Centenary Fields Legacy

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Centenary Fields Legacy: To mark the conclusion of Centenary Fields, the Fields in Trust World War I commemorative programme, communities across the UK will demonstrate their gratitude to the WWI generation with a series of events and activities on these legally protected parks and green spaces. Fields in Trust will reveal the story of one Centenary Field each day in an online interactive map. Staring on 8th August the Centenary Fields legacy programme will run until the anniversary of Armistice Day on 11th November. This campaign is in delivered in partnership with the Royal British Legion’s “Thank You” project highlighting the nation’s gratitude to the generation who served in WWI.

Stories featured will highlight the contribution of individual combatants, those who returned – and many who did not. We will also look at memorials to the fallen, ranging from simple village stone cross to more intricate commemorative sculpture. We will explore how these parks and green spaces served the War effort – for example providing timber for trenches. We will also address the contemporary resonance – communities doing something now to remember the sacrifice of 100 years ago.

Centenary Fields Legacy

The Centenary Fields Legacy campaign will start on Wednesday 8th August by featuring War Memorial Park in Coventry. This large 120-acre site was the location for the launch of Centenary Fields in July 2014 by Fields in Trust President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge. His Royal Highness laid a wreath at the foot of the war memorial, took part in sport and educational activities and helped local school children plant poppy seeds. Speaking at the launch in 2014 Fields in Trust President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, said:

“The Centenary Fields programme aims to save in perpetuity scores of memorial spaces around the country.  Each moment of play or leisure that takes place on a Memorial Field is, in a way, an act of remembrance. I am delighted that Fields in Trust have identified these Centenary Fields as a vital part of our national heritage and well-being, which we cannot take for granted.  I encourage local authorities to support this cause and to safeguard these living spaces of remembrance for generations to come.”

As the programme reaches its conclusion, communities across the UK will be making significant anniversaries with events at parks and green spaces to say thank you to the WWI generation, Whilst online, a Centenary Field will be revealed on our website map each day at 11 am, (see www.fieldsintrust.org/centenary-fields-legacy). The stories of each of the sites, and those individuals commemorated there, will be shared in local press coverage and social media as the green spaces around the UK are revealed.

Fields in Trust’s Centenary Fields programme legally protects parks and green spaces in perpetuity. The Centenary Fields legacy project honours the memory of the World War I servicemen and also those – military and civilian – who played their part on the home front to build a better life for the benefit of generations to come.

 Centenary Fields protected as part of the programme include war memorials, parks and recreation grounds, memorial gardens, playing fields or other green spaces with a significant World War I link. The Centenary Fields legacy project contributes to the Royal British Legion’s Thank You movement. These important spaces form a vital part of local heritage and play a key role in making the First World War relevant to today’s generation – fully embracing the spirit of this centenary year.

Fields in Trust Chief Executive Helen Griffiths comments:

“Congratulations to the parks and green spaces selected as part of our Centenary Fields legacy project. These sites will be included forever in our national programme to commemorate the centenary of World War I. Dedicating these spaces not only commemorates the sacrifices of those who gave their lives during the conflict but also ensures that future generations have valuable places to enjoy as a living legacy.”

The Fields in Trust Centenary Fields programme publicly demonstrates our gratitude to the World War I generation in a unique way. Protecting parks and green spaces means local communities will always have somewhere for play, sport – or a quiet moment of reflection.

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Lawnmower World Record

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Lawnmower World Record: Andy Maxfield’s phenomenal journey from John O’Groats to Land’s End on an unmodified lawn tractor has been officially recognised as a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® achievement. Prison officer Andy’s epic journey is now featured in a new display at the Land’s End Visitor Centre in Cornwall, and also at the British Lawnmower Museum in Southport.

The 874-mile record attempt in July 2017 took Andy 5 days, 8 hours and 36 minutes, making it the fastest time for the journey on a ride-on lawnmower. Andy embarked on the challenge to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s Society after his father was diagnosed with the disease.

