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Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced

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Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced: After the launch of England and Northern Ireland’s first ever Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 back in June, we’re now delighted to announce that one of the best-known faces of farming and the environment, Adam Henson, will host the prestigious Awards Ceremony at Reaseheath college on 22nd November.

As well as his TV presenting career, Adam runs the hugely successful Cotswold Park Farm in Gloucestershire, and is also the author of several books about living and working in the countryside. He’s therefore ideally placed to recognise the importance of inspiring and celebrating the next generation of land-based professionals and jumped at the chance to get involved as host at the highly anticipated

Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced

Host for Land-based & Environment Learner Awards 2023 Announced

Awards ceremony later this year.

Adam said: “I am absolutely delighted to be hosting the very first Land-Based and Environment Learner Awards in November. In my various roles, I’m lucky enough to encounter some amazing young people who are passionate about their jobs and are a complete inspiration. Being asked to host the Awards ceremony and join in the celebration of their achievements is a real honour and I just know I’ll come away with plenty of new and exciting ideas to try out in my own business. But now it’s over to the judges to review the range of high-quality nominations. I certainly don’t envy them their task but know their experience will ensure they select some worthy winners”.

Excitement is certainly mounting as, in its inaugural year, the awards programme has generated 120 high quality entries from across the sector.  With everything land based represented be it agriculture or arboriculture, floristry or farriery to name a few, the competition looks set to be fierce.  The judging panel, made up of several eminent experts in their field, will shortly commence the hugely demanding task of objectively reviewing and assessing all the entries to arrive at their shortlist later this week.

Chairman of the judging panel, John Moverley OBE, former Principal of two land-based colleges, is delighted with both the number of entries him and his fellow judges need to consider and, the appointment of Adam as host.

John commented “It’s just so refreshing to see the next generation taking their first steps into what will doubtless be rewarding and long-term careers. My fellow judges and I can’t wait to get down to the difficult task of selecting the ‘shining stars’ from amongst the 120 entries celebrating their success and acknowledging their potential for the future. The Awards Ceremony hosted by Adam Henson, a great ambassador for farming and the wider land-based and environment sector, will be the perfect way to celebrate, reward and thank our young learners for their continued effort and commitment”.

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COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

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COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens: Ian Dickson, a bowling green contractor, believes that COMPO EXPERT products have proved to be top of range without the premium price tag.

Ian originally started his career in greenkeeping but switched to bowling green maintenance ten years ago. While admitting it is a completely ‘different animal’, Ian says he quickly got an appetite for maintaining bowls greens and has done so ever since.

COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

He explained how he first started using COMPO EXPERT products on bowls greens.

“In my greenkeeping days I used to order a lot of products from Agrovista Amenity (the exclusive national distributor of COMPO EXPERT’S turf products in the UK) and my representative was Ramsay MacGregor. I stayed in touch with Ramsay when I switched to bowls because he is very knowledgeable, and he gives valid reasons behind using products.

Ramsay is genuinely interested in a plant’s health and his advice is key to my operations.

“Ramsay came in and looked at the bowls greens I was working on. He suggested using some COMPO EXPERT products and explained how they had been getting great results on some golf courses, so I decided to give them a try.”

COMPO EXPERT believes in sustainable, integrated turf management by focusing on modern fertilisation concepts, consistent regeneration of growth and optimal support of the plant’s own physiological processes. All of which promote vitalisation, stress tolerance and root development while providing optimum turf quality.

The innovative product range includes specialty mineral and stabilized fertilisers, slow and controlled release fertilisers, water soluble and liquid fertilisers as well as biostimulants, trace elements and soil conditioners.

The first product Ian tried from the COMPO EXPERT range was Fertilis® Speed, an NPK complex fertiliser with emphasis on nitrogen for spring and summer application to promote growth and a quick green-up.

“The green where we applied the Fertilis® had a lot of bare areas and the growth has been tremendous,” said Ian. “We applied it in May and had a full 12 weeks out of it. There has been less disease, the sward is a lot thicker, and even during a big drought period the greens performed superbly.”

Ian also maintains a sand-based green which is prone to leaching. For this green he applied Floranid® Twin Eagle K – an extra fine granulated slow-release complex fertiliser of excellent solubility.

