Education galore at GroundsFest

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Education galore at GroundsFest: With five seminar theatres, outdoor practical sessions, and an abundance of land-based education providers in attendance, GroundsFest is set to have the largest display of educational opportunities ever seen at a groundscare event.

GroundsFest’s all-encompassing education programme has been designed for all sectors of the groundscare and landscaping industry and will feature a mix of indoor seminars and outdoor practical sessions.

Education galore at GroundsFest

Education galore at GroundsFest

In addition to the seminars, there will also be an education area featuring many of the UK’s leading land-based colleges. BAGMA (British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association) will be offering advice about its specific industry training courses, and We Are Land-Based Engineering by the AEA have a stand to provide information on a career in land-based engineering.

The free-to-attend, CPD accredited education programme is set to be a major attraction at the event which takes place on 20 and 21 September at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire.

The programme will provide grounds and open space practitioners across all disciplines – volunteer as well as professional, with an abundance of knowledge-gathering sessions. The indoor sessions will take place in five purpose-built seminar theatres while practical training sessions will be held in the outdoor areas. There is also a theatre dedicated to bowling green maintenance which is being organised by Bowls England and is sponsored by Dennis and SISIS.

In the indoor seminar theatres Martin Sampson from Grounds Training will be starting procedures by delivering an informative session for grounds managers, bursars, club managers and committee chairs. Martin will be focussing on workplace training, current legislation, and tips on creating a skilled workforce.

Lantra, sponsors of Seminar Theatre 2, will be offering tips on how to embrace technology across the landscaping sector; Bradley Tennant (International Greenkeepers for Hire) and Victoria Fiander (Wiltshire College) will be discussing the advantages of using apprenticeships in a staffing shortage, and how networking and volunteering are two great ways to advance a career in the sports turf industry.

Peter Corbett (Origin Amenity Solutions) will be presenting about the changing face of chemicals and the effect this will have on the industry, while Geoff Fenn (Origin Amenity Solutions) will discuss Microdochium disease management and winter fertiliser recovery.

Adam Witchell (The Nurture Landscapes Group/Harlequins Rugby) is explaining how data and water testing are key to his operations; Emma Gayler (EGO) will be presenting

Challenge 2025 – a campaign which calls for batteries to become the principal power source for outdoor power equipment by 2025; Dr Amanda Gummer, on behalf of the API (Association of Play Industries), is discussing how playgrounds are at the heart of communities; turf professional Ed Ramsden will be delivering a vitally important seminar which focusses on mental health; DLF will be exploring several environmental solutions for winter pitches and the Amenity Forum and the STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) will also be having a presence within the education programme.

Carried out by Grounds Training, the outdoor practical timetable will feature free hands-on, training sessions on a range of groundscare topics including line marking, pedestrian mowers, ride-on mowers, handheld machinery, and the calibration and use of knapsack sprayers and boom sprayers. The sessions will be delivered by a fantastic team of Lantra approved instructors which includes Keith Kent, Martin Sampson, Chris Parry, and Steve Potter.

In the Landscape Zone, there will be two theatres. In the Design Theatre speakers include multi-award-winning garden designers and architects such as Paul Hervey-Brookes, Peter Donegan, Laura Ashton-Phillips, Naomi Ferrett-Cohen and Zoe Claymore plus many more.

In the Landscape Theatre Wayne Grills from BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries) will be leading an informative panel debate; Rob Woodhouse (Solent Garden Services Ltd) and Mark Youde (Urban Landscape Design) are exploring the role of company culture in business; Tim O’Hare (Tim O’Hare Associates) is taking to the stage to discuss soil science; Paul Hadley (Paul Hadley Design) is delivering a seminar entitled Wildflowers in Landscaping and the Young People in Horticulture Association are participating in a debate about the possibility of rebranding horticulture.

All sessions are free to attend.

Register for your free ticket at www.groundsfest.com.

You can also follow GroundsFest on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @GroundsFest for much more news, reviews and insightful views.   

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Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced

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Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced: After the launch of England and Northern Ireland’s first ever Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 back in June, we’re now delighted to announce that one of the best-known faces of farming and the environment, Adam Henson, will host the prestigious Awards Ceremony at Reaseheath college on 22nd November.

As well as his TV presenting career, Adam runs the hugely successful Cotswold Park Farm in Gloucestershire, and is also the author of several books about living and working in the countryside. He’s therefore ideally placed to recognise the importance of inspiring and celebrating the next generation of land-based professionals and jumped at the chance to get involved as host at the highly anticipated

Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced

Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced

Awards ceremony later this year.

