The Centre for Biological Control (CBC) has facilitated a short course on the biological control of weeds since 2002, making a total of 21 to date. The course has become an annual event with space for 25 delegates per course. Each year, spaces on the course are more competitive to get and fill up fast. The course this year took place from 1st – 5th October and there were a wide range of representatives from implementers to managers from all over the country, including international participants from Madagascar and Nigeria.
The course structure covers the A-Z of biological control. This is essential to understand to make an informed case for biological control. Participants leave knowing all there is to know about the safety and efficacy of biological control. The lecturers on the course have many years of experience in the field of weed biological control and they offer ongoing support to the delegates once they go back to their day to day jobs. Course participants get involved in ongoing field work where they experience how to do post release evaluation, they get to visit the biological control facility where they see how mass-rearing of water weed biological control agents is done. Overall the course is rich with practical fieldwork, input from experienced lecturers and discussion time.
We look forward to opening up the call for the 2019 course early next year – keep an eye on our CBC Weeds Short Course webpage, Facebook page and Twitter feed.