Tag Archive for: Celebrating

Celebrating New Talent in the Land-based & Environment sector

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Celebrating New Talent in the Land-based & Environment sector: Lantra and Landex are delighted to announce that nominations for England’s inaugural Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 are now open.

This exciting new Awards programme sees the two organisations working in partnership to recognise the talent, successes, and achievements of individual learners in the land-based and environment industries. They are encouraging land-based employers, colleges, private training providers and universities to recognise and promote their top candidates working in the sector by nominating them for a prestigious award.

Celebrating New Talent in the Land-based & Environment sector

Celebrating New Talent in the Land-based & Environment sector

The awards are open to individuals who were on programme on full-time or part-time Land-based and Environment courses and Apprenticeships in England between September 2021 and September 2022.

In this inaugural year, categories include Agriculture; Arboriculture; Forestry and Woodland Management; Equine and Farriery; Floristry; Landscape and Horticulture; Land-based Engineering; Animal Care and Management (includes keeper and aquarist/dog groomer); Veterinary Nursing; Environmental Conservation, Game and Wildlife; Aquaculture and Fisheries; and Sports Turf and Greenkeeping.

As well as prizes for the above categories which apply across Private Training providers, Further Education (FE), Apprenticeships Awards (Level 2-3), Higher Education (HE) and Higher Apprenticeship Awards (Level 4-7), there are also prizes for Apprentice of the Year, Inspirational Mentor/Trainer, Overall Winner and Runner Up.

Online entries are being encouraged, as the quicker and more sustainable option. However, paper copies of the nomination form are available on request. The deadline for entries is 21 July 2023.

Nominations are sought from employers, colleges, private training providers or universities by using the Online Application Form

The winners will be announced at the first prestigious awards ceremony at Reaseheath College, one of the UK’s leading land-based colleges based in Cheshire, on the 22 November 2023.

Dr David Llewellyn CBE, Lantra’s Chair of Trustees commented:

“Whilst the headlines may concentrate on the important topic of a lack of qualified individuals and skills in the land-based and environment industries, we think the equally important abilities and achievements of those thousands of learners who are dedicated to helping grow our workforce of tomorrow, are both celebrated and rewarded.

“Lantra is committed to promoting the land-based and environment sector as a great place to work and forge a fulfilling and long-term career and we’re confident that employers, colleges and learners alike will be equally keen to shine a well-deserved spotlight on our future industry stars”.

Marcus Clinton, Chair of Landex commented:

“I’m delighted these inaugural awards are taking place. There is so much amazing talent across the network of land-based colleges and universities who are doing such a great job supporting the land-based and environment sectors and employers with their workforce of tomorrow. Being able to shine a light on and recognise the hard work and achievements of our students will make for a very special evening”.

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Celebrating the green

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Celebrating the green: The Ladies European Tour has today launched an exciting new initiative to promote environmental sustainability. Celebrating the Green presented by Dow, will help amplify the good work taking place across the tour, as well as inspire and support further action.

Delivered in close partnership with the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf, and with support from new partner Dow, the initiative will be carried forward inclusively with people and organisations from across the LET community, including partners, players, tournaments, venues and media.

Celebrating the green

Celebrating the green

Alexandra Armas, CEO, LET, said: “We are excited to bring this initiative forward in partnership with GEO Foundation and Dow. The LET recognises the fundamental significance of issues such as biodiversity loss; air and ocean pollution; and climate change. We now want to step forward with more strength to deliver and stimulate more positive action in collaboration with all the people and organisations we connect with around the world. We know these concerns resonate with many of our member players, as well as partners, tournament organisers and venues, and that by working together we can do more and deliver even more value.”

One major focus will be the gathering and promoting of credible stories and examples from across the LET community, which will span a range of issues directly related to fostering nature, conserving water, energy and materials, engaging communities and taking climate action – all of which are closely aligned to the United Nations ‘Global Goals for Sustainable Development’.

Jonathan Smith, Executive Director, GEO Foundation added: “Congratulations to the LET on their leadership. It is always inspiring when a highly visible and influential sporting body like the LET voluntarily steps forward, looking to do more. We are delighted to help guide the initiative and also to support the delivery as more players, tournaments and venues seek to get involved, take more action and tell their stories. This is exactly why we have spent the last few years building customised programs and tools for sustainable golf – including the new suite of carbon calculators.”