“The nutrient levels on this green are very hard to maintain. With the Twin Eagle K, you don’t get the flush of growth in the way you would from the Fertilis®. Instead, you get an even, consistent growth. I judge the consistency of it by looking at the amount of grass cuttings I take from the mower each week. We get three boxes of cuttings three times a week and that underlines how consistent the Twin Eagle K is. Again, we get excellent results.”

Ian claims that he has been very impressed with the longevity of the products and believes that there isn’t much on the market that can beat COMPO EXPERT products in terms of performance and price.

“A lot of other fertilisers just don’t have the longevity that these do,” he said. “We were using a cheaper fertiliser in the past and I was applying twice as much product, so it ended up costing me more.

“The COMPO EXPERT products are top the range, but you don’t pay top of the range prices for them. They are very fairly priced compared to their competitors.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn

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Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn: Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn (YFD) is a primary school in Llandudno, Wales that is working hard to offer its young pupils a green space in which to play and learn.

In partnership with Conwy Borough County Council and Wild Elements, a not-for-profit social enterprise, the school wanted to create green spaces for the children of YFD to immerse themselves in natural materials and greenery. The site was selected due to its severely grey infrastructure and lack of green space.

Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn

Green-tech provide the products for children to play and learn

Wild Elements is dedicated to getting people in North Wales outdoors and connecting them to nature, improving their lives, opportunities, and aspirations.

The school received a recommendation from another Local Nature Partnership Coordinator in Cardiff and after seeing the successes of their project they felt it was the best way forward to source the green infrastructure for the school site. Gareth Lloyd – head teacher of YFD comments “we felt the products offered by Green-tech were one of the few that we were satisfied to have green infrastructure installed on a Centre Based Child Care education estate.”

Green-tech supplied everything but the trees for this project which included 45 Hedera Helix Woerner Living Ivy Green Screens and 45 bespoke Planters in 3 different colours.

The living Green Screens provide instant and effective screening and are perfect for projects where an instant privacy green fence is required. They provide rigid, secure, and evergreen barriers which are low maintenance and easy to install. As well as being much more attractive than traditional fencing, they are an environmentally conscious choice that support an array of wildlife and help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to provide cleaner air.

To ensure the green screens stay hydrated a Mona irrigation watering system was supplied for each screen. The Mona System is a 100% water efficient, subterranean plant irrigation system and provides cost effective tree and planter irrigation.  The system acts as a reservoir to hold water and distribute to the plant’s roots as and when required to ensure they remain healthy and grow.

Gareth continues, “Following the success of the Cardiff project under the same Welsh Government grant, we hoped to replicate the work as it was a big hit with the Cardiff primary school children. One of the main concerns raised in the project’s infancy was the lack of shade in the school. During the warmer months, it can become overwhelmingly hot for the children. We intended for the Ivy Screens to provide an adequate source of natural material shading for the children. We also wanted the Ivy Screens to be a space for the children to play, hide and immerse themselves in their games. It has made a huge impact to the children’s well-being and is greatly appreciated.”

Green-tech supplied 12 bespoke planters for trees in 3 different colours and 12 containerised anchor systems to secure each tree discreetly without impacting on the overall design. In addition, 16 bulk bags of Green-tree topsoil which is manufactured using organic compost and overburdened sand from quarries and perfect for projects focused on environmental sustainability and green credentials, was supplied.

There was a lot of products to be delivered and it was important that the delivery schedule met the needs of the school, without interrupting them, as well as Wild Elements installation plan. “It was logistically impressive!” comments head teacher Gareth Lloyd.” “Thanks for sorting the delivery to run so smoothly, one wagon in, the next one to follow”, Tom from Wild Elements adds.

Julieanne Quinlan, Local Nature Partnership Coordinator for Conwy adds, “the experience with Green-tech has been a wonderful one. James, their Sales Advisor, has been incredibly helpful and patient throughout the entirety of the project. We cannot thank Green-tech enough for making this project come to fruition. It has been a big hit with the school and the children, and we have great hopes for the future pupils of Ysgol Ffordd Dyffryn. Diolch yn fawr (thank you very much).

