - Control Methods

Redding - The McConnell Foundation's Lema Ranch
    Tuesday, May 17 - Biology & Identification
    Wednesday, May 18 - Control Methods

SF Bay Area - The Presidio of San Francisco's Golden Gate Club
    Tuesday, June 21 - Strategic Approaches
    Wednesday, June 22 - Control Methods

Los Angeles - Audubon Center at Debs Park
    Wednesday, July 20 - Herbicide Control Methods

San Diego - Tijuana River Nat'l Estuarine Research Reserve
    Wednesday, August 3 - Mapping
    Thursday, August 4 - Control Methods

Tahoe City - Granlibakken Resort
    Tuesday, October 4 - Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants

Costs and Registration

Regular fees are $145 (Cal-IPC member)/$165 (Non-member) per course. We offer a discounted rate of $45 per course for restoration volunteers, thanks to special grant funding. You qualify as a "restoration volunteer" if weed management is not part of your professional work and you volunteer for an organized restoration effort. Held in partnership with the Bay Area Early Detection Network (BAEDN), Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants trainings are held at a special discounted rate of $40 per course.

Field Techniques Trainings include a continental breakfast and reference material. All other courses include continental breakfast, lunch, snacks and reference material. We have applied to receive "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all courses, the specific amounts of hours given by DPR will be listed with the courses below. Registration is taken on a space-available basis. Pre-registration is required, as we are not able to handle any payments on the day of the course.

2011 Field Course Details

Newark

Wednesday, April 6 - Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants

Site
This course will be held at the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and Visitor Center. The Refuge spans 30,000 acres of open bay, salt pond, salt marsh, mudflat, upland and vernal pool habitats located throughout south San Francisco Bay. Located along the Pacific Flyway, it hosts over 280 species of birds each year. Millions of shorebirds and waterfowl stop to refuel at the Refuge during the spring and fall migration. In addition to its seasonal visitors, the Refuge provides critical habitat to resident species like the endangered California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse.

Register | Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge | Directions

Instructors
Featured instructors include: TBD

 

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Fairfax

Friday, April 8 - Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants

Site
This course will be held at the Marin Municipal Water District's (MMWD) Sky Oaks Watershed Headquarters of the Mt. Tamalpais watershed. Visitors will find scenic vistas, oak woodlands, meadows, evergreen forests, lakes, waterfalls and 130 miles of hiking trails and unpaved roads. The watershed is also home to great natural diversity including over 900 species of plants and 400 species of animals. MMWD owns and manages the land as a primary source of water for residents of central and southern Marin, with five of the district’s seven reservoirs located on Mt. Tam.

Register | Sky Oaks Watershed Headquarters | Directions

Instructors
Featured instructors include: TBD

 

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San Luis Obispo

Wednesday, April 13 - Biology & Identification
Thursday, April 14 - Control Methods

Site
San Luis Obispo courses will be held at the Oak Glen Pavilion, the newly completed sustainably designed straw-bale education center at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden. The Garden is dedicated to the display and study of the plants and ecosystems of the five mediterranean climate regions of the world which include parts of California, Chile, Australia, South Africa and the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The two-acre Preview Garden is a living museum which offers a glimpse of the full scale 150 acres planned for the future by showcasing geographical groupings such as the California native garden and the winter-blooming South African Cape garden of aloes, succulents and bulbs.

Register | SLO Botanical Garden | Directions

Instructors
Featured instructors include: TBD

Cal-IPC has received 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Biology & Identification courses and 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Control Methods courses.

 

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Redding

Tuesday, May 17 - Biology & Identification
Wednesday, May 18 - Control Methods

Site
Redding courses will be held at the McConnell Foundation's Lema Ranch, a 200 acre property that includes four man-made ponds, the Lema Ranch trails and the Churn Creek Trails. Both sets of trails cover about 200 acres each and showcase flora and fauna such as weeping willows, manzanitas, oaks, pine trees, native grasses, classic blue oak woodland, red-winged blackbirds, egrets, woodpeckers, otters and muskrats.

Register | The McConnell Foundation | Directions

Instructors
Featured instructors include:

Petey Brucker, Salmon River Restoration Council; John Dittes, Dittes & Guardino Consulting; Joe DiTomaso, UC Davis; Thaddeus Hunt, United Phosphorus, Inc.; Paul Kjos, Shasta County Department of Agriculture; Guy Kyser, UC Davis; Richard Lis, Department of Fish & Game; JP Marie, Putah Creek Riparian Reserve; Carrie Pirosko, CDFA

Cal-IPC has received 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Biology & Identification courses and 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Control Methods courses.