Lawnmower World Record

Andy’s initial goal was to raise a modest £1000 for Alzheimer’s Society through the lawnmower challenge in July last year, followed by a charity ball in December. “So far we’ve collected over £9000 and now I’m trying to reach our new target of £10,000 by the end of 2018,” said Andy. “We’re keeping the JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/andrew-maxfield open until then. Donations can also be made by texting MAXF80 £3 to 70070.

“I’m very proud my record attempt was successful but I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement of my family and support team, and having a great lawn tractor certainly helped.”

To supply proof for the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS attempt, the lawnmower was fitted with a tracking system routinely used by much larger agricultural machinery for guidance and monitoring.  John Deere’s Operations Centre was able to track Andy’s entire journey via JDLink software. The resulting data was the proof needed to verify Andy’s route and travelling time as a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS success.

Sadly, Andy’s father, the inspiration behind the John O’Groats to Land’s End challenge, lost his own battle with dementia in January 2018, unaware that his son’s magnificent achievement was indeed a record.

Alzheimer’s Society is available for anyone affected by dementia and there are lots of ways the charity can help – for details call the National Dementia Helpline on 0300 222 1122 or visit www.alzheimers.org.uk.

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Merchant Taylors’ Extend Dennis Fleet

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Merchant Taylors’ Extend Dennis Fleet: Richard Ayling, grounds manager at Merchant Taylors’ School has purchased a G860 and a G30D cylinder mower to add to the existing Dennis fleet of two G860’s which the school already had.

Merchant Taylors’, one of the ‘Great Nine’ schools of England, has provided an outstanding education to boys since 1561. As well as boasting exceptional academic results year on year, sport is central to life at Merchant Taylors’.

Merchant Taylors’ Extend Dennis Fleet

There are over 80 acres of magnificent playing fields with an additional 200 acres of estates providing outstanding opportunities for a wide range of sports including rugby, football, hockey and cricket. The school is a regional centre for England hockey and also hosts a number of elite sporting teams such as Middlesex County Cricket Club, Saracens and Wasps rugby academies and has previously catered for the Australian and South African national cricket teams.

The presence of such sporting teams surely is testament to the quality of pitches produced and maintained by Richard and his team of ten. With exceptionally high standards to adhere to and a multitude of sports surfaces to maintain, it is vital that the team has the most reliable and best performing grounds maintenance equipment in their armoury.

Therefore, as a long term user of Dennis equipment, Richard was delighted when he had the opportunity to bring in a range of brand new Dennis machines as part of a complete fleet renewal.

The new Dennis G860 cylinder mower is lightweight at just 166kg; easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to operate. The handlebar console houses the controls for – throttle, parking brake, roller drive and cutting cylinder drive. The mower also features a large diameter front roller with an adjustable scraper which has been designed for a precise height of cut control, giving an excellent finish on every occasion.

The Dennis G860 also features an interchangeable cassette system to assist with a wide range of tasks which gives Richard the ability to use the G860 across more than one sports pitch.

“We use the G860’s across all of our winter pitches and they also do our squares in the summer. With cricket squares you need to get across them fairly quickly and these mowers allow us to do just that. As one person cuts the square another person follows behind with the Sorrel Roller and opens the top up slightly to allow a little bit of air movement. It works really well. It has cut our algae and other bits on the surface down and allows a bit more drainage through the surface.

Merchant Taylors’ Extend Dennis Fleet

“The option of having all of the different cassettes is great. We use the Verti-Cutter, the Brush, the 8-Bladed Cylinder and the Sorrel Roller – so we are building an armoury of attachments too.”

With over 30 acres of lawns and other grass areas to maintain, Richard completed his Dennis line-up with the purchase of a Dennis G30D cylinder mower. Designed and built following the same concept as the Dennis G860, the G30D incorporates a large-diameter eight bladed cutting cylinder to cater for a wide range of uses to leave a precise cut.

