Tag Archive for: Announced

Peter Pattenden announced as Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year

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Peter Pattenden announced as Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year: Peter Pattenden, spray tech at the Cheshire championship golf resort, Carden Park, has won the prestigious title of Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year.

Peter’s ASOOTY award presentation was made as part of the glittering BIGGA industry awards at BTME in Harrogate this week (21 January 2025), along with the competition’s other finalists, Sarah Phillips of Complete Weed Control (South & Central Wales) and Mark Sippitt of Top Grass UK.

Peter Pattenden announced as Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year

Peter Pattenden announced as Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year

The ASOOTY awards highlight best practice and experience in the challenging role of ensuring accurate application on all amenity surfaces.

Sponsored by ICL and Syngenta and managed by the Amenity Forum, the awards seek to share top tips and advice that will raise the standards of spray application across the amenity industry.

The ASOOTY judges particularly praised Peter’s commitment to complete a comprehensive checklist of mechanical and practical points before every application, including calibration of the sprayer and assessment of the specific requirements for any products being used.

“Although only a relatively young age, Peter ably demonstrated a deep understanding of the principles of sprayer mechanics and operation, along with the implication of how any changes could impact on application,” reports Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes.

“He also showed an excellent awareness of the environmental aspects of good sprayer operation that will mitigate any impact of off-target spray drift or over application. His commitment and attention to achieving accurate application was exemplary and makes him a great role model for other sprayer operators to learn from.”

The judges also highlighted how Peter had embraced new technologies in a move towards precision application to ensure more of the products hit the intended target, as well as adopting digital tools including sprayer set up advice, turf management Apps and application record keeping.

Other ASOOTY finalists at the Awards included Sarah Phillips of Complete Weed Control (South & Central Wales), who was commended for her pioneering work in developing a comprehensive and effective training programme for the company’s spray technicians, which draws on her extensive experience and knowledge as a highly professional operator.

Mark Sippitt, of Warwickshire-based Top Grass UK, was also praised for the way he had successfully developed integrated turf management strategies for lawn treatments including herbicides, iron treatment, nutrition and mechanical controls – where accurate knapsack application was at the centre of the company’s approach. Ongoing training and regular in-house assessment ensures Mark and other Top Grass operatives are always fully up to date with developments and techniques.

ICL Landscape & Industrial Business Development Manager, Lewis Blois, added: “We were once again hugely impressed with all the finalists’ dedication to ensuring every application is made as effectively as possible. They all take exceptional care to achieve a good result, as well as immense pride that they have made a real difference with a job well done.

“This year the Awards have recognised the range of spray application techniques and the differing skills involved across the amenity sector. It will provide a unique and vitally important resource for all involved in spray application.”

Presenting the award at BTME, Ian Graham, Chairman of the Amenity Forum, said: “The skills required to competently apply professional plant protection products are often overlooked. Along with the formal training and accreditation process, there is the experience that takes years to acquire.

“Winners of this award have elevated the application process to an art, be that with a knapsack or a boom sprayer, to help create great playing surfaces  all year round, managing amenity areas efficiently and cost effectively, along with maintaining immaculate lawns for customers,” he adds.

“The Amenity Forum is delighted to work with ICL and Syngenta as the sponsors of this award and would like to congratulate Peter for upholding the highest of professional standards.”

Look out on the Amenity Forum website for more details and entry form for the launch of next year’s ASOOTY and your chance to win.

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GroundsFest Registration Prize Winner Announced

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GroundsFest Registration Prize Winner Announced: The winner of the GroundsFest 2024 registration prize has been announced. Warwickshire-based landscaper Trevor Day was thrilled to recently collect his brand-new Toro ProStripe 560 pedestrian mower – a machine that promises to take his business to the next level.

Every person who registered for GroundsFest 2024 was entered into the prize draw for a chance to win the Toro ProStripe 560. Renowned for its precision and clean striped finish, the ProStripe is a favourite among grounds professionals, excelling in both sports fields and fine turf applications.

GroundsFest Registration Prize Winner Announced

GroundsFest Registration Prize Winner Announced

Trevor, who runs his own landscaping business, couldn’t be more excited about his new mower. “I’m itching to start cutting some grass with it. I’ve heard a lot about the Toro ProStripe, and I know it’s going to hugely benefit my business,” he said. “It was the cherry on top after attending the fantastic GroundsFest 2024. The event was exactly what the industry has been crying out for—somewhere you can not only see new products but actually get hands-on and try them out. It’s so refreshing to attend an event that allows us to make informed decisions, rather than just talking specs and features. GroundsFest lets you experience the products firsthand, which is a game changer for anyone in the industry.”

