The Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) is an organization we’ve been associated with for at least a decade. But they were around long before we met them and BIRC director William (Bill) Quarles, Ph.D. 2008-2009, after all, marks BIRC’s 30th year. To Bill and the others who drive the organization, congratulations. 30 years of hard work is something to be very proud of. We’re happy we met you.
What’s BIRC All About?
The best way to summarize BIRC’s particular place in the world is to use their own words. This is from their site’s About page:
BIRC is a nonprofit organization offering over 25 years of insight, experience, and leadership in the development and communication of least-toxic, sustainable, and environmentally sound Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods. BIRC has worked with local, state, and national agencies in devising programs of scientific research, policy, project design and implementation.
Over the years, BIRC has assisted homeowners, farmers, cities, park and water districts, schools, and pest control professionals in pesticide use reduction. In recognition of our work, we received an IPM Innovators Award from the State of California Department of Pesticide Regulation in 1997.
BIRC’s technical staff constantly reviews the scientific literature for new ideas and approaches for publication in our journals the IPM Practitioner and Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly. We produce pamphlets, articles for the general public, technical manuals, and a resource directory. — BIRC
Using our own words now, we can say that in our eyes they are best known for their publications. Most notably we like the IPM Practitioner. This is a fabulous magazine loaded with valuable information. We don’t connect with every issue, termite articles, for example, don’t directly apply to our work or concern us, but other issues provide composite information that we just can’t find in one place anywhere else. And the level of detail is astounding. The writing is so authoritative and well-cited, we never doubt the validity and accuracy of the information.
BIRC Runs Deep
One example of such articles would be their latest masterpiece about mulches (Mulch Optimization in Integrated Pest Management, Volume XXX, Number 7/8, July/August 2008). We thought we knew mulches and the act of mulching. We were wrong. We did have some information, good stuff, but the article opened up what we knew, explored it more deeply, and addressed things we’ve never even considered. Did you know mulching is used to suppress weeds and conserve moisture? Of course you did. What you probably didn’t know are the various pros and cons of different mulches, and their role in not just water conservation and weed control, but in pest and disease prevention and management, soil health, effects on biocontrols, and so much more!
We Can Connect You
We can only imagine that upon reading this you’ll want to reach out to BIRC to not only congratulate them, but we also imagine you’ll want to get closer to BIRC’s publications so you can get the goods for yourself. You can do this by joining BIRC, and we can help you make that so. For years, thanks to our positive relationship with BIRC, we are authorized to get people started by offering initial memberships in our online shop (or over the phone). There you can order a membership, complete with its benefits, including a subscription to one or more of their publications.
Speaking of membership and publications, here’s a run-down of the offerings: A Quarterly-level membership gets you a subscription to their Common-Sense Pest Control Quarterly magazine. A Practitioner-level membership gets you a subscription to the aforementioned IPM Practitioner magazine. And then there is also a Dual-level membership which gets you both publications. To learn more, please visit the BIRC web site.