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Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest

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Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest: Following the success of their ‘Experience the Difference’ money-back promotion over the last 12 months, Aspen Fuel are delighted to announce an extension of the scheme for visitors attending GroundsFest this September.

2023 sees Aspen celebrating 35 years as the pioneers of alkylate fuel – free from ethanol, benzene and other hazardous hydrocarbons making it a better choice for people, machinery and the environment.

Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest

Aspen extend ‘Experience the Difference’ trial for GroundsFest

Many grounds contractors, landscapers and arborists are already reaping the rewards of the improvements to their working environment by fuelling their petrol-engined equipment with Aspen Fuel. Recommended by LANTRA, the cleaner burn of Aspen all-but eliminates the noxious fumes and infamous ‘blue haze’ traditionally experienced with unleaded fuel from the pump, not only improving the health and well-being of the operator but also those in the immediate environment.

Visitors to outside stand 350 can find out more about the ‘Experience the Difference’ trial, which enables businesses to use the 2 and 4-stroke fuel risk-free in their own working environments and return the unused fuel if they change their mind for a refund of the cost difference.

“We understand that concerns around cost or logistics can sometimes delay the decision to give Aspen a try, however, once they do, we find companies rarely look back” explains Axel Hildebrand, Business Development Manager for Aspen Fuel. “We want to give all business owners at GroundsFest the opportunity to discover the difference that this fuel can make to their operation, their machinery and their workers welfare and we can do that with the assurance that the customer won’t incur any increase in their fuel costs for the duration of the trial.”

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Using Attraxor for consistency and ease of maintenance

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Using Attraxor for consistency and ease of maintenance: A Golf Course Manager from a deluxe golf and spa resort nestled in the scenic Cheshire countryside explains why they use Attraxor to keep their turf green, clear of Poa annua, and easily maintainable.

Golf course manager John Quinn, based at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa near Knutsford, has been using Attraxor for three seasons and has shared the benefits he’s seen on the golf course.

Using Attraxor for consistency and ease of maintenance

Using Attraxor for consistency and ease of maintenance

The Mere offers a deluxe four-star hotel experience with a spa and a scenic 18-hole lakeside Championship Golf Course, encompassed by mature trees and extensive vegetation. The 81-room hotel is a popular retreat for avid golfers, with many posting their experience on Trip Advisor complimenting the greens as being “smooth, fabulous, and well kept.”

John discussed the reasons he began to use Attraxor at The Mere: “After hearing lots of good stories about Attraxor, I decided to try it with the hope it would make the greens growth consistent and reduce clippings. We also wanted to suppress the growth of Poa annua seedheads to keep the greens smooth.”

Attraxor has been proven to regulate growth effectively as part of a well-managed turf strategy, meaning the hard work put into the upkeep of the grounds lasts longer. The active product within Attraxor is Prohexadione-calcium, which inhibits the gibberellic acid pathway, resulting in reduction of turf height and biomass. Root growth is promoted through Attraxor to aid strength, whilst turf colour and quality are maintained.

John said: “I use Attraxor every 21 days on our greens and it has lowered the mowing maintenance of the greens and complemented our existing efforts of greens upkeep. During periods of high growth, we alternate days mowing and rolling to reduce plant stress. Attraxor gives me better control of growth rates. Throughout the 21-day period, a more uniform sward is possible each week. I’ve found that the Poa annua seedhead suppression qualities are superior to Trinexapac-ethyl products. If any seedheads do pop up, they are remarkably smaller and leave a much finer putting surface.”

John also discussed the improvement of quality he is seeing within the grass, saying: “We have been overseeding with creeping bentgrass for three years now, and in conjunction with our use of Attraxor, we have seen a much better uptake from our overseeding work!

“Introducing Attraxor to our maintenance regime has meant we spend less time mowing the greens.  Having such good control over the growth rates means the option is always there to give the greens a break for a day without any mechanical input if we feel it would benefit. Attraxor has given me so much control over the golf course, it has allowed for consistent and quality greens coverage with minimal growth which is smooth and develops at the same pace as all the other greens.”

To find out more about Attraxor, visit https://www.pestcontrol.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Overview/Growth-Regulator/Attraxor.html#section-benefits

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