BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager

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BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has appointed an experienced project manager to oversee the implementation of the innovative First Green initiative and to create an online resource centre that will showcase careers in greenkeeping to a wide audience.

Jennifer Bledge has spent over a decade working in information governance roles within education. She is a former parent governor of Sandwich Infant School and is a qualified teacher. Jennifer also has experience of developing relationships with various stakeholders across education, which will prove vital as BIGGA seeks to engage with other organisations to successfully implement its outreach programme.

BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager

BIGGA appoints dedicated project manager

At BTME 2023 in January, BIGGA announced it would be adopting the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America’s (GCSAA) successful First Green initiative. First Green transforms golf courses into STEM classrooms and Jennifer will oversee the development of a UK-specific toolkit that will aid in the roll out of this scheme.

She will also lead in the development of a digital careers in greenkeeping resource centre that is aimed at school leavers, graduates, second careers and golfers. Supporting this, she will liaise with ex-military and public services careers services, the National Careers Service, various charities and universities with related degree courses.

Jennifer has an existing understanding of the greenkeeping industry as her husband James Bledge is Royal Liverpool Golf Club’s course manager and is preparing to host The Open in July this year.

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “The appointment of a workforce recruitment project manager for BIGGA stands to be one of the most important strategic decisions the association has made in some time. It represents a fundamental shift in how we approach the challenges our industry faces and I hope gives confidence to our members that we are aware of the various issues relating to staff welfare, recruitment and retention and are addressing these head on.

“Jennifer was the outstanding candidate for this role and given her decades of experience working within education, I am thrilled she has joined the team. I look forward to sharing updates about the various projects she will be working on in the coming years with our members and the wider golfing public. There is a long way to go, but with the appointment of a talented project manager in Jennifer, I am confident we have taken a vital first step.”

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SISIS signals results for Worcestershire FA

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SISIS signals results for Worcestershire FA: Two SISIS machines have led to impressive pitch improvements at Worcestershire FA’s headquarters at Claines Lane, Worcester.

Worcestershire FA’s new state-of-the-art headquarters has been designed to provide a positive football hub for the community for years to come. The impressive facilities includes both a full-size natural pitch and a 3G pitch, as well as floodlights, a covered seating area, modern changing rooms, community areas, office areas, and training facilities.

SISIS signals results for Worcestershire FA

SISIS signals results for Worcestershire FA

Paul Loader, Site Co-ordinator for Worcestershire FA, is the man responsible for maintaining the site and it’s not a job he takes lightly. “This pitch is my life – it’s my little baby,” he said. “My main role is to make sure that the 3G pitch is maintained correctly and that the grass pitch is in the best condition it possibly can be for games.”

Paul’s job was made that little easier after Worcestershire FA received funding which enabled them to invest in some new turf maintenance equipment. Included within the new fleet of machinery was a tractor, a SISIS Quadraplay and SISIS Multitiner.

The multi-functional SISIS Quadraplay single pass maintenance system is perfect for busy groundspersons as it incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, spikers, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect.

Compact, robust, versatile and with the ability to carry out up to four operations simultaneously – the Quadraplay makes life a lot easier for many groundspersons.

For further aeration requirements Paul relies on the SISIS Multitiner 1.8m – a tractor mounted drum-type aerator. It has three drums with independent rotation and its interchangeable tines with a maximum depth of 100mm ensure excellent turf care when the time comes to aerate.

“Since we’ve invested in new kit, the pitch has improved massively,” said Paul. The SISIS Multitiner and the Quadraplay work brilliantly together.

“On the Quadraplay I mainly use the slitter and the brush which is great for matchday presentation. The brush leaves a lovely stripe and is particularly helpful if I haven’t been able to cut the pitch for a few days. I’ll also be using the rake to bring some of the debris out of the pitch.

“At least once or twice a month between cuts I will use the Multitiner to get some holes on to the surface of the pitch – it is excellent at getting air in to the ground.

“The pitch used to be quite uneven, but these machines have helped to level it all off. We’ve noticed a big difference in this respect and when I go over the pitch, I can no longer feel any bumps.

“Both of these SISIS machines have been fantastic and I can easily understand why they are being recommended to FA counties across the whole of the UK.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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England skipper wants fast pitches

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England skipper wants fast pitches: England captain Ben Stokes has warned Australia that he has asked for “fast, flat wickets” to take the attack to the Ashes holders later this year.

Read the full article from Barron’s here

England skipper wants fast pitches

England skipper wants fast pitches

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Green-tech provides automated irrigation

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Green-tech provides automated irrigation: The latest 4-star hotel to open its doors in Bristol’s Old City area has a fascinating history. The Clayton Hotel sits just within the medieval walls of St Johns, on the site of the original Grade 2 listed Everards printing works, first built in 1900.

