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Walton Heath awarded international distinction

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Walton Heath awarded international distinction: Walton Heath Golf Club, host venue of this week’s AIG Women’s Open, has achieved GEO Certified(r) status for sustainable golf, underlining its strong commitment and performance across key themes for sustainable golf course operations.

GEO Certification is overseen by GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf – the international non-profit organisation dedicated to delivering programmes that help people on the ground to evaluate, improve and credibly communicate their sustainability work. The international distinction confirms the facility satisfies all the certification criteria; meeting a credible standard in the areas of nature, resources, climate and community, and is committed to continual improvement.

Walton Heath awarded international distinction

Walton Heath awarded international distinction

Michael Mann, Course Manager at Walton Heath, said: “Becoming GEO certified really fits in with what we are trying to achieve at Walton Heath. Is is good for evaluating resource efficiencies, particularly with rising costs, and with the focus on nature and this being such an important conservation site it is important to manage the courses in the right way. Our rainfall capture systems and borehole extraction for example all fit with the GEO Certification and anything which helps you explore ways to improve is rightly a good thing. Demonstrating the positive impacts golf brings is so important to the club and wider community.”

Carole Kerrey, Credibility Manager at GEO Certification Ltd, said: “Walton Heath is a shining example of positive action in sustainable golf. The accredited third-party verifier was very impressed by the practices in place and the commitment and enthusiasm to do more. The club’s awareness of the importance of its site and progressive drive and determination to continually improve highlights what can be achieved towards building a more sustainable future.”

Walton Heath’s Sustainable Golf Highlights include:

*A biodiversity audit of the Old Course at Walton Heath undertaken in 2022 highlighted 175 different species. This included 12 Species of Principal Importance, such as the small heath butterfly and brown long-eared bat (also a European Protected Species), and five birds of conservation concern: two red listed, and three amber listed.

*11 notable plant species were also recorded, including all three native heathers: common heather, bell heather and cross-leaved heather, all of which are Near Threatened in England.

*The greenkeepers at Walton Heath painstakingly manage areas of nationally important lowland heathland and acid grassland across the golf courses to ensure that these habitats support a diverse range of wildlife.

*Since 2000, Walton Heath have collaborated with various organisations, including Natural England, the Forestry Commission, The RSPB, Surrey Wildlife Trust and the Surrey Heathland Project to restore nine hectares of pure heath.

*Areas of the practice range are left as buffer zones for pollinators. Heather nursery areas are encouraged alongside expanses of unmanaged but monitored rough.

*Water supply and efficiency has been boosted with the construction of a reservoir to store water drawn from a borehole along with a rainfall capture system alongside the M25 bank which runs along the boundary of the site. As well as reducing potable water consumption, the reservoir was designed with a marginal shelf to create support habitat and biodiversity. A new irrigation system installed in 2022 further improves precision and efficiency.

*Solar panels power the maintenance complex with all electric and hybrid equipment are charged using renewable energy. Surplus energy is sold back into the grid and all the club’s energy needs are obtained from renewable sources.

*The chef purchases much of the produce used from local sources – within a 10-mile radius.

*The club manage a car park used for daily dog walking and other recreational activities, maintaining clean and safe access to the common for the community. The club and greenstaff also manage a recreation ground on site for football and other sports, Break Lane school fields for the school, the old pheasantry and the local pond within the village of Walton on the Hill.

This week’s AIG Women’s Open will also see a range of sustainability actions implemented through The R&A’s Greenlinks programme including nature walks around Walton Heath in partnership with the RSPB. Such actions help continue to raise awareness of positive impacts highlighted at tournaments through the joint LPGA and LET Celebrating the Green presented by Dow initiative.

For further information: www.waltonheath.com

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Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest

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Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest: Following the success of their ‘Experience the Difference’ money-back promotion over the last 12 months, Aspen Fuel are delighted to announce an extension of the scheme for visitors attending GroundsFest this September.

2023 sees Aspen celebrating 35 years as the pioneers of alkylate fuel – free from ethanol, benzene and other hazardous hydrocarbons making it a better choice for people, machinery and the environment.

Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest

Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest

Many grounds contractors, landscapers and arborists are already reaping the rewards of the improvements to their working environment by fuelling their petrol-engined equipment with Aspen Fuel. Recommended by LANTRA, the cleaner burn of Aspen all-but eliminates the noxious fumes and infamous ‘blue haze’ traditionally experienced with unleaded fuel from the pump, not only improving the health and well-being of the operator but also those in the immediate environment.

Visitors to outside stand 350 can find out more about the ‘Experience the Difference’ trial, which enables businesses to use the 2 and 4-stroke fuel risk-free in their own working environments and return the unused fuel if they change their mind for a refund of the cost difference.

“We understand that concerns around cost or logistics can sometimes delay the decision to give Aspen a try, however, once they do, we find companies rarely look back” explains Axel Hildebrand, Business Development Manager for Aspen Fuel. “We want to give all business owners at GroundsFest the opportunity to discover the difference that this fuel can make to their operation, their machinery and their workers welfare and we can do that with the assurance that the customer won’t incur any increase in their fuel costs for the duration of the trial.”

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OAS Double Up At SALTEX 2023

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OAS Double Up At SALTEX 2023: Origin Amenity Solutions (OAS) will be making their presence felt at SALTEX with two stands.

Leading the way in the amenity and grounds management market, the OAS technical team will be available on stands G060 and G057, offering turf management solutions for all grounds managers and greenkeepers alike.

