Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Walking on air in Greenwich Park

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Walking on air in Greenwich Park: The oldest enclosed Royal Park, Greenwich covers 74 hectares on top of a hill where visitors enjoy sweeping views across the River Thames to St Paul’s Catherdral and beyond. There has been a settlement on the site since Roman times, and Greenwich has always had a strong association with […]

Walking to Qatar

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Walking to Qatar: Fresh off completing his Million Steps Challenge, which saw him raise £12,075 for Shout – the UK’s first free 24/7 text support service for anyone struggling to cope – Cambridge United Stadium Manager Ian Darler B.E.M. is now taking things one ‘step’ further. Captured on video, Mark Bonner, Manager of Cambridge United, has set Darler […]

Walking on air in Greenwich Park

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Walking to Qatar

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Walking on air in Greenwich Park

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Walking on air in Greenwich Park: The oldest enclosed Royal Park, Greenwich covers 74 hectares on top of a hill where visitors enjoy sweeping views across the River Thames to St Paul’s Catherdral and beyond.

There has been a settlement on the site since Roman times, and Greenwich has always had a strong association with royalty. Historic tree areas date from 1660 when Charles II was king and eleven original trees from the period can be found in the park. In 2019, the park had over five million visitors and with its view and attractions – there’s even a Saxon burial mound – it is no wonder when the pandemic struck there was a massive increase in visitors in the first year of lockdown.

Walking on air in Greenwich Park

“It was like bank holiday every day,” says Adam Stoter, Greenwich Park’s Technical Officer. “Greenwich Park offered an open-air space when there were few places people could go. The trouble was, the added footfall compounded the growing problem of compaction in and around the tree areas.”

The Royal Parks’ flagship project ‘Greenwich Park Revealed’ had already begun to restore the 590-year-old park to protect and share its heritage. They aim to go above and beyond in tree care and management and it was a natural progression to bring in the specialist services of Terrain Aeration’s Tree Division. The company has been treating tree areas in Royal Parks for many years and, in the case of Greenwich this year, applied their technology across 15,000 square metres. Where there is heavy compaction it is essential to break up the soil at a depth greater than the tree roots, other than the main tap roots which go straight down, to allow excess water to drain away and help stop anaerobic conditions and rotting of the root system.

The Terrain Aeration Terralift machine sends a probe to a depth of one metre where compressed air is released to a maximum of 20Bar (280psi). This blast of air fractures the soil and creates fissures which interlink as the Terralift repeats the process on a grid system of two-metre spacings. As the probe withdraws at the end of the air blast, dried seaweed is injected which sticks to the fissure walls, expanding and contracting with moisture content in the soil to keep the area ’breathing’. In most cases, the area treated will be one-metre inside and one-metre outside the canopy drip line to reach beyond the growing roots, increasing the percentage of oxygen intake and allow maximum drainage. In all, Terrain Aeration treated around 15,000 square metres to help ensure the future of the historic tree areas where visitors will literally walk on air.

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Walking to Qatar

March 10, 2022/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Walking to Qatar: Fresh off completing his Million Steps Challenge, which saw him raise £12,075 for Shout – the UK’s first free 24/7 text support service for anyone struggling to cope – Cambridge United Stadium Manager Ian Darler B.E.M. is now taking things one ‘step’ further.

Captured on video, Mark Bonner, Manager of Cambridge United, has set Darler the challenge of walking the equivalent distance from London to Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup – a staggering 3,229 miles or close to 8 million steps – with the aim of raising £50,000 for Shout. Visit Ian Darler’s fundraising page for more details.

Walking to Qatar

Having personally experienced depression and PTSD, and after losing a friend to suicide, Darler is eager to continue raising awareness of mental health and money for Shout.

Ian Darler B.E.M. said: “After hitting rock bottom some years ago, I am now thankfully in a much better place and have come through one of the most challenging periods in my life. It is so important to discuss our mental health and to not allow each other to suffer in silence – like I did – which is why I now want to keep the conversation and the fundraising going.

“The statistics surrounding depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm and suicide are absolutely frightening. We still have such a long way to go, which is why I would implore everyone who can to play their part and make a donation. The Million Steps challenge was a real challenge, but also a very humbling experience and I expect nothing less this time around.”

Shout is the UK’s first and only free, 24/7, confidential text messaging mental health support service for anyone struggling to cope. To date, Shout has taken more than 1,000,000 conversations with 400,000 children, young people and adults who are anxious, stressed, depressed, suicidal or overwhelmed and who need immediate support.

Victoria Hornby, CEO of charity Mental Health Innovations, which powers Shout 85258, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Ian for undertaking such an epic fundraising challenge for Shout by walking to the Qatar World Cup. We are currently taking 2,400 conversations every day with children and adults across the UK who are struggling to cope with suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness and much more. Every penny raised will enable us to take conversations that could save lives. Thank you Ian and good luck, I can’t wait to join you somewhere along the way!”

For more information about the fundraising challenge and to make a donation, visit Ian’s fundraising page.

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Walking on air in Greenwich Park

Walking to Qatar

Walking on air in Greenwich Park

Walking to Qatar

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Walking on air in Greenwich Park

Walking on air in Greenwich Park: The oldest enclosed Royal Park, Greenwich covers 74 hectares on top of a hill where visitors enjoy sweeping views across the River Thames to St Paul’s Catherdral and beyond.

Walking to Qatar

Walking to Qatar: Fresh off completing his Million Steps Challenge, which saw him raise £12,075 for Shout – the UK’s first free 24/7 text support service for anyone struggling to cope – Cambridge United Stadium Manager Ian Darler B.E.M. is now taking things one ‘step’ further.

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT