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GEO Foundation World Environment Day

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GEO Foundation World Environment Day: Today marks the UN’s World Environment Day. Last year, we focused on how golf courses could play an important role in Beating Air Pollution.

And whilst so much has changed in the world since then, some underlying trends and issues are as important as ever.

GEO Foundation World Environment Day

GEO Foundation World Environment Day

This year we are celebrating golf’s contribution to nature – how it helps to conserve the rare and the common, the iconic and the invisible – and how golf’s global diversity of landscapes and ecosystems (the woodlands, the wetlands, the grasslands and the dunes) all offer safe haven for our wildlife.

Of all the environmental and sustainability issues we face, perhaps no other fits so well with golf – an outdoor sport and recreation that brings people into direct contact with their local green spaces, and the species that live there.

We also highlight some of those Sustainability Champions and leaders in golf who are making sure this doesn’t just happen by accident.  Who, through careful stewardship, are ensuring their courses are as valuable to nature as possible.

There’s also a firm focus on the benefits to golf clubs and golfers. For example, how nature can create new efficiencies; provide natural solutions to course issues like flooding; add to the experience and fun golfers have; and be a point of genuine pride in the local community.

Watch the World Environment Day video below to find out more: https://youtu.be/rL-BNJNFzLY

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STRI launches Project Pathfinder

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STRI launches Project Pathfinder: STRI is pleased to announce the launch of ‘Project Pathfinder’ which forms part of the UK Government’s emergency Covid-19 innovation strategy.

The project will provide sports facilities and green spaces, affected by the COVID-19 crisis, with stage one consultation advice for free between June and August 2020. If required, STRI will also deliver roadmaps to give facilities business plans to assist with their longer-term financial stability.

STRI launches Project Pathfinder

STRI launches Project Pathfinder

This initiative is available to any sports or green space facility that is currently experiencing issues directly or indirectly due to the COVID-19 crisis. This may involve advice on turfgrass maintenance practices with reduced staff, planning applications, potential cost savings, or longer-term options to put facilities on a stronger financial footing such as redevelopment or land sales.

By funding this project, the government has recognised the huge health and mental wellbeing benefits sports facilities provide to the UK. However, many of these sports facilities are especially vulnerable since the Covid-19 outbreak, which has impacted revenue and long-term business survival. STRI aims to assist as may sports facilities as possible to help them on the road to recovery.

STRI consultant Kelly-Marie Clack, said: “Project Pathfinder will provide a lifeline to sports facilities who are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Our services will fill the gap in knowledge for facility managers who need to rapidly adapt to new financial and practical pressures. This is truly a unique opportunity to reach out and offer advice to all sections of our industry, regardless of budget or location.”

To take part in Project Pathfinder please complete this short and simple survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/stripathfinder

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The Worker Is King: GKB Ecodresser

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The Worker Is King: GKB Ecodresser: GKB Machines, the company behind sustainable, reliable and robust maintenance machinery for natural, synthetic and hybrid turf are providing you with the ability to dress natural grass sport pitches in a cost-effective way, thanks to the GKB Ecodresser.

Sports pitches often need increased aeration, especially when wanting to create the best seeding conditions. Combining multiple operations into one, the GKB Ecodresser is the ultimate machine for the maintenance of sport pitches and golf courses. With the combination of cutting discs, coulters and fixed tines, turf is intensively aerated whilst dressing is applied to the upper layer and sub layer.

The Worker Is King: GKB Ecodresser

The Worker Is King: GKB Ecodresser

Developed in the 1990s with the Council of Rotterdam, the GKB Ecodresser also removes the need to purchase and spread dressing. Extracting the desired dressing soil from the existing upper level, the robust machines uses the dressing soil from the sports pitch to bring the overall cost down.

