these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

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Pitchcare Classifieds SPORTS TURF CONTRACTORS ANY SPORT - ANY SURFACE Design Construction Renovation Maintenance Specialists Specialistsinturnkey in turnkey natural naturalturf& turf & artificial artificialpitch pitch solutions SPORTS TURF CONSULTANTS The tts culture is based on its independence. tts embodies a new generation of turf consultants combining experienced and practical groundsmen with in-depth technical knowledge. For more information on how tts can improve your playing surfaces and contribute effective resource management to your organisation, don’t hesitate to call. Telephone: 01604 862925 Website: www.totalturfsolutions.co.uk email: info@totalturfsolutions.co.uk SPORTS EQUIPMENT SWEEPERS Tel: 01924 497283 www.stanleylanddrainage.co.uk sales@stanleylanddrainage.co.uk 140 PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2012 - CONSTRUCTION - MAINTENANCE SPECIALISTS IN LASER GRADING AND GOLF CONSTRUCTION www.sgcgroup.co.uk - Tel:0161 343 1044 GOALS MAKE GAMES. WE MAKE GOALS. TALK TO MARK HARROD 01502 710039 www.markharrod.com Sports Ground Contractor Turnkey Projects Artificial Facilities Natural Turf Land Drainage Environmentally Conscientious Your Choice SPORTS TURF COVERS SPRAYERS Spraying Weeding out the costs of spraying In these recessionary times, with our Local Authorities under severe financial constraints, yet still charged with the delivery of more environmentally sensitive open spaces, tales emanating from the Wyre Forest District Council’s Parks & Green Spaces team, of budgetary savings, coupled with increased productivity, led Neil Hancock to meet with Supervisor, Joshua Brady, to find out the secrets of their success Two years ago Joshua left his South African homeland and his environmental work in the Kruger National Park to start a new life for himself and family in the UK. He commented “I met my wife-to-be Louise in South Africa whilst working at Buffalo Hills nature reserve. She is a British citizen and had been working on a contract in Port Elizabeth with General Motors for three years. Two years after we met, we decided to tie the knot, then Louise fell pregnant and with that came her desire be near to her family. She returned to England for a six month period for the birth of our son and I joined her for three of those months before we all returned back to South Africa. Just over a year later Louise fell pregnant again, and again the desire to be close to her family came through strongly. We finally decided that Louise would return to the UK and I would follow as soon as possible. Louise had lived with me for a five year period in South Africa, so it was only right for me to do a three years in the UK, which has now been extended to five! I did apply for a number of Ranger posts closer to our home in Shifnal, Shropshire but, due to a perceived lack of UK conservation knowledge, I was not given the opportunity. Eventually I saw that Wyre Forest District Council were advertising a position within their Parks & Green Spaces department and it was, in fact, my project management skills that, in the end, got me the job.” Joshua continued “as a department, we are charged with the task of delivering the best possible service we can within budget, and we set about looking at the ways in which we currently worked and how we might improve to reduce costs, whilst also keeping in mind our overall remit and any environmental impact. In all areas, we work closely with the Rangers department. We undertake a lot of tree works for them, removing species such as Crack Willow and re-planting specimen trees to encourage bio-diversity.” “One area we have particularly focused on is our weed control programme and, following our own product research, we now carry out an increasing amount of work in both our nature reserves and parks with the Mankar pressureless spraying system. This particular work impacts directly on bio-diversity, as the invasive plant species we control are naturally very monoculture and take over from a number of indigenous plants. Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera),
Ideal for use around tree bases Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) are typical examples of the type of weeds that we now control with use of the system.” “We also assist our Rangers in the construction of boardwalks, particularly in the very boggy areas where we reduce the impact on the environment and the amount of trails within these particular areas. A raised boardwalk ensures no obstacles for animals to come and go as they please, and also they allow the flow of water to continue unhindered. All of these factors preserve the environment and allow the areas to continue and thrive as they should.” “Parks and Green Spaces also assist in preserving the acid grasslands found within the Wyre Forest District area. Here, we conduct a yearly cut and collect programme with the Rangers to ensure these rare grassland areas do not remain impoverished, and to ensure their continued survival which greatly benefits bio-diversity. We also assist in the clearance of reeds from streams if they become ‘choked up’, which allows a natural flow of the system to ensure all species benefit from the watercourse. This, in turn, also serves to help our flood defences.” “Prior to the introduction of the Mankar system in 2009, we were using the CDA (Controlled Droplet Application) system, but market and product research proved to us that it was, in fact, both overly expensive and under-performing. With the twenty two Parks and Green Spaces team members we had at that time, the back-pack system we employed was A simple dial controls flow rate difficult to both manage and control financially. It was expensive in terms of material cost, as we were spending around £1400 a year just on herbicide, plus what we were spending on lance repairs. Due to the volume of herbicide we were consuming, we also had an additional annual cost of £400-500 a year for the disposal of containers and the subsequent impact of that process on the environment.” “Overgrown paths are cut back manually, and then the saplings that sprout are controlled with the use of Roundup. Only 0.1-0.2 gallons of herbicide are required per acre and, when compared with conventional systems, such as knapsack sprayers, volume savings of up to 80% are achievable. Also, herbicides can be used undiluted, reducing our work time and using less of our resources. We are achieving savings in both herbicide volume usage, and a financial saving of around £900 a year.” Adrian Leonard, who works alongside Joshua, then took me on a visit to Brinton Park, one of the many open spaces that Wyre Forest have to maintain, to show me the range of work