Tag Archive for: Designer

Celebrity garden designer opens national education awards

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Celebrity garden designer opens national education awards: Inspiring, celebrity garden designer, Danny Clarke (aka The Black Gardener) is hosting the ceremony for the national Land-Based & Environment Learner (LBEL) Awards later this year, with today marking the opening of nominations for 2024 entries.

For the second year running, this exciting Awards scheme will recognise the outstanding talent, successes, and achievements of learners from across England and Northern Ireland in the land-based and environment sector.

Celebrity garden designer opens national education awards

Celebrity garden designer opens national education awards

Celebrity garden designer opens national education awardsvThe winners will be announced at a genuine celebration of talent on the 21 November 2024 at the centrally located, National Conference Centre in Birmingham. The ceremony will be hosted by Danny Clarke, who changed from a career in sales to horticulture in his early forties.

Danny Clarke, who trained as a garden designer at Hadlow College said: “I am thrilled to be hosting this year’s ceremony to recognise the talent and dedication of people in education who are taking care of and creating green spaces and looking after animals.”

“Although I didn’t change career until I was middle-aged, my love of the outdoors started early on in my life. I can’t wait to hear the stories behind the nominations, some of whom I expect will be career changers, like me, or young people embarking on their career. Either way, it looks set to be a memorable date in the calendar!”

The Awards organisers, Lantra and Landex, are actively encouraging land-based employers, colleges, private training providers and universities to recognise and promote their top candidates by nominating them for a prestigious award. The deadline for entries is 11 June 2024.

Dr David Llewellyn CBE, Lantra’s Chair of Trustees commented: ‘’We were overwhelmed by the 120 nominations that were received in the first year of the Awards. The LBEL Awards already play a key role in celebrating hard-work and success and in this second year, we are urging employers of apprentices to put their best candidates forward. In this way, we can recognise and reward the very best of our developing workforce.’’

Marcus Clinton, Chair of Landex commented: “Landex is calling on the network of land-based colleges and universities to identify outstanding learners who have the talent and drive to push the industry forward. We want them to take some time to nominate these fantastic individuals and join us in giving them the recognition they deserve.”

The annual awards are open to individuals on a full-time or part-time Land-Based and Environment course or Apprenticeship in England between September 2022 and September 2024. The award categories include Agriculture; Aquaculture and Fisheries, Arboriculture; Forestry and Woodland Management; Equine and Farriery; Floristry; Landscape and Horticulture; Land-Based Engineering; Animal Care and Management; Veterinary Nursing; Environmental Conservation, Game and Wildlife; and Sports Turf and Greenkeeping.

Prizes for the above categories apply across Private Training providers, Further Education (FE), Apprenticeships Awards (Level 2-3), Higher Education (HE) and Higher Apprenticeship Awards (Level 4-7). This year we will be introducing a new category: Research Student of the Year, where supervisors are encouraged to nominate a student studying a post-graduate level either for a master’s degree or a Doctoral Degree.

There are overall prizes for: Research Student of the Year; Apprentice of the Year; Overall Winner; and Runners Up. Online entries are being encouraged, as the quicker and more sustainable option. However, paper copies of the nomination form are available on request, by emailing lbels@lantra.co.uk

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MM and Designer terrific for Truro

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MM and Designer terrific for Truro: After experimenting with various seeds, Dominic Gibbard – Head Greenkeeper at Truro Golf Club, found that the market leading MM and Designer brands of grass seed produced the best results.

Dominic has been working at Truro Golf Club for four years. He spent three of those as the Deputy Head Greenkeeper but last year his hard work and dedication to the role was rewarded with a promotion.

MM and Designer terrific for Truro

MM and Designer terrific for Truro

He now oversees a team of three who work around the clock to maintain the stunning 18-hole, par 67 parkland course in Cornwall.

“It’s a great place to work,” said Dominic. “Truro is a short, tight and challenging course, which attracts a lot of golfers – in fact we are picking up members all the time.”

One look at the course will tell you why Truro is so popular – it is beautifully maintained by the team, and Dominic is considerably careful when it comes to selecting the correct products.

“Over the years I have experimented with lots of various seeds, but I haven’t found any particular benefits from using others compared to the MM and Designer brands,” he said.

MM is one of the most respected brands in the UK amenity industry, with over 40 years of experience and knowledge. The extensive product portfolio is second to none with performance proven mixtures that are used at many leading venues in the UK and Europe.

All the varieties have an excellent breeding pedigree and have been selected and bred for their ability to deliver a range of quality turf characteristics. The Designer range is also formulated specifically to meet the needs of landscapers, local authorities and sports clubs.

Investing in the Designer range offers true value for money as they combine high performance with competitive pricing.

At Truro Golf Club, Dominic relies on two specific mixtures from the MM and Designer brands which he purchases through David Bevan of Agrovista Amenity.

For the greens he uses Elite Green from the Designer range which is an excellent, all bent (70% Sefton Browntop bent and 30% Arletta Browntop bent) mixture that produces a fine, dense hard-wearing surface.

“It is a brilliant seed which gives us great germination,” he said. “We are really increasing the amount of bent and reducing the Poa in the greens and this mixture is helping us.

“I have found it is quite soil temperature dependent for us, so I don’t tend to overseed with Elite Green until mid-summer after our big golf week. I’ll follow up with another overseed towards the end of September, early October, and these two big hits work incredibly well for us. The greens are in a great condition and the seed has been integral.”

On the tees Dominic relies on MM50 which possesses exceptional shoot density along with tolerance to close mowing making. This superior mix contains the perennial ryegrass cultivars, Venice, Alison and Malibu, which are renowned for providing a great sward for golf use.

“It is great for repairing divots and worn areas,” he said. “We have even used MM50 really early in the season in February and we had germination in temperatures of 6-7 degrees Celsius, which it is not even meant to do. We couldn’t believe it.”

Both the Designer and MM seeds are treated with HEADSTART® GOLD – a unique seaweed-based seed treatment which helps to ensure rapid and even germination. This tried and tested grass seed treatment helps the seed get off to the best possible start.

“I’m really impressed with the products, and they are very good value for money,” said Dominic. “It is for these reasons why we keep choosing MM and Designer.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s new website www.mm-seeds.co.uk. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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