Adam said: “I am absolutely delighted to be hosting the very first Land-Based and Environment Learner Awards in November. In my various roles, I’m lucky enough to encounter some amazing young people who are passionate about their jobs and are a complete inspiration. Being asked to host the Awards ceremony and join in the celebration of their achievements is a real honour and I just know I’ll come away with plenty of new and exciting ideas to try out in my own business. But now it’s over to the judges to review the range of high-quality nominations. I certainly don’t envy them their task but know their experience will ensure they select some worthy winners”.

Excitement is certainly mounting as, in its inaugural year, the awards programme has generated 120 high quality entries from across the sector.  With everything land based represented be it agriculture or arboriculture, floristry or farriery to name a few, the competition looks set to be fierce.  The judging panel, made up of several eminent experts in their field, will shortly commence the hugely demanding task of objectively reviewing and assessing all the entries to arrive at their shortlist later this week.

Chairman of the judging panel, John Moverley OBE, former Principal of two land-based colleges, is delighted with both the number of entries him and his fellow judges need to consider and, the appointment of Adam as host.

John commented “It’s just so refreshing to see the next generation taking their first steps into what will doubtless be rewarding and long-term careers. My fellow judges and I can’t wait to get down to the difficult task of selecting the ‘shining stars’ from amongst the 120 entries celebrating their success and acknowledging their potential for the future. The Awards Ceremony hosted by Adam Henson, a great ambassador for farming and the wider land-based and environment sector, will be the perfect way to celebrate, reward and thank our young learners for their continued effort and commitment”.

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EGO to reveal new PRO X range at SALTEX

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EGO to reveal new PRO X range at SALTEX: Leading battery-powered outdoor power equipment specialist, EGO Power Plus, has announced that visitors to this year’s SALTEX; can expect an exclusive viewing of its new-look PRO X range.

Set to launch in 2024, the new PRO X range features trailblazing battery and charging technology and has been specifically designed to meet the demands of professional users as well as local authorities.

EGO to reveal new PRO X range at SALTEX

EGO to reveal new PRO X range at SALTEX

Vince Brauns, Group Product Director at EGO, comments: “It is always great to return to SALTEX, especially as it provides us with the perfect opportunity to share exciting new developments to our range with visitors. We are really excited for the show to open so that we can showcase our new PRO X products, including our improved charging solution.

“We have been able to evolve our battery and charging innovations to the point where users can work all day, every day, making our new PRO X range the reliable and performance-driven fleet of tools that professional users need.”

On the stand, visitors will be in with a chance of winning a selection of EGO prizes.

Visitors of the show at The NEC in Birmingham on the 1st and 2nd of November 2023 can find EGO’s latest product offering on stand C150.

For more information, visit; www.egopowerplus.co.uk

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COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

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COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens: Ian Dickson, a bowling green contractor, believes that COMPO EXPERT products have proved to be top of range without the premium price tag.

Ian originally started his career in greenkeeping but switched to bowling green maintenance ten years ago. While admitting it is a completely ‘different animal’, Ian says he quickly got an appetite for maintaining bowls greens and has done so ever since.

COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

He explained how he first started using COMPO EXPERT products on bowls greens.

“In my greenkeeping days I used to order a lot of products from Agrovista Amenity (the exclusive national distributor of COMPO EXPERT’S turf products in the UK) and my representative was Ramsay MacGregor. I stayed in touch with Ramsay when I switched to bowls because he is very knowledgeable, and he gives valid reasons behind using products.

Ramsay is genuinely interested in a plant’s health and his advice is key to my operations.

“Ramsay came in and looked at the bowls greens I was working on. He suggested using some COMPO EXPERT products and explained how they had been getting great results on some golf courses, so I decided to give them a try.”

COMPO EXPERT believes in sustainable, integrated turf management by focusing on modern fertilisation concepts, consistent regeneration of growth and optimal support of the plant’s own physiological processes. All of which promote vitalisation, stress tolerance and root development while providing optimum turf quality.

The innovative product range includes specialty mineral and stabilized fertilisers, slow and controlled release fertilisers, water soluble and liquid fertilisers as well as biostimulants, trace elements and soil conditioners.

The first product Ian tried from the COMPO EXPERT range was Fertilis® Speed, an NPK complex fertiliser with emphasis on nitrogen for spring and summer application to promote growth and a quick green-up.