 

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San Francisco Bay Area

Tuesday, June 21 - Strategic Approaches
Wednesday, June 22 - Control Methods

Site
SF Bay Area courses will be co-hosted by The Presidio Trust in the Golden Gate Club's Cypress room. Located in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, the graceful and historic Spanish Colonial Revival building lies amongst a tranquil forest grove overlooking San Francisco Bay. The Presidio’s geology, topography, and climates have allowed the creation of a mosaic of landscapes, from the natural dunes, marshes, and woodlands to the planted forest groves of this military post turned park. Today, the Presidio Trust is restoring habitat and wildlife areas according to the guidelines established in the Presidio Vegetation Management Plan.

Register | The Presidio Trust | Directions

Instructors
Featured instructors include:

Gina Darin, California Department of Water Resources; Mike Filbin, Central Coast Land Clearing; Mark Heath, Shelterbelt Builders; Ken Moore, Wildlands Restoration Team; Steve Schoenig, California Department of Fish & Game; Lew Stringer, The Presidio Trust; Andrea Williams, Marin Municipal Water District

Cal-IPC has received 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Strategic Approaches courses and 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Control Methods courses.

 

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Los Angeles

Wednesday, July 20 - Herbicide Control Methods

This course starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m.

Site
This course will be held at The Audubon Center at Debs Park, a cutting-edge green building that is a model of sustainable architecture. It was certified as the nation’s first LEED Platinum building from the U.S. Green Building Council, the nation’s leading authority on sustainable building practices. This completely "off-the-grid" building is an environmental education and conservation center for the communities of Northeast Los Angeles and the surrounding region. The Center is located in the fourth largest park in the city of Los Angeles - more than half of the park is covered in walnut-oak woodland, grassland, and coastal sage scrub, a remnant of the native habitats that once rimmed the Los Angeles Basin. Over 140 species of birds have been recorded here.

Register | Audubon Center at Debs Park | Directions

Instructors
Featured instructors include:

Phil Roullard, California State Parks; Mike Kelly, Kelly & Associates; Bill Neill, Riparian Repairs

Cal-IPC has requested 1.0 hour of “Laws & Regulations”, and 5.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for this course.

 

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San Diego

Wednesday, August 3 – Mapping
Thursday, August 4 – Control Methods

Site
San Diego courses will be held at the Training Center at Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. The reserve encompasses beach, dune, mudflat, salt marsh, riparian, coastal sage scrub, and upland habitats surrounded by the growing cities of Tijuana, Imperial Beach, and San Diego. The Tijuana River Watershed covers 1,750 square miles – three-fourths lies in Mexico and includes the cities of Tijuana and Tecate.

Register | Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve | Directions (follow directions to Visitors Center)

Instructors
Featured instructors include: TBD

Cal-IPC has received 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Mapping courses and 6.0 hours of "Other" DPR continuing education credits for all Control Methods courses.

 

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Tahoe City

Tuesday, October 4 – Field Techniques for Recording and Reporting Invasive Plants

Site
Our annual pre-symposium course will be held at the Granlibakken Resort. Meaning "hill sheltered by trees" in Norwegian, this aptly named resort is surrounded by the Tahoe National Forest. Granlibakken occupies 74 wooded acres in a picturesque mountain valley where friendly but shy bears and other wildlife can be spotted on occasion. Spectacular Lake Tahoe is just minutes away.

Register with the Symposium | Granlibakken Resort | Directions

Instructors
Featured instructors include: TBD

E-mail Jen Stern with any questions about 2011 field courses.

 

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In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

• U.S. Code: (42 USC 2000d-2000c); Statute: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Prohibits Discrimination on the Basis of: Race, Color or National Origin
• U.S. Code: (20 USC 1681-1686); Statute: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Prohibits Discrimination on the Basis of: Sex in educational programs and activities
• U.S. Code: (42 USC 1601 et seq.); Statute: Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; Prohibits Discrimination on the Basis of: Age
• U.S. Code: (29 USC 794); Statute: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; Prohibits Discrimination on the Basis of: Disability