Matthew Coleman, Sales Manager Professional Landscape Contractor & Site Works Equipment for the UK Direct Market, echoed Trevor’s enthusiasm. Toro UK sponsored the registration prize and reported an overwhelmingly successful debut at the show.

“It was a pleasure to sponsor the registration prize at GroundsFest this year, our first year of exhibiting as Toro UK, and what a great first year it was,” Matthew said. “I can see the future potential in GroundsFest and see how this event will help us promote our offerings to a large proportion of our markets. The show provides everything required to showcase both ends of our vast portfolio—hats off to the GroundsFest Team.”

He added, “A huge congratulations to the winner of our sponsored prize! It was fantastic to see how appreciative Trevor was in receiving his new Toro ProStripe. It was quickly evident the ProStripe has gone to a deserving winner and someone who’s very excited to create his first Toro stripes!”

GroundsFest continues to deliver memorable experiences for both exhibitors and attendees, and Trevor’s win is just one example of the many highlights from the event.

For more information, please visit 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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British team announced for STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship

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British team announced for STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship: The pinnacle of logger sports action, the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship, takes place in Toulouse, France on 8th and 9th November this year, and the athletes who will represent Great Britain in the Team event have now been selected.

After going head-to-head against each other as rivals in the British Championship earlier this year, the top British athletes will now have to work together if they want to repeat their success on the world stage.

British team announced for STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship

British team announced for STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship

In the Team World Championship, each team consists of four athletes who take on four TIMBERSPORTS® disciplines in a relay; the Stock Saw, the Underhand Chop, the Single Buck and finally the Standing Block Chop. The teams compete in knock-out rounds against each other, with the fastest team proceeding to the next round, so the athletes with the quickest times in their national championships stand the best chance of being selected to represent their country.

British Pro champion Glen Penlington from Knighton, Wales took his third British title in a row in June at the Royal Three Counties Show, but it was his impressive times in the Underhand Chop, Single Buck and Standing Block Chop that guaranteed him a place in the team. Penlington was faster than his fellow competitors in all three disciplines, even delivering a new Personal Best time in the Single Buck, on his way to the top of the podium.

With four other places on the team to be filled, including a reserve, the decisions in the rest of the selection process needed more consideration. But through analysis of each of the discipline times from the British Championship, the rest of the team was selected.

Along with Penlington, Rob Chatley from Hanley Broadheath in Worcestershire, Graham Turner from Penicuik, Scotland, Tom Redmond from Bere Regis, Dorset and George Spencer from Hereford all made the cut, meaning that the British team for the 2024 World Championship is the same as the team that travelled to Stuttgart for the 2023 World Championship.

Vicky Tween, STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Team Manager, was excited about the prospect of team reuniting again. “Individually, they are all really strong athletes, so it’s always great to see what they can do when they come together. Last year didn’t go as planned for the team, but it was a useful learning experience, and I’m certain they will improve this year,” she said.

They will once again be joined by the British Rookie Champion, Jack Morris, also from Knighton, in Wales. Whilst Rookie athletes don’t normally compete as part of the team, Morris delivered some lightning-fast times at the Rookie Championship and will be nipping at the heels of the Pro athletes when he joins them for the three Team training camps that take place in the lead-up to Toulouse.

These training camps are a great opportunity for the team to work out who will take which leg of the relay at the World Championship, as well as an opportunity to practice the changeovers between the disciplines. In a sport that can come down to the tiniest margins, the additional training is critical to the performance, and the team will be looking to build on their 14th place finish from 2023.

If you want to see how Team GB fare against the best athletes from across the globe, you can watch the World Championship in full, live on the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® YouTube channel on Friday 8th November.

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His Majesty The King announced as Patron of the RHS

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His Majesty The King announced as Patron of the RHS: The RHS is honoured and delighted that His Majesty The King will be the next Patron of the Royal Horticultural Society – the UK’s gardening charity dedicated to helping everyone to garden for health, happiness and the environment.

Keith Weed CBE, President of the RHS, said: “As an advocate for the planet and champion for environmental issues, we are thrilled and honoured that His Majesty The King is our Royal Patron.

His Majesty The King announced as Patron of the RHS

His Majesty The King announced as Patron of the RHS

“We look forward to furthering our work to reach more people of all ages, backgrounds and gardening abilities with the joy of growing plants and gardening to create wonderful gardens, combat the effects of climate change and build a better future for generations to come.”

