New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

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New appointment at Agrovista Amenity: Agrovista UK has announced the appointment of Doug McLaren as a new Amenity Specialist who will be operating throughout Berkshire across to Essex and up to Northampton.

Doug started his career in greenkeeping after enjoying a summer job at a small nine-hole golf course in the Scottish Highlands. For the next thirty years he proceeded to work at many prestigious courses such as The Wisley Golf Club in Surrey, St Andrews in Scotland, a De Vere club in Lancashire, the Golf de Joyenval in Paris, The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, and Batchworth Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth. Along the way he worked hard to gain qualifications including an NVQ in Greenkeeping and both a HND and a HNC in Golf Course Management.

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

Prior to joining Agrovista Amenity, Doug was taking some time out after recovering from a brain haemorrhage.

“I was very lucky, and it made me take a step back to reassess,” he said. “I felt that it was time to move away from greenkeeping and then I was made aware of an opportunity at Agrovista Amenity. It is a company that I have worked with a lot over the years, so I know the products very well. I felt it would be a good fit.”

With a wide variety of clients in different sectors, Doug admits it has been a whirlwind start, but claims he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m a bit of a sponge at the moment,” he said. “I’m really enjoying going around all the different businesses, taking in as much information as I can, as well as passing on my knowledge.

“It’s an exciting time to be at Agrovista Amenity and I’m astonished at just how many products we have,” he continued. “There is absolutely nothing we can’t do as a company – the possibilities are endless and that is the message we are trying to get out there.”

With a strong portfolio at his disposal, Doug is ready to address any emerging trends and he is already seeing a strong desire within the industry to shift towards more eco-friendly products and packaging.

Turf and amenity managers are publicly showing that they are keener than ever to address sustainability with their practices.  Working with the current supplier base Doug sees huge potential within the portfolio to provide solutions to these challenges and other yet to come.

Doug claims that he has identified several growth areas and he will be working hard to achieve his goals. He admits that it won’t be without its challenges and conceded that the pandemic continues to have an impact. However, while most sports and businesses came to a standstill, some are now seeing an encouraging resurgence.

“Covid has without doubt had an impact on sporting venues, but some are returning with a bang – golf in particular. Prior to the pandemic, golf membership was declining throughout the country but now looking to get back to if not beyond the previous levels. I’ve noticed that lots of clubs are benefiting and are now looking to invest in their courses and facilities.

“I know first-hand that it is getting harder and harder for these people to produce the best surfaces they can and I’m looking forward to helping them.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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Polaris Ranger EVs aiding conservation

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Polaris Ranger EVs aiding conservation: Located in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, Rushmere Country Park is run by The Greensand Trust, an independent environmental charity that works to conserve distinctive landscapes, wildlife and history of the Greensand Ridge and the wider area.

Welcoming visitors for walking, cycling, horse riding, just for a coffee or to marvel at the wildlife, Rushmere is run on a not-for-profit basis and relies on its visitors to support its work.

Polaris Ranger EVs aiding conservation

Polaris Ranger EVs aiding conservation

With over 400 acres of woodland, heathland and meadows open to the public, it’s essential the land is maintained – and that’s no easy feat. At the end of last year, Greensand Trust purchased two Polaris Ranger EVs to help with this; one hosted at Rushmere Country Park and the other in operation at the nearby Ampthill Great Park.

Working hard to protect the environment, the Polaris Ranger EV is ideal for the tasks at hand.

Dan Doyle, Head Ranger at Rushmere Country Park, said: “We were so impressed with their ability off road and they’re a good match with the charity’s green ethos of renewable energy and reducing emissions. They are great for a day’s work as the battery lasts well around the vast park, without needing to be recharged”

Used for day-to-day checks of the parks, as well as transporting materials in the load bed for path/track repairs, the EV provides a powerful electric engine, 226kg box capacity and 26.6cm of ground clearance, as well as maintaining smooth and quiet operation around the site to avoid disturbing the wildlife and its visitors.

The Greensand Trust is an independent environmental charity that works with local communities and landowners to conserve and enhance the distinctive landscape, wildlife and history of the Greensand Ridge and wider area, improving access, understanding and enjoyment for the benefit of everyone.

For more information please visit www.greensandtrust.org

For more information on the Ranger EV, please visit the Polaris Britain website.

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Bayer & CALM encourage turf professionals to talk

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Bayer & CALM encourage turf professionals to talk: Suicide prevention charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) will be joining Bayer Environmental Science at exhibitions throughout 2022, starting with BTME in March, as the partnership between the two continues for a second year.

