Tag Archive for: Help

Green-tech help to reduce the risk of flooding in Leeds City

Green-tech help to reduce the risk of flooding in Leeds City: Leeds City Council is working with the Environment Agency on their Flood Alleviation Scheme Phase 2 (FAS2) to reduce the risk of flooding of a 14km stretch between Leeds Train Station and Apperley Bridge.

The project is designed to protect 1,048 homes and 474 businesses through a combination of traditional engineering methods and natural flood management. Due for completion in Spring 2024, it is expected that the flood risk will be reduced to a 0.5% probability of occurring in any given year (a 1-in-200-year level of flood protection).

Green-tech help to reduce the risk of flooding in Leeds City

Green-tech help to reduce the risk of flooding in Leeds City

BAM Nuttall is a construction and civil engineering company that delivers key pieces of infrastructure across the UK, from railways to wind farms. They use digital engineering and a net zero carbon approach, placing sustainability at their core.

Part of the scheme included work on the bank of the river Aire upstream of Kirkstall Bridge using an earth embankment or steel sheet piled flood walls in some areas. The embankment will tie into flood walls, that will extend up to the existing Kirkstall Bridge. This section of railway line connects Leeds with Shipley and Bradford and has flooded several times in the past, and currently remains at risk.

Alongside the embankment and flood walls, 2.4 hectares of landscape and ecological enhancements are being implemented in Kirkstall Meadows. This work includes the creation of wetland scrapes and various interventions to support local wildlife.

The project was subject to planning conditions that required reinstatement or protection of vegetated features along the riverbank where the construction of hard flood defences would otherwise have compromised the permanent river-side ecology.

Sub-agent Jim Mitchell, comments, “Green-tech was chosen as the products they offered were designed exactly for this purpose. They were able to supply products that complied with the project specification and offered expert advice on alternative solutions that improved buildability and function’.

For this part of the project, Green-tech supplied 45 pre-established Coir Edge Sods which comprise 5 different aquatic plant species mixes. This unique system incorporates pre-established vegetation within the face of stone-filled gabions which is an integral part of the erosion control solution for a water’s edge, even where the projects require hard engineering solutions. This innovative, green erosion control system helps when the stability of engineering with gabions is combined with the benefits of immediate vegetation to provide rapid environmental and ecological regeneration.

20 gt Coir Log Rolls were supplied. These are cost-effective and an excellent technique for establishing marginal vegetation around lake edges, streams, and river banks. Compressed coir fibre encased in woven polyethylene or coir netting, gt Coir Log Rolls can be supplied pre-established with UK native species or unplanted.

These were accompanied by 20 gt Rock Rolls – designed to help reduce and prevent long-term erosion and allow for the ground to stay stabilised. Commonly used around watercourse shorelines, high-flow riverbanks, and streams, gt Rock Rolls are UV-stabilised polypropylene mesh filled with gabion stones. They are ideal for creating a solid foundation for installing pre-vegetated coir products – the roots of the emergent plants grow into the voids of the rock rolls, giving long-term erosion control and bank support. Gt Rock Rolls installed below coir units can also be used to support a filter fabric or biodegradable matting.

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Volunteers help get Wembley pitch match fit

Volunteers help get Wembley pitch match fit: Two volunteer groundskeepers were given the experience of a lifetime by helping prepare the world-famous Wembley pitch ahead of the Lionesses’ game against the Netherlands.

The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation ran a competition as part of the Get Your Pitch Match Fit campaign that celebrates the importance of grass pitches and the groundskeepers who maintain them for the grassroots game.

Volunteers help get Wembley pitch match fit

Volunteers help get Wembley pitch match fit

Trevor Chenery and Tony Hesketh are volunteer groundskeepers at Halesworth Town Juniors FC in Suffolk and Acton Ealing Whistlers AFC in West London respectively. Between them, the Clubs have received over £129k in grant funding from the Foundation to get their pitches looking and playing their best.

Wembley Stadium’s Grounds Manager, Karl Standley, was on hand to offer expert advice, show them what’s involved in getting the hallowed turf match ready and help them put the finishing touches on England’s most prestigious pitch.

Trevor said: “Every football fan dreams of stepping out onto the Wembley pitch, so to be able to do that has been a dream come true.