“The green where we applied the Fertilis® had a lot of bare areas and the growth has been tremendous,” said Ian. “We applied it in May and had a full 12 weeks out of it. There has been less disease, the sward is a lot thicker, and even during a big drought period the greens performed superbly.”

Ian also maintains a sand-based green which is prone to leaching. For this green he applied Floranid® Twin Eagle K – an extra fine granulated slow-release complex fertiliser of excellent solubility.

“The nutrient levels on this green are very hard to maintain. With the Twin Eagle K, you don’t get the flush of growth in the way you would from the Fertilis®. Instead, you get an even, consistent growth. I judge the consistency of it by looking at the amount of grass cuttings I take from the mower each week. We get three boxes of cuttings three times a week and that underlines how consistent the Twin Eagle K is. Again, we get excellent results.”

Ian claims that he has been very impressed with the longevity of the products and believes that there isn’t much on the market that can beat COMPO EXPERT products in terms of performance and price.

“A lot of other fertilisers just don’t have the longevity that these do,” he said. “We were using a cheaper fertiliser in the past and I was applying twice as much product, so it ended up costing me more.

“The COMPO EXPERT products are top the range, but you don’t pay top of the range prices for them. They are very fairly priced compared to their competitors.”

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

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Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn

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Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn: Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn (YFD) is a primary school in Llandudno, Wales that is working hard to offer its young pupils a green space in which to play and learn.

In partnership with Conwy Borough County Council and Wild Elements, a not-for-profit social enterprise, the school wanted to create green spaces for the children of YFD to immerse themselves in natural materials and greenery. The site was selected due to its severely grey infrastructure and lack of green space.

Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn

Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn

Wild Elements is dedicated to getting people in North Wales outdoors and connecting them to nature, improving their lives, opportunities, and aspirations.

The school received a recommendation from another Local Nature Partnership Coordinator in Cardiff and after seeing the successes of their project they felt it was the best way forward to source the green infrastructure for the school site. Gareth Lloyd – head teacher of YFD comments “we felt the products offered by Green-tech were one of the few that we were satisfied to have green infrastructure installed on a Centre Based Child Care education estate.”

Green-tech supplied everything but the trees for this project which included 45 Hedera Helix Woerner Living Ivy Green Screens and 45 bespoke Planters in 3 different colours.

The living Green Screens provide instant and effective screening and are perfect for projects where an instant privacy green fence is required. They provide rigid, secure, and evergreen barriers which are low maintenance and easy to install. As well as being much more attractive than traditional fencing, they are an environmentally conscious choice that support an array of wildlife and help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to provide cleaner air.

To ensure the green screens stay hydrated a Mona irrigation watering system was supplied for each screen. The Mona System is a 100% water efficient, subterranean plant irrigation system and provides cost effective tree and planter irrigation.  The system acts as a reservoir to hold water and distribute to the plant’s roots as and when required to ensure they remain healthy and grow.

Gareth continues, “Following the success of the Cardiff project under the same Welsh Government grant, we hoped to replicate the work as it was a big hit with the Cardiff primary school children. One of the main concerns raised in the project’s infancy was the lack of shade in the school. During the warmer months, it can become overwhelmingly hot for the children. We intended for the Ivy Screens to provide an adequate source of natural material shading for the children. We also wanted the Ivy Screens to be a space for the children to play, hide and immerse themselves in their games. It has made a huge impact to the children’s well-being and is greatly appreciated.”

Green-tech supplied 12 bespoke planters for trees in 3 different colours and 12 containerised anchor systems to secure each tree discreetly without impacting on the overall design. In addition, 16 bulk bags of Green-tree topsoil which is manufactured using organic compost and overburdened sand from quarries and perfect for projects focused on environmental sustainability and green credentials, was supplied.

There was a lot of products to be delivered and it was important that the delivery schedule met the needs of the school, without interrupting them, as well as Wild Elements installation plan. “It was logistically impressive!” comments head teacher Gareth Lloyd.” “Thanks for sorting the delivery to run so smoothly, one wagon in, the next one to follow”, Tom from Wild Elements adds.

Julieanne Quinlan, Local Nature Partnership Coordinator for Conwy adds, “the experience with Green-tech has been a wonderful one. James, their Sales Advisor, has been incredibly helpful and patient throughout the entirety of the project. We cannot thank Green-tech enough for making this project come to fruition. It has been a big hit with the school and the children, and we have great hopes for the future pupils of Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn. Diolch yn fawr (thank you very much).

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