Visitors are greeted by a gloriously colourful, tiled Art Nouveau frontage, designed by W.J. Neatby, the Chief Designer at Royal Doulton. His design depicts several facets of Bristol’s history; the female figure in the centre representing Light and Truth, and the two figures to either side, printing and literature, for which Bristol was becoming increasingly known.

Green-tech provides automated irrigation

Green-tech provides automated irrigation

Situated in the heart of the old city, outdoor space is practically non-existent, so plans were drawn up to utilise a small space on the lower level at the back to create a rain-forest inspired sunken garden, planted with mature tree ferns, raised beds and seating.

Green-tech involvement:

Having a good working relationship going back over a decade, Bath-based landscape architects MacGregor Smith had no hesitation in specifying Green-tech’s lightweight intensive topsoil and subsoil for all the planting beds in the sunken garden.

For the tree pits at ground level, the decision was taken to use Green-tech’s Green-tree Amenity Tree Soil; a fertile, load bearing structural tree soil from Green-tech, specifically developed to BS3882:2015 for use in the urban environment. Having a naturally open structure, Green-tree Amenity Tree Soil allows for compaction without sacrificing any water percolation or aeration properties of the soil.

To complete the tree pits, MacGregor Smith specified the Fortress tree grille tray. This is designed to accept block paving to ensure a seamless transition to the surrounding paved finish. Each pit included an irrigation pipe topped with Green-tech’s Mono Relief Piazza aluminium filler cap, which was set flush into the paving.

To ensure that the tree ferns in the sunken garden received adequate irrigation, the decision was made to fit a fully automated Rain Bird irrigation system, also from Green-tech. The system was custom designed for the area and featured micro-sprays and drip-lines, along with the all-important pressure regulators and solenoids. The pressure regulators are critical to any automated system, as they ensure that each emitter or drip line provides the same amount of water no matter how far down the line from the water source they are.

Jamie Cusack, Senior Associate from MacGregor Smith comments, “This was a challenging project, not only with the sunken garden, but also the tight spaces in which to work and get deliveries in. On this project Green-tech were particularly helpful in respect of providing detailed design input into the automated Rain Bird irrigation system, which helped ensure the successful establishment and longevity of the distinctive tree ferns.

Alasdair Innes, Green-tech Specification Advisor adds, “It’s always a pleasure to work on any MacGregor Smith project, and we first visited the site in February 2022 as the exterior trees were going in but before the sunken garden was in place. It was great to go back and see that everything has come together, especially the automated irrigation in the sunken garden.

For any further product information or to request a CPD in person or remotely on any of  Green-tech’s urban or rural modules please contact sales@green-tech.co.uk or call 01423 332100

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Kubota appoints George Nowell

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Kubota appoints George Nowell: George Nowell has been appointed as Kubota (UK)’s agricultural and groundcare Dealer Manager for the midlands, north west and Wales. Now in his fifth year of full-time employment with the company, George joined Kubota in 2015 after getting in touch during his search for a three-month summer job following the completion of his first year at Harper Adams University.

His career path is one that puts the spotlight on opportunities that exist within Kubota. After leaving school, he took a three-year apprenticeship at Bicton College which saw him working with a tractor dealership in Devon. Eager to immerse himself at manufacturer-level, George set about finding a route into Harper Adams University.

Kubota appoints George Nowell

Kubota appoints George Nowell

“I always knew what I wanted to do, and earning myself a summer job at Kubota was a move that has helped to create fantastic opportunities for me,” explains George, whose exam results and high grades achieved from an apprenticeship eased his progression into engineering.

“During my degree course, I returned to Kubota for my work placement year as a student,” he says. “My coursework and dissertation led to a project on M7 tractor optimisation, which was focussed on developing dealer and customer knowledge.”

Proving that a little initiative goes a long way, George returned to Kubota after completing his university studies in 2018, taking up his first full-time role. As a service technician providing product support, his early career included a three-month posting to KFM in Dunkirk, France, working in tractor production.

One year later, George took on the role of Regional Service Representative before stepping up to the role of Aftersales Dealer Manager in 2021. He now boosts his career in 2023 as Kubota’s agricultural and groundcare Dealer Manager for the midlands, north west and Wales.

“I have been involved with groundscare equipment from the start of my career, working as an apprentice in the dealership” adds George. “It’s great to be part of a company that has a reputation for supplying quality, reliable equipment through a dedicated dealer network and I very much look forward to supporting them, and our customers, further over the coming months.”

Commenting on George’s promotion to Dealer Manager, agricultural and groundcare Sales Manager Tim Yates said: “This is a great opportunity to showcase our home-grown talent, and it highlights the professional career opportunities that are available in Kubota (UK).”

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