“Groundskeeping is a real labour of love and today I’ve seen that it’s exactly the same for the top groundskeepers in the country. There’s so much I’ve learnt that’ll help me take my own pitch to the next level.

“I’d like to thank the Football Foundation for all the advice and funding I have received so far by using PitchPower and of course for the incredible opportunity today.”

The pair were selected at random from users of PitchPower – the Football Foundation’s free web app for inspecting and improving grass pitches.

Through PitchPower, anyone responsible for a grass pitch can inspect their pitches and receive bespoke advice from experts at the Grounds Management Association on how to improve them. After receiving these recommendations, PitchPower users have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £12,800 per pitch through the Foundation to put them into action.

Tony said: Before using PitchPower, we regularly had to call off games because our pitches just couldn’t handle any form of bad weather.

“Now, not only are our fixtures able to go ahead as planned, but our players actually enjoy the games more because they get to play on quality playing surfaces. That transformation wouldn’t have been possible without PitchPower and the funding we received from the Football Foundation.

“Today has been great and I hope to take some of Karl’s advice back to our pitches at Acton Ealing Whistlers AFC to ensure all our players can enjoy their football!”

Karl Standley, Wembley Grounds Manager and Football Foundation Supporter, said: “Having a quality playing surface is vital, whether you’re playing in the World Cup final or Sunday League with your friends.

“The grassroots game couldn’t function without volunteer groundskeepers giving up their time for clubs across the country and I’m proud to help the Football Foundation shine a spotlight on the vital role they play.

“Thanks to the support of the Premier League, The FA and Government, the Foundation will be investing £21 million a year to get grass pitches across the country looking and playing their best.

“I’d encourage anyone responsible for a grass pitch to keep an eye out on the Foundation’s social channels for tips and tricks on how to maintain their grass pitches and sign up to PitchPower to start their grass pitch transformation journey.”

To help more people enjoy all the benefits of grassroots sport, the Foundation has set the target of reaching 20,000 ‘good’ quality grass pitches across the country by 2030.

For more information, head over to the Foundation’s website:

https://footballfoundation.org.uk/get-your-pitch-match-fit

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Redexim will help you be ‘renovation ready’

Redexim will help you be ‘renovation ready’: Aerators, seeders, topdressers and more will all take centre stage on the Redexim stand as they return to BTME in 2023.

Proven to be one of the most accurate dimple seeders on the market, the Redexim Multi-Seeder promises to be a particular highlight on stand 532 – where visitors can also find out about a brand-new promotion which will be a must-have for those looking to overseed as part of their spring renovations!

Redexim will help you be ‘renovation ready’

Redexim will help you be ‘renovation ready’

Equally as suited to work on fine turf and amenity areas, the Multi-Seeder features twin spiked rollers which saturates the ground with up to 1890 holes per sq.m, creating the perfect dimple in which to deliver the seed. The Multi-Seeder 1600 model offers a 1.6m working width, the ability to have fixed or floating rollers to suit undulating ground and a rear-mounted brush which sweeps the surface to ensure not just optimal seed to soil contact, but leave a clean and tidy finish.

The Multi-Seeder is also one of a selection of models included in a brand-new promotion, launching ahead of renovation season. To help with the rising costs associated with overseeding, Redexim have proudly teamed up with Origin Amenity Solutions (OAS), to offer those that purchase a Redexim seeder an exclusive deal worth over £500!

Alongside the Multi-Seeder will be other machines from the Redexim range that are critical to successful fine turf maintenance. The Verti-Drain 2519 is widely recognised as the leading high-speed, high-productivity aerator – featuring a 1.9m working width and the ability to accept a wide range of tine options. Re-engineered to include a new draw-rod system and an easy-to-adjust heave lever, the 2519 offers a PTO speed of up to 540rpm – allowing it to cover almost 9000sq.m per hour when spaced at 165mm.

Also launching at BTME will be a new addition to their topdressing range, which promises to deliver accuracy, adjustability and a brand new user-friendly interface for maximum versatility and efficiency. For more information on this, or any of the products from across the Redexim range, be sure to speak to the technical team on stand 532 in January.

