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Celebrating Public Parks

July 5, 2017/in Events, Press Release/by Richard McKeever

Celebrating Public Parks And Revaluing Their Contribution To Community Health And Wellbeing National Have a Field Day 8th July to demonstrate public support for parks Visit your local park this weekend – you’ll feel happier and healthier as a result Have a Field Day on Saturday 8th July is a celebration of the UK’s parks […]

ICL Combat Wear & Tear at Ely City GC

July 5, 2017/in Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

ICL Combat Wear & Tear at Ely City GC – Andy Baker, Head Greenkeeper at Ely City Golf Course in Cambridgeshire, believes that his use of ICL products have significantly improved the high wear areas on the course despite facing unfavourable weather conditions and heavy usage. Andy, who has been at Ely City GC for over […]

Celebrating Public Parks

July 5, 2017/in Events, Press Release/by Richard McKeever

ICL Combat Wear & Tear at Ely City GC

July 5, 2017/in Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Celebrating Public Parks

July 5, 2017/in Events, Press Release/by Richard McKeever

Celebrating Public Parks And Revaluing Their Contribution To Community Health And Wellbeing

National Have a Field Day 8^th July to demonstrate public support for parks
Visit your local park this weekend – you’ll feel happier and healthier as a result

Have a Field Day on Saturday 8th July is a celebration of the UK’s parks and green spaces. Charity, Fields in Trust is working with local communities to demonstrate the many ways we value our parks. From carnivals, sports competitions, musical performances and community picnics, thousands of people will be attending hundreds of events in local parks across the country which showcases exactly how much we love our local parks and green spaces.

Fields in Trust, the charity behind Have a Field Day, was founded on July 8^th, back in 1925 with a clear aim to ensure that everyone – young or old, able or disabled and wherever they live – should have access to free, local outdoor space for sport, play and recreation. However, financial pressure on local authorities means that our parks and green spaces are increasingly under threat and many could be lost forever to building and redevelopment.

The recent Communities and Local Government Parliamentary Inquiry reported on the public benefit that parks contribute to preventative public health, mental well-being and community cohesion; yet parks could still be lost to building development as they are not a statutory service for local authorities. Funding cuts mean green spaces are less well maintained and they are under threat due to pressure on land for housing and retail developments. Nearly 92% of local authority parks departments have experienced budget cuts in the past three years. This is in the face of three-quarters of park managers reporting increased visitor numbers (State of UK Public Parks 2016).

New research for Fields in Trust indicates that more trips to more parks more often is good for the health and wellbeing of the UK. Visiting every day produces the highest wellbeing scores but our new research suggests the optimum use of green space is at least once a week as this gives us 65% of the health and wellbeing benefits rated across the four Office of National Statistics indicators. The completion of this research will identify a robust economic and monetary value for these health benefits in order to make the case to local councils and governments to maintain our parks.

But health and economic value aside, deep down we all know that parks and green spaces are incredibly valuable and that’s why across the UK communities are coming together at Have a Field Day events to showcase the many ways parks are enjoyed by local communities. For example, Birkenhead Park, the first publicly-funded civic park in the world, is launching a new family programme; several parkrun volunteers are recognising the importance of their local park for running; in Wales thousands will attend a community carnival in Pontypool Park; The winner of the UK’s Best Park Award 2016, Rouken Glen, near Glasgow, is hosting Children’s Nature Activities allowing youngsters to explore water beasties. And a series of neighbourhood picnics have been organised by members of the 38 Degrees campaign group who are also completing a petition asking councils to protect these much-loved community spaces. On Wimbledon’s middle weekend community tennis is being celebrated in Bounds Green, north London, where there is also football training and an Australian Rules football tournament.

Fields in Trust Ambassador, author Bill Bryson said: “Britain has the comeliest, most enchanting, abundant and often venerable parks and green spaces of any country I know. Wherever you are, you are never more than a few minutes from woods, greensward and fresh air. How splendid is that? I am delighted to see them celebrated by Fields in Trust.”

Fields in Trust Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths, said “Our parks and playing fields are used by whole communities from pre-schoolers to retired adults. Research helps us understand how a local park can contribute to its neighbourhood but the real value of a green space is determined by the local community who use it for play, sport and recreation. Each of the thousands of parks playing fields and playgrounds across the UK is valuable to the neighbourhood that it serves. Fields in Trust believe we should re-value our green spaces as resources which contribute to public health, mental wellbeing and community cohesion, not simply view them as a drain on council finances for upkeep. If you Love Your Local Park we encourage you to get together with neighbours on 8th July and celebrate our precious parks and playing fields.”

All planned events are listed on the Fields in Trust website. From picnics to sports matches and community carnivals look up your local event and join in – or get a group of friends together for a picnic to demonstrate how you #LoveYourLocalPark.

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ICL Combat Wear & Tear at Ely City GC

July 5, 2017/in Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Andy, who has been at Ely City GC for over twelve years, tends to the 55 year-old, 18-hole parkland course. Designed by the legendary Henry Cotton, the course boasts a large membership and is heavily played on all year round, as Andy explains.

“We’re in a good catchment area – there is no other course for about 15 miles, and with more golfers comes more wear. The course sees a couple of hundred rounds each day at the weekends so it is very busy. We get a lot of wear on the tees, wear around the greens and on narrow points across a lot of the ditches.

“The course is a heavy clay site with a lot of ryegrass and we’re 15 to 40 metres above sea level so we get a lot of moisture and it is incredibly wet in the winter. Admittedly it can be a struggle dealing with so much wear under low-grow and wet conditions – therefore it all comes down to having the right products in place.”

Andy relies upon three core products from ICL in which he applies an annual base feed to the tees and approaches of Sierrablen Plus 24-5-8 +2MgO to provide a long-term nutrient release. To ensure the health of the turf remains in optimum condition, every four weeks he then applies a combination of Primo Maxx plant growth regulator and either Sportsmaster WSF High N 35-0-14+0.13Fe or High K 15-0-43+0.13Fe, This combination is used every 5 weeks on the fairways.

This tank-mix delivers the correct amount of nutrients through Sportsmaster WSF while at the same time Primo Maxx reduces top growth and boosts sward density and root mass. The popular combination has proved to be a winning formula for greenkeepers throughout the UK and beyond and Andy is no exception.

“We put the Sierrablen Plus down at the beginning of March at about 30g per square metre. It offers excellent longevity – 9 months comfortably, so it keeps us in a good strong condition going into the winter period.

“From when we first apply it in March, the quality just shows straight away and then of course we keep that topped up with the Sportsmaster WSF and Primo Maxx combo. We started this approach on tees to start with and saw great results from that, so the following year we then took it out to our approaches, fairways and other high wear areas.

“We’ve noticed a big difference and have seen an improvement in sward density, presentation and colour and we are also getting less worm castings as a result. Generally, the overall quality of the course has improved, the signs of wear on those areas has decreased and the members have noticed the results.

“Since using these ICL products, the quality of the greens has improved so much that they are now as good in winter as they are in the summer. If you’re cutting your grass at 3mm you’re putting a lot more stress on it so you need to be putting the correct nutrient into it and this is what we get from the Primo Maxx and the regular feeding.”

Andy has also been involved with some ICL and Syngenta trial work, which he believes has only reinforced his decision to use the products.

“By trialling these products it puts me in a position where I can say whether a certain product is better than another one because it has gone head to head on the same area. My job is to make the course the best it can be and if there are new products coming out then of course I want to be trialling them and comparing them. It proves to me that I am using the finest products and I also share my thoughts with other greenkeepers.

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

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

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

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Celebrating Public Parks

ICL Combat Wear & Tear at Ely City GC

Celebrating Public Parks

ICL Combat Wear & Tear at Ely City GC

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Celebrating Public Parks

ICL Combat Wear & Tear at Ely City GC

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