situations that the new system is applied to. He said “we use it in all of our public parks and open spaces along flower-bed borders, pathways, edges, verges and around obstacles and tree bases. Not only are we saving money, but we are also seeing an improvement in the quality of the areas we maintain, which has resulted in the authority currently having two parks up to Green Flag status and a further three more pending.” SPRAYERS TOPDRESSING & LOAM From village green to county ground Visit our website at www.boughton.co.uk and download an analysis sheet to find out which of our three cricket loams are most suitable for your ground. Boughton Kettering, Club, and County Loams are sourced locally and analysed to establish compatibility and conformity. They are then screened and can be supplied dried and sterilised or untreated for construction projects. Pitchcare Classifieds Boughton Loam is available nationwide. To find your local stockist of bagged products please use the postcode selector on our website at www.boughton.co.uk or telephone 01536 510515. Ongar Loam cricket dressing and top quality golf and bowls dressings Order direct from the manufacturer and our distributors Moreton, Ongar, Essex, CM5 0HY Tel: 01277 890246 Fax: 01277 890105 www.binderloams.co.uk Email: sales@binderloams.co.uk Advertising in this classified section costs as little as £200 a year. Telephone: 01952 898516 TREE TIES & SUPPORTS DECEMBER/JANUARY 2012 PC 141
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SERVING THE TURFCARE INDUSTRY KEYNO
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WELCOME TO pitchcare 2012 - and all
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Andy Gray, Southampton FC Artificia
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Reverting to farmland! The Norfolk
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Amenity-specific NSK revamped More
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Launching Spring 2012 www.ransomesj
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getting the MBE, without doubt. It
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THE REAL STARS OF WEST HAM, WIMBLED
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time. He also was the man who donat
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eason we run the electric triplex a
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times. Cycle times are then modifie
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easonable £12,000. And so Parkston
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Controlled burning of scrub Fairway
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However, in collaboration with the
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after Kerry defeated Cork in last y
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involved various management strateg
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convincing the greens committee to
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As editor of Pitchcare, I am fortun
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Golf In October last year, Ian Robs
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Golf As the course has 100% floodli
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Golf turn, pays for the course. Our
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thought, at the time, the greens we
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Augusta National levels of crickete
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You don’t often hear a golfer say
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THE NEW LT3340. HEAVY-DUTY MOWING F
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natural pitches artificial pitches
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one area? Clubs are then likely to
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also of the RFU and a number of ins
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“Artificial rugby pitches must be
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Rootzone top-up The concept for a N
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Winter Sports With Southampton flyi
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Winter Sports Professional lights s
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Winter Sports “Our most worrying
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Winter Sports 68 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH
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Winter Sports ViewPoint Our anonymo
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Summer Sports - Bowls Expectations
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Summer Sports - Bowls Rainbird irri
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Summer Sports - Bowls When it comes
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Summer Sports - Bowls “Consistenc
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Summer Sports - Cricket “No, I’
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Summer Sports - Cricket SMITH famil
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Schools & Colleges After thirty yea
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Schools & Colleges One of Chris Edw
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Page 94 and 95: Schools & Colleges Neville Johnson
Page 96 and 97: Schools & Colleges Head Groundsman
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Page 102 and 103: Equestrian Craig Williamson “This
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Page 106 and 107: Technical Seed germination is one o
Page 108 and 109: Technical Trees represent an import
Page 110 and 111: Technical Giant Polypore heaviness
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Page 114 and 115: Technical Choosing the right sand c
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Page 118 and 119: Technical In this final article in
Page 120 and 121: Technical “In order to tie the go
Page 122 and 123: Technical “The words ‘gas oil
Page 124 and 125: Technical MONTHLY Diaries I STILL s
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Page 129 and 130: 2. The “threat” scenario If the
Page 131 and 132: Alongside our General Sports Turf M
Page 133 and 134: one I had not predicted, but I stil
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Page 137 and 138: come of it. They’d look at it and
Page 139 and 140: since day one. Barry is, essentiall
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Page 145 and 146: present a key challenge. “Typical
Page 147 and 148: Quote me happy “... they are comi
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these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

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