The announcement has been warmly welcomed by a number of people and organisations across golf, including ‘Sustainable Golf Champion’ Suzann Pettersen who added: “I am very pleased to see the launch of this exciting and important initiative. Sustainability issues are so important to the game of golf and of course to all of us now and future generations. I would encourage current LET players, plus the tournaments and venues to look into how they can get involved in the initiative and with GEO’s sustainable golf programmes, and become part of a truly inspiring collective effort.”

Mary Draves, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Dow, explained why the organisation is so pleased to help drive LET Celebrating the Green: “As a direct result of the sustainability work we are carrying out at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, Dow sees a tremendous opportunity to advance sustainability in and through golf.  It is one of the sports most connected to natural landscapes and communities and clearly has the opportunity to lead by example on so many key issues. We look forward to bringing our support and resources to both the LET and GEO Foundation, which have done tremendous work over the years to ensure that initiatives like this can be confidently, credibly and effectively carried forward.”

For more information about how to get involved with LET Celebrating the Green, visit our website HERE

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Celebrating 10 years of seminars

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Celebrating 10 years of seminars: Dennis and SISIS are celebrating an impressive decade of groundcare seminars this year. In this article, we look at the history and development of the seminars and how they have proved to be so beneficial for so many of the unsung heroes in a wide variety of sports turf sectors.   

The ever-popular Dennis and SISIS groundcare seminars, are first and foremost, education-based events, supported by expert speakers with both indoor presentations and outdoor practical sessions. The seminars aim to connect like-minded people where they can find advice, learn new skills and techniques as well as offer fantastic networking opportunities. A large number of groundcare individuals have significantly benefitted from attending the seminars over the years including volunteers and professionals representing schools, sports clubs, local authorities and contractors.

Celebrating 10 years of seminars

Celebrating 10 years of seminars

The humble origins of the seminars can be traced back long before this ten-year period when both Dennis and SISIS were operating as separate entities and hosted educational groundcare events for their respective customer bases.  However, in 2011, SISIS was acquired by the Howardson Group to sit alongside Dennis as a division to provide the groundcare industry with a truly comprehensive range of British manufactured turf maintenance products. It was at this point in history that the two manufacturers combined their extensive knowledge and expertise and the groundcare seminars were taken to another level.

This monumental year saw a series of seminars addressing a wide range of sports turf topics including a dedicated bowls seminar which took place in North Kessock, Scotland; and a cricket themed seminar which took place at Uxbridge Cricket Club in Middlesex, London.

These early seminars set the precedent and over the years, they continued to evolve. From winter pitch maintenance, to early spring maintenance; from renovations to soil core clinics – the seminars have, and continue to, offer advice in a number of groundcare aspects.

As the seminars grew in stature, support and reputation, so too did the illustrious and extensive list of expert speakers. Take for example the expert panel at the most recent seminar held at Durham County Cricket Club’s Emirates Riverside which included Vic Demain (Durham CCC), Karl McDermott (MCC, Lord’s), Jim Dawson (BT Murrayfield) and Keith Kent (Head Pitch Advisor to Rugby Groundsmen Connected).

From the first seminar in North Kessock to the most recent at the Emirates Riverside, the series of seminars have accumulated some truly astonishing statistics.

  • 87 venues across the country
  • 550 hours of education
  • Expert speakers covering 300 informative sessions
  • Over 4,800 delegates

Whether a groundsman or a greenkeeper in employment or a volunteer; whether highly experienced or just starting out in the industry; throughout this ten-year period so many people associated with the maintenance of sports turf have benefited from attending the Dennis and SISIS seminars. One look at some of the testimonials which have been gathered over the years are certainly testament to this.

Vic Demain has been a long-term supporter of the seminars and has been a speaker at many over the years: “Having been involved with the Dennis and SISIS cricket groundcare seminars since their launch in 2011, it has been fascinating to see the growth of the events, together with the interest shown by the industry.