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Free golf membership for greenkeeping help

Free golf membership for greenkeeping help: The owner of a private, nine-hole golf club in England is letting people play for free providing they pitch in with course maintenance.

Read the full article from Golf Magic here

Free golf membership for greenkeeping help

Free golf membership for greenkeeping help

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Pitches down to -6֯c? TGC could help

Pitches down to -6֯c? TGC could help: With vast swathes of the country once again experiencing bitter winter temperatures, if you’re going to ‘get the game on’, you need a proven frost protection solution.

total-play’s TGC winter sports cover offers this and more – combining frost protection down to temperatures as low as 6֯c whilst actively encouraging germination of the grass plant. The result – healthy winter sports pitches that are ready for action, pretty much whatever winter throws our way.

Pitches down to -6֯c? TGC could help

Pitches down to -6֯c? TGC could help

In use by clients that include Premier League football grounds, Premiership Rugby Union grounds, the IRFU (Irish Rugby Football Union), National Hunt race courses and the Lawn Tennis Association, TGC is the result of rigorous research and development by experienced groundscare operatives in  conjunction with scientists; acting as an effective insulation blanket and retaining ground temperature while also allowing the circulation of air and water to create a proven germination and propagation environment.

And, while the covers are usually made to order, clubs looking for a quick-fix solution in the current challenging weather conditions could snap up a full pitch cover, ready for immediate dispatch, for just £9,999 + VAT & delivery*. Carrying a 5-year warranty for the fabric, this robust frost protection is suitable for manual deployment but also has optional inflation tubes to enable fast and easy deployment by a single grounds operative. MD at total-play, David Bates says:

“This is a truly rare opportunity – normally the covers would require a lead time of several weeks from point of order to deliver, but we unexpectedly have a single full pitch cover ready to go at a very keen price. This means a club could reap the benefits or TGC within a matter of days and, with the outlook looking so wintry, it could mean the difference between matches going ahead and costly cancellations.”

To find out more head to https://total-play.co.uk/products/climate-cover-pitch-protection/tgc/frost/ – alternatively, email info@total-play.co.uk or call 01604 864 575

*RRP £15,060 +del&vat. Cover only; does not include inflation tubes as per image.

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Help for housebuilders

Help for housebuilders: The majority of the housebuilding industry has downed tools during the government’s ‘lockdown’ including the UK’s biggest builders, Barratt, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey.

These giants of the industry remain active however in lobbying government to bring in measures post Covid-19 to help the industry recover as quickly as possible.

Help for housebuilders

Help for housebuilders

Prior to lockdown, Terrain Aeration was playing its own small part in supporting the leading housebuilders with its unique deep aeration treatment of gardens in new build developments. Picture a piece of flat land being prepared for the erection of dozens of houses and you’ll see diggers and dumper trucks, deliveries of raw materials, concrete mixers, bulldozers and brick lorries crisscrossing the site. All of which does a very good job of compacting the ground which may already have a sub-soil layer of rubble, old bricks and general landfill waste. Fine for building on so long as it provides a stable base but not so fine when it comes to setting out the gardens for each property.

Providing drainage systems for back gardens in new build properties is usually a prohibitively costly and unnecessary expense for the builder. The problem is, in a relatively short period and particularly when heavy rains occur, it becomes evident there’s nowhere for the standing water to go, the ground being so compacted. Normal aeration of a newly-laid lawn will have little or no effect, penetrating only a few inches into the heavily compacted area under the topsoil. Terrain Aeration has worked with the builders for many years resolving the problem with their deep penetration aeration system. The company’s range of machines is designed for use from open spaces to tight-entranced, enclosed gardens.

The Terrain Aeration machine hammers a hollow probe one metre into the soil using a JCB road breaker gun (this is needed because the ground is so compact at depth that it needs this hammer to break through).  Once the probe has reached one-metre depth, compressed air is released up to a maximum of 20Bar (280psi). The Terrain Aeration machines are the only ones using such high air pressure, which is needed to fracture and fissure the soil. The probe is withdrawn and the process repeated using spacings on a staggered grid pattern – this means that each shot interconnects with the previous ones. On the tail end of the air blast, dried seaweed is injected which sticks to the walls of the fractures and fissures and, over time, expands and contracts with the moisture content in the soil – similar to “breathing” underground.   The 1½” probe holes created by the Terrain Aeration machine are backfilled with aggregate to provide a semi-permanent aeration/ventilation shaft, helping to keep the whole aeration process working. Terrain Aeration is already set to work with the housebuilders once again, as soon as the current restrictions are lifted, and to contribute to getting the housing market back on track.