OAS Double Up At SALTEX 2023

OAS Double Up At SALTEX 2023

Visitors to G060 will get a flavour of the comprehensive OAS product portfolio which will include its range of brand leading, tried and tested seeds, fertilisers, and biologicals, plus the addition of water management and digital solutions for your grounds management programmes.

Several of the latest OAS technology-led solutions will be profiled.  These include a new generation of tetraploid grass seed mixtures which deliver enhanced root growth and germination along with superior stress tolerance in temperatures as low as 4oc.

Carbon4Grass is a range of grass seed mixes that have been developed to support the industry’s awareness of carbon mitigation in amenity and landscaped areas. The Carbon4Grass mixes contain cultivars that sequester relatively more carbon than typical grass seed mixes, offsetting carbon gas production by machinery and equipment used on-site. Visitors can also learn about the latest biological developments in soil and plant science health  and how they can be incorporated into traditional turf management programmes.

Live demonstrations of the digital Turfkeeper platform will be happening on the stand, highlighting the sought after integrated operations and management solution which gives Turf managers insight and control over staff management, task planning, machinery management, inventory control, chemical applications planning and recording, budgeting, and expense management.

Our OAS Irrigation Specialists will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss the latest water management solutions and how they can enhance your turf health and performance whilst saving you time and money. The new 164-page catalogue, featuring a comprehensive range of Rain Bird products will be available to take away.

All products and services are underpinned by an industry-leading Turf, Science and Technology Centre which is tasked with implementing turf trials that consider future climate and legislative pressures, whilst researching product development for the turf industry as a whole. Research & Development Director Geoff Fenn will be sharing information from past and present trials in the SALTEX seminar area.

For the first time at SALTEX the OAS Line Marking team will have their own dedicated stand (G057) to showcase their robust and unrivalled line marking offering. A range of line marking machines, from pedestrian spray markers to the latest technology in GPS guided robot line markers; alongside industry-leading line marking ready-to-use IMPACT paint range will be on show. Their new line marking brochure will be unveiled at the show and will be available for visitors to take.

The famed OAS Barista will be present once again, along with a number of show offers and competitions which are sure to ensure that stands G060 and G057 are amongst the busiest in the exhibition hall.

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Toro grounds mowers in stock

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Toro grounds mowers in stock: In the market for a new Toro grounds machine? Reesink Turfcare can deliver.

Reesink Turfcare, the exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for Toro groundscare machinery, has five of Toro’s popular grounds mowers in stock and ready for swift delivery across the UK.

Toro grounds mowers in stock

Toro grounds mowers in stock

The Groundsmaster 3300 out-front rotary, LT3340 heavy-duty triple, LT-F3000 triple flail, LT2240 cylinder and the Groundsmaster 4000 rotary mowers bring new cutting concepts to rotary, cylinder and flail mowing and are in the UK and ready to order now.

Jon Cole, divisional business manager, turfcare, at Reesink Turfcare, says: “Reesink UK and The Toro Company have been investing resources to support availability including paying additional airfreight on accessory items and premiums to secure equipment from other Toro distributors, where there’s the option. We’re so pleased to see this approach working and stock arriving in the UK.

“Whether it’s a rotary, cylinder or flail mower customers want, we’ve got it covered.”

All of these machines are ideal for maintaining areas that are cut infrequently and can handle longer, wetter, coarser grass cutting, or finer, neater cuts depending on what is required in the green space being tended.

From light trimming to mowing dense overgrown areas, the Toro LT3340 will be appreciated for its durability, strength and performance. The LT-F3000 will impress by increasing the length of time between cuts, making grounds teams more efficient. If it’s wet, coarse, long, dense grass on the agenda, the Groundsmaster 3300 with flail or rotary deck, will deal with it.

The LT2240 works in areas with restricted access and limited manoeuvrability and is suited for fine-turf applications as much as densely packed, overgrown municipal grass, while the Groundsmaster 4000 handles cutting on hills and wet grass with ease and has the ability to turn on itself leaving a zero inch uncut circle adding to its already impressive productivity.

So, don’t delay, with these popular grounds machines in the UK and ready for delivery now, order today for guaranteed results within weeks.

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ICL publishes comprehensive Invasive Plants Guide

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ICL publishes comprehensive Invasive Plants Guide: ICL has announced the launch of the Invasive Plants Guide – a detailed and comprehensive resource for understanding and managing key invasive plants in the United Kingdom.

Encompassing over 150 pages, the Invasive Plants Guide provides crucial information about identifying, understanding, and sustainably managing 14 different types of invasive plants prevalent in the UK. The varieties covered in the guide range from annuals such as Himalayan balsam and Smooth sowthistle to short-lived perennials like Giant hogweed and Common ragwort, as well as long-lived perennials including Japanese knotweed and Bracken. Woody weeds and trees, such as Buddleja and Rhododendron, are also included.

ICL publishes comprehensive Invasive Plants Guide

ICL publishes comprehensive Invasive Plants Guide

The guide offers a thorough understanding of what constitutes an invasive plant and the problems they can pose. It delves into their growth and lifecycle, with a focus on how this knowledge can be applied for their sustainable control and management.

“The Invasives Plant Guide is a comprehensive resource that brings together information to aid in the identification, understanding, and sustainable management of invasive plants,” said Barry Browne, Landscape & Industrial Sales Manager from ICL.

“We believe that this guide will be an invaluable tool for all who are dealing with invasive species, from landscapers and gardeners to local authorities and land managers.”

Register your interest in receiving your free copy of the guide at https://bit.ly/ICLInvasivePlantsGuide

For more information about the guide, please visit the new ICL website www.icl-growingsolutions.uk

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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