Providing the ability to level imperfections, this impressive machine also carries recycled dressing onto the conveyer belt and scatters it on the desired place. Ultimately, this creates excellent seeding conditions, improves the drainage conditions and enhances rooting. Equipped with a cutting roller, the GKB Ecodresser also ensures minimal operating damage to the turf. These adjustable blade rotors extract soil from the upper layer and the heavy-duty rotor is protective with slipping clutches on each blade flang.

GKB continue to constantly make adjustments to improve the user experience of their reliable machinery, which is why a stone screen and collection tray are made available. The spring-loaded coulters remove the risk of damage from stones when aerating the upper layer and when combined with the stone screen and collection tray a homogenous upper layer is accomplished.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617 to enquire about the GKB Ecodresser.

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Doosan Bobcat EMEA HQ wins award

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Doosan Bobcat EMEA HQ wins award: The recently opened Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters for Doosan Bobcat in Dobris in the Czech Republic has just won a ‘Healthiest Office’ Award.

The new headquarters won in the ‘Healthy Environment and Sustainability’ category in the CBRE Art of Space Awards. The company was among the finalists in the categories of Workspace Design – Industrial and The Most Attractive Meeting Point.

Doosan Bobcat EMEA HQ wins award

Doosan Bobcat EMEA HQ wins award

The headquarters building was built last year on the Doosan Bobcat campus in Dobris and is the centre of operations for the EMEA region. It is home on the campus to the Doosan Bobcat management and approximately 200 other employees at the company. The new headquarters sits alongside the Dobris manufacturing plant and the training and innovation center at the campus, where compact construction, agricultural and other Bobcat machines are produced for the EMEA region and the rest of the world.

In the CBRE Art of Space Awards, almost 250 candidates competed for victory in six main categories across the entire spectrum of commercial real estate.

Proud of the ‘Healthiest Office’ Accolade

“Thanks to our win in this key category, we can be rightfully proud of one of the healthiest work environments in the Czech Republic. With the new headquarters in Dobris, we have completed an investment which, thanks to the concentration of development, production and management of the company in one place, is of socio-economic importance for the entire region and is exceptional within our field.”

“Over time, we have invested approximately 120 million Euros in Doosan Bobcat’s operations in the Czech Republic, and the current CBRE Art of Space Award provides more proof that we have set out on the right path,” says Sebastien Millet, Vice President, Procurement, Doosan Bobcat EMEA, responsible for construction of the new headquarters.

Experts evaluated the new building as follows: ‘In its new headquarters in Dobris, Doosan Bobcat EMEA has included many materials that are typical of the industries in which it works, such as metal, concrete, straw and stone. Among other things, the company has emphasized room acoustics, proper daylight and greenery’.

The ‘Healthy Environment and Sustainability’ category was decided through the assessment of experts from the Czech Green Building Council, who judged this part of the competition and performed an audit of the internal environment for the submitted projects.

“Compared to previous years, it can be seen that the number of interiors that work with the first-rate design wow effect is decreasing, and the number of high-quality, conceptually designed spaces is increasing.

“The proof is there in this year’s winner, which received the highest rating from the jury for the spatial concept and good air quality. The offices were well regulated in terms of CO2 concentrations and air humidity, which is still not a matter of course in many designs. At the same time, the jury highlighted the intensive incorporation of greenery into the office concept,” said Simona Kalvoda, Executive Director of the Czech Green Building Council.

The new EUR 10 million three-storey, Doosan Bobcat EMEA headquarters building covers an area of ​​1561 sq m and offers more than 3370 sq m of usable office space for 200 employees. In addition, there are sufficient parking spaces, including charging stations for electric cars. Investments were also made in the construction of green areas covering an area of ​​more than 7000 sq m.

About Doosan Bobcat EMEA

Doosan Bobcat EMEA is responsible for about a third of the worldwide production of Bobcat products. These include compact construction and agricultural machinery, such as skid-steer loaders, compact track loaders, mini-excavators, telehandlers and a wide range of more than 130 types of attachments. The company also manufactures air compressors, lighting towers and generators under the Doosan Portable Power brand.