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How to help rainfall rescue project

How to help rainfall rescue project: If you’ve some time on your hands, here’s a UK rainfall project that’s caught our eye at Rain Bird Golf.

The weather is always a topic of conversation for Brits.  Can you, your staff or family members take part in the Rainfall Rescue project and add to our UK rainfall know-how?

How to help rainfall rescue project

How to help rainfall rescue project

The UK has rainfall records dating back 200 years or so, but the vast majority of these are in handwritten form and can’t easily be used to analyse past periods of flooding and drought. Professor Ed Hawkins is a Reading University scientist who has run a number of “weather rescue” projects but this is the biggest yet.

The Rainfall Rescue Project is seeking volunteers to transfer hand-written data to online spreadsheets.

The project is looking to fill the yawning gap in UK digital rain gauge records between the 1820s and 1950s.

Each of the 65,000 scanned sheets contains monthly rainfall totals for a particular decade at a particular station, approximately three to five million data points in all. If Prof Hawkins’ team can convert this information to a digital format, it could lead to a much better understanding of the frequency and scale of big droughts and floods. And, that will assist with planning for future flood and water-resource infrastructure.

For example, many across the country had a sodden start to the year because of heavy rainfall. Meteorologists suspect October 1903 was just as bad, if not worse, but unfortunately, because all the rainfall data from that time was hand-written, it’s not possible to analyse this data. Likewise, there were some very dry springs and winters in the 1880s and 1890s. Britain had six or seven very dry winters and springs on the trot. If that happened today, it would probably cause serious problems for water companies because they rely on wet winters and wet springs to recharge reservoirs.

Prof Ed Hawkins explains, “Water companies have to plan for a one-in-100 or one-in-500-year drought but we’ve only got 60 years of very dense digital data, and so it’s very hard for them to come up with reliable estimates. We know there are periods in the past that, if they happened again, would probably break the system. The same is true for very heavy rainfall and floods.

You’re not required to rummage through old bound volumes; the Met Office has already scanned the necessary documents – all 65,000 sheets. You simply have to visit a website, read the scribbled rainfall amounts and enter the numbers into a series of boxes. If you do just a couple of minutes every now and then – that’s great,” said Prof Ed Hawkins. “If you want to spend an hour doing 30 or 40 columns – then that’ll be amazing. But any amount of time, it will all add up and be a tremendous help.”

This can literally take 5 minutes – why not use your tea-break?
Take part in the Rainfall Rescue project here.

If you choose a particular year to work on, why that year? Is it the year your golf course opened or the year you held your most memorable tournament? Share your story on Twitter with #rainfallrescueUK. Tag@rainbirdgolfuk and we’ll share your story too!

Jimmy Sandison – Regional Golf Sales Manager – UK, Ireland, Iceland and Scandinavia

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JCB help on the menu

JCB help on the menu: JCB has launched an international aid initiative in the communities around its factories to help people in need of food as a result of disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The company’s catering staff in the UK and India are preparing more than 37,000 meals a week for distribution around towns and villages located close to its plants. The initiative is the idea of Lady Bamford, wife of JCB Chairman Lord Bamford.

JCB help on the menu

JCB help on the menu

In the UK, staff are busily preparing 2,000 cottage pies a week for distribution in the North Staffordshire area. The first of the cottage pies arrived at The Hubb Foundation in Burslem, Stoke-on Trent for distribution today (Thursday, April 2ndd), to children and families in need of support across the city. JCB also plans to expand the initiative to cater for the homeless.

The first meals arrived in specially prepared containers with a message, which reads: “Lovingly prepared by JCB’s chefs for our local community.”

The scale of the operation in India is even bigger, where the Coronavirus has caused huge disruption to people’s lives. Forty-five JCB staff have been mobilised to cook more than 35,000 meals a week in the company canteens for communities around JCB’s factory locations in Delhi, Pune and Jaipur.