“At the moment we have two big lawns at the school and another large grass area. We use the G30D for this work but it is also a good back-up mower for the sports pitches.

“Previously we were using a 26” mower for the lawns and it had a fairly small grass box so we were forever emptying it. Since changing to the G30D we are saving a significant amount of time and we are getting an incredible finish and presentation – something that is extremely important here at the school.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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STRI Expands Ecology Team

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STRI Expands Ecology Team: The STRI Group has appointed a new consultant to their UK team in order to strengthen ecology services.

Rowan Rumball joins STRI as ecological consultant with six years commercial experience in the industry. Rowan has a Masters degree in conservation from the University of Lancaster, and previously worked at AECOM as a bat and great crested newt specialist.

STRI Expands Ecology Team

He has a wide range of experience working on both small to large scale projects such as High Speed 2, North Wales Connect and the M6 Smart Motorways, conducting European protected species surveys and data management.

Bob Taylor, head of ecology and environment, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rowan to our team of chartered ecologists, where his specialist knowledge and extensive project experience will be of major benefit to our diverse client group in the sports industry.”

Speaking about his appointment, Rowan, said: “I am very excited to have joined STRI as the new ecology consultant. After a walk around the office and talking to a lot of my new work colleagues I can see myself getting involved in lots of interesting projects. STRI will give me the opportunity to use my specialist skills in a direct and practical way on projects that make an immediate positive change to the conservation of a site.

“The most important lesson I have learnt in my career so far is that it is very rare for there to be no solution that is not beneficial for both the client and nature, whether that is in terms of abundance, diversity or habitat creation. I am looking forward to working with new clients and colleagues to find sustainable solutions and promoting ecological best practice in the sportsturf industry.”

STRI has expanded in the last five years to provide ecological and environmental services to the global sport, amenity and aviation industries. Their ecology consultants administer the annual Golf Environment Awards and are official verifiers for GEO (Golf Environment Organization). They work with elite sport governing bodies such as the R&A, for whom they are engaged as official ecological consultants to The Open Championship and Open Qualifier venues.

Rowan will be presenting a station at STRI Research 2018 on 19 and 20 September. Places are available by email info@strigroup.com or by calling +44 (0) 1274 565131.

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Groundsman Wins Volunteer Award

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Groundsman Wins Volunteer Award: The groundsman at Kingsbridge Rugby Club has been awarded the regional round of the Mitsubishi Volunteer of the Year.

Mike Shute, Kingsbridge Rugby Club, has won the regional round of the awards, which Mitsubishi and the Rugby Football Union organise to acknowledge the great work done by volunteers within the rugby community.

Groundsman Wins Volunteer Award

Mike has been a groundsman at KRFC for about twenty years, during that time he has used his own tractor to carry out the heavier side of the ground maintenance which includes; verti draining, earth-quaking and slit seeding.

He has also often been supported by having the use of machinery from KD Plant when bigger machines are required, and aggregates from his employer Jeremy Bishop Haulage.

Members and supporters of the rugby club will agree that the pitches have been improving year on year, there have even been comments made that they actually resemble a bowling gree!

This year with the dry summer we have had, this would normally have been a challenge to renovate the pitches but due to the bore hole installed two years ago the pitches have been irrigated since May and look in fine fettle. David Jarvis has been helping Mike to make sure that the pitches are watered and cut regularly.

Mike took two weeks of his own holiday in May this year to install some extra drainage on the main pitch and complete the annual pitch maintenance work.

He can be found at the club every Saturday morning, all year round, along with the small team ready to keep the rugby grounds in great condition be that match days or through the summer.

For the next round of the competition on Friday, September 7, Mike has been invited to a black tie dinner at Twickenham Stadium – England Rugby Headquarters.

He will be in competition with 42 other regional winners across the UK for the overall prize which is the use of any Mitsubishi vehicle for the next twelve months.

Kingsbridge Rugby Club wishes Mike the best of luck with the competition and greatly appreciates all the hard work he continues to puts in.

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