UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Extension Master Gardener and Pesticide Education programs will deliver poison prevention education virtually this year to first-grade students across the commonwealth. 

Currently, 243 schools in 43 counties totaling 12,103 students are signed up to receive this virtual outreach January through April, with the third week of March as National Poison Prevention Week. The recorded lessons teach students about pests, integrated pest management and safe practices including identifying signal words on the label that indicates a product is potentially poisonous. 

It also teaches the importance of using the "Mr. YUK" symbol to alert everyone in the home of dangerous products and keep everyone safe.  

“The collaboration of Master Gardeners and extension staff, including coordinators and the youth program’s Growing Gardener team, has opened new opportunities to reach first graders in a virtual way and will be a viable option for future years,” said Andy Faust, area Master Gardener coordinator. 

He noted that teachers have responded positively to the virtual program.

“One Beaver County teacher put it this way: 'Thank you! We look forward to this program for our first graders. We are sorry we cannot have you in our building this year, but we are so happy you can still provide this program to our students,'" said Faust.

For more information about the Poison Prevention Program, contact Faust at avf100@psu.edu.