Portola Valley & Woodside SOD-BLITZ 2016
SUDDEN OAK DEATH /PHYTOPHTHORA RAMORUM

10:00 A.M. on Saturday, May 14, 2016
Portola Valley Town Center - Community Hall
765 Portola Road, Portola Valley
Specimen Collection in the Field:  Saturday or Sunday

A recent scientific article concluded that data collected during the SOD blitzes is as good as data collected by scientists.  This could change how science is conducted in the future.  Come participate in the SOD Blitz and be part of this change.

If you join the SOD Blitz you will:

• spend one hour learning the basic biology of the disease and how to identify it in the field, making you an expert.
• receive all the necessary collection materials and instructions on how to collect a sample.
• spend one to four hours on your own in a location of your choice looking for disease symptoms and collecting symptomatic leaves.
• officially become a citizen scientist and your published disease distribution data will help save our oaks.

Tree care specialists can bring in clients' samples.

Participants are encouraged to download the free App, SODMAP mobile, to their iPhone or Android phone to help with data collection.

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

Samples will be collected by volunteers on Saturday, May 14 or Sunday, May 15 and returned to Woodside Town Hall for pickup by Sunday evening.

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 2015. To see results from previous years, visit www.matteolab.com. 

For more information, please contact:

Kevin Bryant, Town of Woodside, 851-6790, kbryant@woodsidetown.org 
Debbie Pedro, Town of Portola Valley, 851-1700 x218, dpedro@portolavalley.net