With 125 lives lost every week to suicide and 75% of all UK suicides being male, Bayer wants to help spread awareness amongst turf professionals that there is someone to talk to if they ever find themselves in need of support. CALM offers a free confidential support line from 5 pm to midnight 365 days a year to anyone that needs it.

Bayer & CALM encourage turf professionals to talk

Bayer & CALM encourage turf professionals to talk

Tim Peeling, Head of Marketing at Bayer Environmental Science says, “At Bayer we recognise we have a duty to protect and support those working in our industry, as well as the platforms to allow us to raise awareness of key issues.

“We are so happy to support CALM for a second year. Our joint attendance at exhibitions gives us the opportunity to drill CALM’s message home – that there is support available and someone to talk to, so no one has to feel like they are alone.”

In 2021, BIGGA reported that 80% of greenkeepers were worried about the mental health of someone they worked with.

Tim adds, “It’s doubtful that many people were left unscathed from the last two years in one way or another. As the research suggests, people’s mental health was certainly affected, and it continues to be. But there can be any number of reasons why people struggle and it can be incredibly hard to voice these issues, let alone seek out support for them, so the more we can amplify what CALM does, the better.”

Maria Kuzak, Senior Philanthropy Manager at CALM says, “We are so excited to be working with Bayer for another year. Despite further lockdowns we reached a huge number of people in greenkeeping in 2021 and got to be part of some really thought-provoking conversations about looking after your mental wellbeing and the pressures in the industry.

“Attending events with Bayer has allowed us to reach an audience that is not only struggling but has heart breaking stories about those lost to suicide. We hope our efforts to show people they can turn to CALM will mean less of these stories and more open discussions about mental wellbeing in greenkeeping.”

CALM’s helpline and webchat is open 5pm to midnight 365 days a year and can help with all of life’s problems.

Call 0800 58 58 58 to speak to someone on the phone or webchat at https://www.thecalmzone.net/

Or visit Stand 338 in the Green Zone at BTME (22-24th March at Harrogate Convention Centre) where CALM will be on hand, giving away signposting materials and helping companies to better support employees.

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SAGE comes to Malvern

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SAGE comes to Malvern: The SAGE Expo 2022 is going to be one of the top outdoors tradeshows of the year and they have selected the perfect venue. For people working in the sports and grounds maintenance sector, an outdoor tradeshow is much more practical than attending an indoor event.

The Sports and Grounds Expo first launched in 2021 to provide the outdoor space that allows exhibitors to give full, hands-on demonstrations of their products and enables visitors to see the products and solutions in action.

SAGE comes to Malvern

SAGE comes to Malvern

This year the event promises to be bigger and better, hosted at the picturesque Three Counties Showground in Malvern and benefitting from the expanse 90 acres of land and high standard of facilities.

The location also provides enough space to implement measures to create a COVID safe environment while we still face the challenges of the pandemic. The venue has been awarded the ‘We’re Good to Go’ charter mark by Visit England, the official tourist board for the region and is recognised as upholding the necessary health and safety guidance to meet the government’s COVID-19 requirements.

Many businesses in the industry have been heavily impacted by the pandemic and the team at SAGE are going above and beyond to ensure that the tradeshow provides a springboard for success across the sports and grounds industry, as it looks to recover and bounce back stronger.

The event will bring all of the biggest brands together and will be the ideal opportunity for people working in the industry to network and find out more about the new products and trends that are delivering improvements to the sports and grounds maintenance industry.

Exhibitors will be allocated a spacious outdoor pitch offering unrivalled value-for-money, with prices from £8/m2 for the excellent lead generating and sales opportunities presented by this well-resourced event.

Sports and grounds maintenance businesses are very excited to have this platform to showcase their products and to get the chance to network with other industry experts, especially with the all new headline event, “Sustainable Solutions for Grounds Specialists”, taking place in partnership with Bio-Circle.

Matthew Coleman, Sales Manager of TORO explains how beneficial the event will be for his company:

“This is a dedicated show for our industry at the perfect time of year (mid-season), where the weather should be reasonable and it is a quieter period, allowing more time for follow up enquiries after the event.

Rather than paying premium costs for indoor facilities where it is impossible to provide realistic demonstrations, this outdoor tradeshow is tailored for ground care and the other work that is involved in our industry.

We’re really looking forward to a busy but fun two days of meeting people from all sections of the sports and grounds maintenance industry at this wonderful venue.”

The SAGE 2022 tradeshow is an unmissable event for anyone in the sports and grounds maintenance industry, you can still book your place, to exhibit by contacting us (details below). Visitor registration will open soon.

To book a stand, contact the SAGE team by email: team@sportsandgrounds.co.uk or go to the website: www.sportsandgrounds.co.uk now.

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