You can find out more about the CBRE Art of Space Awards at www.artofspace.cz

For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit www.bobcat.com

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A spotlight on Allan Wright

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A spotlight on Allan Wright: From groundsman to greenkeeper, contractor to sales advisor – the experienced Allan Wright has turned his hand to most jobs in the turf and amenity industry.

“In all of the positions that I’ve had in my career, I’ve always looked at the next step as a new challenge,” he said. “I’m certainly not looking to move anywhere else now. I love what I do here, we have great support from the hierarchy of the business and it really is a fantastic company to work for.”

A spotlight on Allan Wright

A spotlight on Allan Wright

Allan first learnt his craft when he started his journey in the eighties as an apprentice groundsman at Stirling University. By working in a multi-sports facility, he gained broad experience in a variety of sports turf – including golf, football, rugby and cricket.

Having been particularly fond of maintaining the nine-hole golf course at Stirling University, he moved into greenkeeping and went on to work at two different golf clubs.

After seven years he accepted a position as the assistant head groundsman at a private school before Falkirk Football Club came calling. For most of the nineties he was head groundsman at this great Scottish football club.

However, as the millennium approached, Allan felt that it was time to pursue new opportunities outside of the turf and amenity industry. “I started managing a pub, but it didn’t last long,” he said. “Quite honestly, I just didn’t like working inside! I couldn’t wait to get back to what I knew best.”

It was at this point in 2001 that Allan began working for Terra Firma, one of Scotland’s largest specialist suppliers to the amenity and local authority markets. It was the perfect fit.

“The best part of my job is the variety of it all – I like speaking with customers, demonstrating products and I visit a multitude of different sites too. You never know what each day will bring – and I like it that way.”

Terra Firma became part of Agrovista in 2017 and Allan claims his role has not changed. He still gets to do what he loves and that is working with machinery. In fact, Allan has been integral in increasing the company’s groundcare machinery portfolio by adding several key brands such as Pellenc, Kioti and Shibaura, and says that he is incredibly selective when it comes to machinery and partnerships.

“I will only go for what I see real value in and what I believe will be of benefit to our customers. We look for unique products; equipment that we will have exclusivity on. Our portfolio consists of innovative products, – the Pellenc brand is a prime example of that.”

A forerunner when it comes to lithium-ion technology, Pellenc has established itself as the number one choice in the ‘zero emission’ professional power tools market for the maintenance of urban and green-spaces.

A spotlight on Allan Wright

A spotlight on Allan Wright

“I see battery technology as the way forward,” continued Allan. “It’s something that the whole industry is embracing – particularly local authorities. They are looking at their carbon footprint, the low vibration levels, the cost of fuel and it just all makes sense.”

Allan admits that when he started out as an apprentice groundsman in the eighties, he never could have dreamed of one day using an electric mower or an electric chainsaw to carry out commercial work. However, the industry has moved at an incredibly fast pace and not just in its technological advancements.

“The biggest change I’ve seen throughout my career is the rise in education – and it’s great to see. A lot of people know the science behind a grass plant now, which is a huge change from 35 years ago. In my opinion, the most notable rise in education has been in greenkeeping. I speak to a lot of greenkeepers and golf course managers and they are all very well educated – it will result in a great future for the sector.

“Agrovista is fully committed to the training and development of its people. Back in my day we only had the tools to work with, but now companies such as Agrovista are providing the younger generation with a world of opportunity.”

As Allan says, the Agrovista Academy was created to provide opportunities for every employee to progress, which includes; agronomy and technical training, customer service training, warehousing and logistics training and more. The aim is to provide a framework of learning experiences that will help its staff to continue to develop their key skills and behaviours throughout their career.

While Allan is optimistic about a bright future, he has no plans to stop just yet. When he does, he is looking forward to jumping in his touring caravan and spending more quality time with his wife and two Labradors at their favourite spot in the Moray Firth.

When that time comes, there is no doubt that his name will be fondly remembered in the turf and amenity industry for years to come.

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

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