“The beauty of many of these events is being able to share time with likeminded folk, making new contacts and discovering that no matter what level one works at, we all have the same passion. The interaction between presenters and delegates at these events will give the audience a desire to get back onto their grounds.”

Commenting on the seminars, Keith Kent explained why he feels they are so valuable: “I think that as part of everybody’s education, every day should be a school day and these seminars, where there are such high-quality speakers, are a vital opportunity to progress.

Commenting on a bowls seminar held at the Backworth Miners Welfare Bowls Club in Newcastle upon Tyne, Robert Blacklock from North Tyneside local authority said: “I’ve found the day to be extremely useful and informative with excellent presentations. I do not have a lot of experience in this field and have recently started some courses on turf maintenance. The seminar was not overwhelming, and it was pitched at the correct level.”

Nigel Pearce, Head Groundsman at Lechlade Cricket Club, attended a seminar at  Gloucestershire County Cricket Club along with his chairman and revealed that it was beneficial for the both of them: “For me it was great to catch up with a number of fellow groundsmen who I already knew and it was good to meet new ones as well. It was also really interesting listening to speakers like Chris Wood and having the opportunity to go out and look at the square. My chairman also came along with me today and I’m really pleased because he has learnt a lot about what I do and received an insight into the issues I may encounter on a day-to-day basis.”

Speaking at a renovation seminar held at St Albans School, Woollam Trust Playing Fields, Lee Marshallsay, Grounds Manager at Charterhouse School said: “It’s been very beneficial for my team and I like the fact that it is aimed at everyone – it’s not just for those in the top positions. To get everyone together from grass roots upwards works really well. I think the indoor seminars and the outdoor practical demonstrations have provided a good mix. You get to see the machines in action and many people here wouldn’t have seen that before so for them to have more of an idea of what equipment is out there is ideal.”

Derek Traill of Cricket Scotland, summarised the seminars perfectly after attending the most recent event in Durham: “The key message coming out of today’s event is that it is all about communication and to strive to learn off one another – we learn from one another’s experiences, failures and successes and from these we can build on them and improve as one,” he said.

Although we are currently facing testing times, Dennis and SISIS are looking forward to resuming the seminars with the groundcare community.

“I’m extremely proud to be celebrating ten years of groundcare seminars – they have a long history and a great tradition,” said Roger Moore, Sales and Marketing Manager. “The seminars are about attendees getting as much information as they can and making the day enjoyable. They can go away with some excellent knowledge which they can then put into practice on their own sites. Over the years the events have been a tremendous success and I am looking forward to continuing our support for the groundcare community.”

Further information about the range of maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter and Instagram @DennisMowers and SISIS @SISISMachinery. You can like the Facebook pages – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK and www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest Dennis and SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers and www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery.

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Celebrating 25 Years In Irrigation

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Celebrating 25 Years In Irrigation: Celebrating 25 years in the business, Jeremy Green became an authorised Landscape Agent for Rain Bird UK in May 1994. In 2006 he established Evergreen Irrigation in Pitstone and the company has become one of the UK’s most well respected landscape irrigation specialists.

Jeremy says: “Irrigation has become important in discussions about landscaping – not just to ensure appropriate watering, but also because of the need for more efficient use of water. Many building projects require irrigation as part of the eco-friendly requirements of local authorities. Increasing numbers of Landscape Designers are including irrigation in their layouts and looking to us to address the watering requirements for various types of plants and trees.”

Celebrating 25 Years In Irrigation

Jeremy’s original involvement with irrigation was when he began his career in the Middle East, acquiring experience on high profile projects. He familiarised himself with Rain Bird working for the landscape and irrigation project division of the BMTC in Saudi Arabia. “ The Middle East has a demanding climate so effective irrigation is essential. If products are tough enough to operate efficiently there, then the UK should present no problem. I was keen to be associated with Rain Bird on my return to the UK. “

Jeremy sees the most significant recent product development to be dripline surface irrigation that provides water exactly where it is needed. Automatic control systems including Wi-Fi linked and IQ-Cloud systems, which Rain Bird has developed, bring new levels of practicality and bespoke control. There has been a greater emphasis on training: “ Rain Bird and most other large irrigation suppliers provide extensive training programmes. I would like to see the industry take a greater lead in training, implementing recognised qualifications and codes of practice.”