Today Lady Bamford said: “The world is facing an international crisis and now, more than ever, it’s important for communities to pull together and help some of the most vulnerable people in our society. The JCB teams in the UK and India are doing an amazing job to prepare so many meals for distribution to people who are most in need right now.”

In the UK, distribution of the meals will be widened in the coming days and weeks to cover the homeless, NHS frontline employees, vulnerable families in Rocester, Cheadle and Uttoxeter, the elderly and those suffering from mental illness.

The Hubb Foundation offers free activities, spaces and food to children and their parents across    Stoke-on-Trent during school holidays.

Carol Shanahan, founder of The Hubb Foundation, said: “Our activities are limited due to the national restrictions, but the team was determined to provide meals in these unprecedented times.

We are indebted to JCB for their support. The food will be delivered to our base at Port Vale Football Club and then distributed through our network of staff, volunteers and local businesses who are collaborating with us to a make difference in the city.”

The Hubb Foundation is planning to send out 5,000 meals over the Easter holiday, with the support of JCB.

Meanwhile, India is currently in national lockdown until April 14th and tens of thousands of the country’s 45 million migrant workers have been heading back to their villages after losing their jobs as businesses in the cities were forced to shut temporarily.

Thousands of migrant workers are also choosing to remain in the places where they work but with no income, they have no means to buy food.

To help alleviate the harrowing situation, JCB is providing food parcels to the most vulnerable in the areas around its factories. The food being distributed includes a vegetable curry, rice, green vegetables and chapatis and provides a meal of 1,000 calories. A team of JCB volunteers is working with local authorities to ensure the aid reaches the most vulnerable in society.

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Plea for help after vandal attack

Plea for help after vandal attack: Volunteers from a city football club have appealed for help after vandals struck.

As reported by the Evening Express on Friday, officials at Kincorth AFC were left shocked after intruders damaged their pitch at Kincorth Field.

Plea for help after vandal attack

Vandals got onto the land and covered it in tyre tracks and burnt-out debris.

Some of the damage has been cleaned up but a scorch mark remains almost a week on.

Now the club’s chairman, Kris Harris, is urging anyone with the expertise to help restore the pitch to its former glory to get in touch.

Mr Harris said: “We need some help please. As you know the pitch was vandalised last week and there is a scorch mark on the edge of the box.

“Our co-manager Andrew Ewan is really not happy about it and we need to get someone professional to have a look.

“We would be grateful if you can point us in the right direction.

“What we’re hoping to do is cut this scorch mark out and replace it with a part from behind the goals, but again this is something we need advice on.”

The club is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and it is one of the most successful teams in the history of the Aberdeen Amateur Football Association.

Mr Harris added: “The culprits of this damage have little awareness of the wider impact this has on the community.”

Contact the club via facebook.com/kincorthafc/ if you can help.

Click here to read the original article

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Woods Batwings help keep Stansted flying

Woods Batwings help keep Stansted flying: Supplied through the Chelmsford based R C Boreham dealership Stansted airport has taken delivery of two Woods heavy duty BW240XHD batwing mowers.

Matt Boreham commented, “we demonstrated the machines and the Stansted staff were impressed with the combination of performance and competitive cost. They will be used to maintain huge areas of grass to prevent vermin and birds becoming a safety risk”

Woods Batwings help keep Stansted flying

Simon Richard UK Sales Agent for the woods range added, the Woods BW240 XHD Batwing is the largest in the range with a cutting width of 6.10 metres and is capable of cutting tall brush and trees up to 7.6 cm in diameter, making it ideal for maintaining both wide areas and roadsides. Features include a double deck built to handle a host of applications, easy to reach quick-change blade pins and a side frame depth of 33.7 cm which handles more material and distributes it evenly.  Greaseable pivot points are located on turnbuckle and axle arms to increase durability and reduce wear.

There are three duties, Standard, Heavy Duty and Extreme in the Woods range. This year has seen a big swing to the Heavy Duty model as many people are unhappy with the durability of competitor machines. Woods offer heavier duty machines with options of single spring, sprung axles or walking tandem axles”

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