Their Majesties The King and Queen will be visiting the RHS’s world-famous gardening event, The RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Monday 20 May to meet the growers, designers and horticulturists that help make both UK gardens and its nation of gardeners some of the best in the world.

During their visit to RHS Chelsea on Monday Their Majesties will visit The RHS No Adults Allowed Garden, the first garden in the history of the Show to be designed by children to highlight to children everywhere how to become gardeners to help the planet, whilst having some fun.  Along with co-designer Harry Holding, the children have included in their design a woodland, meadows and a wetland with heightened colour and oversized bog plants. There is also a natural den set within a pool of water.

Other gardens that will be visited include the Moroto no IE Garden, designed by Kazuyuki Ishihara, which is a garden where vibrant acers and a tumbling waterfall blend the beauty of the natural world with the practicalities of family life and The Addleshaw Goddard Junglette Garden designed by Mike McMahon and Jewlsy Matthews where the hardy tropical planting of the balcony mirrors the structural layers of the jungle.

Clare Matterson CBE, RHS Director General, said: “It means the world to the RHS and our wider horticultural family of growers, nurseries, gardeners, designers and plantspeople that Their Majesties The King and Queen, accompanied by The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are visiting RHS Chelsea again this year.

“We are all hugely looking forward to welcoming them to the world famous event to enjoy the spectacular displays that everyone has worked tirelessly to create, to meet the many wonderful charities involved with the event, and hopefully, as us gardeners love to do, sharing some top gardening tips and getting lots of inspiration along the way.”

Their Majesties visited the RHS Chelsea Flower Show just weeks after the Coronation last year.  During the 2009 Show Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presented The King, as Prince of Wales with the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) – the Charity’s most prestigious award – as a tribute to his deep interest and expertise in horticulture.

Having spent a lifetime championing the environment, The King has transformed his own garden at Highgrove into one of the most inspiring and innovative in the United Kingdom. It is a garden over 35 years in the making, created with passion, vision and dedication by The King and is an exemplar of his organic principles.

In 2013 The King, as Prince of Wales launched the Coronation Meadows Project to create 60 meadows, in honour of the 60th year of The late Queen’s accession to the throne. They have since thrived with over 100 fields of flowers created over the last ten years.

The Late Queen Elizabeth II was previously Patron of the RHS. The Queen became Patron of the RHS in 1952. She was Patron for 70 years, visiting RHS Chelsea Flower Show nearly every year of her Reign.

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Dates for #GroundsWeek 2024 Announced

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Dates for #GroundsWeek 2024 Announced: The Grounds Management Association (GMA) has announced that its annual awareness campaign, #GroundsWeek, is returning from 18 – 24 March 2024. 

The campaign, now in its fourth year, recognises the work of turf care volunteers and professionals in the UK, with a focus on inspiring new recruits to consider a career in the industry.

Dates for #GroundsWeek 2024 Announced

Dates for #GroundsWeek 2024 Announced

Research carried out by the GMA over recent years has highlighted a potential employment crisis, with a lack of new recruits entering the industry and a significant number of existing workers leaving. It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as research carried out in 2023 revealed that more young people are working in the grounds management sector than in previous years.

Grounds staff under the age of 35 now make up 27% of the workforce compared to 19% in 2022. There has also been an increase from 3% to 5% in the number of grounds managers aged 24 and under, and an increase in the percentage of grounds managers stating that they became involved in grounds management due to apprenticeships from 13% to 16%.

The number of people who became involved in the grounds sector ‘by accident’ has also reduced from 13% to 10%. The GMA’s ‘Sport’s Hidden Profession’ report in 2010 recorded that nearly 20% of grounds staff became involved by accident, therefore significantly more people are now making a conscious decision to pursue a career in grounds management. This change highlights that the grounds care sector is becoming increasingly recognised as a viable career route which other GMA initiatives, like the Grounds Management Framework, support by providing a key path of development for those looking to progress in the sector.

Geoff Webb, CEO of the GMA, says:  

“A key part of our role advocating for the industry and our members is laying the foundations for new talent to enter the sector. It’s hugely encouraging to see, after three years and lots of hard work introducing the sector to new audiences, that the number of young people entering the sector is starting to rise.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but initiatives like #GroundsWeek can have a really important role in encouraging more people to consider working in our wonderful industry.

“To help raise awareness and make as much noise as possible, we’re encouraging grounds staff and sports clubs across the country to engage with the campaign online and celebrate the vital contribution of grounds staff in making sport possible.”

To find out more about #GroundsWeek, keep up to date with all the latest content by following the GMA on social media:

You can also contact the GMA to find out how you can get involved by emailing communications@thegma.org.uk.

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