Evergreen Irrigation supplies products for smaller residential installations and local roadside landscaping as well as commercial roof gardens and high profile installations including Royal Albert Hall, London Eye, Arsenal FC Training Ground, National Trust Properties and the HM Treasury.  “With increasing awareness of the need to use water responsibly, I see the irrigation industry going from strength to strength. The next 25 years will be an exciting period,” Jeremy concludes.

Evergreen Irrigation, Pitstone Green Business Park, Tunnel Way, Pitstone, Beds, LU7 9GJ

Tel: 01296 668402, office@evergreen-irrigation.co.uk  www.evergreen-irrigation.co.uk

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Celebrating 20 Years Of The Polaris RANGER

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Celebrating 20 Years Of The Polaris RANGER: As the curtain closes on the Polaris RANGER 20th birthday celebrations in 2018, two lucky winners celebrated the milestone in true style after winning the ‘Ultimate Ranger Experience’ competition, going on an unforgettable trip to Naxos in Greece, courtesy of Polaris.

Crowned winners of the competition that celebrated a double decade of the iconic side-by-side utility machine, UK-based Peter Goble and Elizabeth Toft, won the trip of a lifetime after submitting images showing how they use a Polaris Ranger as part of their work for the NHS North West Ambulance Service.

Celebrating 20 Years Of The Polaris RANGER

Hosted by Auto Moto Falcon, a rental company utilising Polaris machines in Naxos, the winners spent two days exploring off-road routes in a RANGER® XP 900 EPS, experiencing famous tourist spots, beautiful scenery and some of the island’s hidden treasures.

The competition asked owners across the world to send in a photo of their own personal RANGER® experience. Peter and Elizabeth won one of the EMEA experiences up for grabs with their photo submission of a RANGER® being used for emergency transport services. They both work for the NHS North West Ambulance Service and use the specially-modified RANGER® to access difficult terrains, such as moorland, where a standard ambulance wouldn’t be able to go.

Elizabeth said: “We were both really shocked when we heard that we had won the ‘Ultimate RANGER Experience’ competition, but equally delighted. We already thought the RANGER was a very capable and hardworking vehicle but experiencing this on the off-road trails in Naxos was completely different than what we’re used to!”

The pair flew out to Athens on 28th September, followed by a ferry transporting them to the island of Naxos. For the duration of their trip, Peter and Elizabeth stayed in the luxury modern Galaxy Hotel; a typically Greek hotel just a few steps away from Saint George beach. After some initial downtime in the hotel, Polaris arranged two sightseeing-packed days for the winners to enjoy their time in Naxos alongside the RANGER®.

On Saturday 29th September, the group departed for an off-road guided tour to the north of the island following a morning briefing with the RANGER®. They first travelled to the fishermen village of Apollonas for lunch, stopping on the way at the cliffs for a panoramic view of the island. The group then took dirt tracks across the island, passing famous local marble quarries, and finally reached Naxos town where they had time to shop, eat and see the local landmarks.

On Sunday 30th September, the group travelled to the southwest coast for the best beaches of the island, stopping at Agia Anna, a sandy beach with clear blue waters, and ending in Alyko to see the well-known Wild Drawings art on an abandoned hotel. The group then continued to reach the highest peak in the Cyclades at the top of Zeus mountain, to visit Naxos’ oldest monastery, Photodotis. They then went to Apiranthos Village to have lunch at the world-famous Rotonda Restaurant, surrounded by some of the most impressive views of Naxos.

“We were shown parts of the island that we wouldn’t have known existed, and the places we travelled to in the RANGER were beautiful. The tours of the island were truly unforgettable, and our guide was extremely accommodating and very knowledgeable about the RANGER. We didn’t quite appreciate just how popular the RANGER is abroad, so the experience has really opened our eyes to how versatile the Polaris vehicles are in a different environment. A massive thank you to Polaris for the opportunity, we will definitely be going back to visit the island again soon!”

Forming a key part of the Polaris product line as their best-selling utility vehicle, the RANGER® is used globally for a variety of tasks. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the iconic model, just a few months after the brand celebrated the one millionth RANGER® unit rolling off the production line.

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