An Update From Scott MacCallum: You catch me as I’m gazing out of the living room window and the weather is absolutely gorgeous. Sunny, calm, warm, there’s even a slight heat haze. Not what I expect from here, certainly while still in February. Last year – the opposite. Cold, ice, temperatures barely reaching zero.
Now to an extent, while we enjoy what we have now, it makes me feel a little uncomfortable. It shouldn’t be like this. Here in Scotland we’ve just broken a temperature record for Feb which has stood since the 1890s. It is a further example of how climate change is now a part of our every day lives.
While like every rational human being I worry about it, it doesn’t impact my day to day living the way it does for you guys, the nation’s turf professionals. Traditional schedules for maintenance practices go out of the window and while you may have previously been still in the middle of winter maintenance work you are now having to cut grass.
Going forward, it is going to require a much more flexible approach to turf maintenance – not to mention your working attire during the winter months. Shorts in February! – and those who adapt best will be rewarded with the best surfaces all year round.
I’m not suggesting that we should revel in our traditional winter weather but at least it was consistent.
Let’s enjoy this while it lasts but think about how it may shape things to come.
Scott MacCallum
