Portola Valley & Woodside SOD-BLITZ 2014
SUDDEN OAK DEATH /PHYTOPHTHORA RAMORUM

Sudden Oak Death (SOD) is a major problem in this area. You can be a citizen-scientist and be part of the solution. Only a bit of your time is required! 

How to Participate:

1. Attend Community Meeting & Instruction (30 minutes): 10:00 A.M. Saturday, May 17, 2014 at Woodside Town Hall
2. Collect Specimens in the Field (at your convenience): May 17 and/or 18, 2014
3. Deposit Specimens at Woodside Town Hall before 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 18, 2014

To aid in understanding SOD, residents are invited to collect specimens that will be used in producing detailed local maps of the disease distribution.

A short training will be held on Saturday, May 17, at 10:00 A.M. at Woodside Town Hall.  At this meeting volunteers will learn to:

• identify Bay Laurel trees, which are frequent carriers of the disease
• collect samples of Bay Laurel leaves
• record sample locations using addresses or GPS (samples may be collected anywhere in the Portola Valley and Woodside area, including areas that were sampled in previous years)
• use distributed materials for specimen collection and labeling

Participants are encouraged to bring iPhones or Android-based phones as they may help with collections by downloading the free App - SODMAP mobile.

Matteo Garbelotto, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at U.C. Berkeley will answer questions about Sudden Oak Death and this study.

Samples will be collected by volunteers on Saturday, May 17 and/or Sunday, May 18 and returned to Woodside Town Hall by 4 p.m. on Sunday (for pickup by lab).

U.C. Berkeley diagnostic laboratory will analyze each sample through microscopic and DNA analysis. After all samples have been tested, a map will be generated confirming the presence or absence of the pathogen in the area. This map will expand the mapping which was generated by the SOD-BLITZs held 2008 through 2013. To see results from previous years, visit www.matteolab.com.

For more information, please contact:
Brandi de Garmeaux, Town of Portola Valley, 650-851-1700 x222, bdegarmeaux@portolavalley.net