Tag Archive for: Green

Edgmond Bowling Club Wins Best Kept Green in Shropshire

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Edgmond Bowling Club Wins Best Kept Green in Shropshire: Edgmond Bowling Club has been awarded the title of Best Kept Green in Shropshire 2024, a competition sponsored by leading turf maintenance brands Dennis and SISIS.

The accolade marks a milestone for the club, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and highlights the dedication and skill of its greenkeeper, Peter Leath.

Edgmond Bowling Club Wins Best Kept Green in Shropshire

Edgmond Bowling Club Wins Best Kept Green in Shropshire

The Best Kept Green competition was launched in 2021, in response to the remarkable efforts of bowling clubs and their greenkeepers during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative, supported by Dennis and SISIS, aims to improve the standard of greens across the county, recognising the hard work of greens teams and providing them with valuable feedback to enhance their maintenance programmes. Each year, the competition grows in popularity, with a record number of clubs entering in 2024—a testament to the ongoing improvements in bowling greens throughout Shropshire.

Peter, a greenkeeper with 47 years of experience, joined Edgmond Bowling Club just before the pandemic and quickly found himself responsible for the care of the green, which was in need of attention. Reflecting on those early days, he recalls, “The green was in quite a bad condition. During Covid, I spent a lot of time managing to feed it and improve its health.”

Drawing on his greenkeeping background, Peter implemented a rigorous maintenance routine, including verticutting and aerating the green, to encourage healthy growth. He also invested in a SISIS Supaturfman, using it up to 16 times a year. His efforts have paid off, with Edgmond’s green now widely praised for its smoothness and playability. “There have been a lot of really positive comments about the green,” Peter said.

Edgmond Bowling Club’s win this year, tied on points with Cleobury Mortimer but edging ahead thanks to a perfect 10/10 score for the roll of the woods, is a fitting tribute to its 50th anniversary.

Peter’s attention to detail is key to the green’s success. He spends around 240 hours a year maintaining it, mowing three times a week in the summer and continuing regular care even through the winter months. His advice to other greenkeepers? “Make sure your mower is adjusted correctly, and cut the grass consistently. It makes all the difference.”

Phil Scott, Chairman of the Shropshire Crown Green Bowling Association, praised Peter’s work and spoke about the growing success of the Best Kept Green competition. “We started these awards to recognise the often-overlooked work of greenkeepers in our county. Since the competition began, the standard of greens in Shropshire has improved dramatically.”

DLF’s Stuart Yarwood, a well-known expert in the industry and a key supporter of the Dennis/SISIS educational seminars, was part of the judging panel. He visited the top ten greens and provided invaluable advice to clubs on how to further improve their playing surfaces.

Looking to the future, the Shropshire Crown Green Bowling Association, in collaboration with Dennis and SISIS, plans to continue supporting greenkeepers with initiatives such as forums, educational days, and factory tours. “We’ve set up new initiatives to keep the momentum going. We’re already planning to take all the greenkeepers who entered this year to the Dennis and SISIS factory for a tour, and we’re looking at adding new categories like ‘Most Improved Green’ or ‘Best Newcomer’ for next year,” Phil explained.

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 X @DennisMowers and SISIS @SISISMachinery. You can like the Facebook page – 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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Lantra celebrates Green Careers Week

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Lantra celebrates Green Careers Week: Lantra is excited to announce that it will be celebrating Green Careers Week, alongside many other organisations, this year. Lantra will be highlighting some of the more surprising careers that people can have within the land-based and environment sector, aligning with the campaign theme of unearthing non-stereotypical green careers.

Working in partnership with Chevron Green Services, Lantra have been exploring the careers of some of Chevron’s operatives and supervisors, and hearing about what their day looks like, working on the UK’s road network.

Lantra celebrates Green Careers Week

Lantra celebrates Green Careers Week

When thinking of a person being an operative on the UK’s road network, careers in traffic management and road works, such as pipe and cable works, or pothole repairs, might come to mind. However, there are a lot of diverse careers working on the road network, including arborists, also known as tree surgeons, and landscapers.

Keeping the roads safe for the public to use is paramount for those working in the road network sector. With many of the high-speed roads, and urban roads, having trees and vegetation lining the sides, it’s important that the greenery on the network is managed well, including reducing risks to the public.

Commenting on the surprising careers in highways, Steph Stevens, Careers and Engagement Manager at Lantra, said: “We know that many people use the road network every day; going to work, taking children to school, or going to the supermarket. However, the management of the natural environment surrounding our roads isn’t always seen.

“That’s why for Green Careers Week, Lantra have teamed up with Chevron Green Services to show the surprising careers that exist within the highways industry.”

Commenting on the Green Careers Week Campaign, Dan Taylor, Operations Director at Chevron Green Services, said: “It’s great to be working with Lantra on the Green Careers Week campaign. The natural environment that surrounds our road network is so important, and we at Chevron Green Services play our role in actively managing this ensuring the natural environment is thriving whilst keeping our road network safe for all users.”

Alongside the work of the arborists and landscapers, maintaining the green environment, Chevron Green Services also work with ecologists ensuring that habitats are managed to a high standard, and that any works that do take place have minimal impact on species that live in the environments that surround the road network.

Some wildlife species, such as bats, badgers, and great-crested newts, are protected by law and their habitats must be managed to a very high standard, before any maintenance works take place. Through teamwork and collaboration, arborists and landscapers work with ecologists to support species and protect their habitats and environments, causing minimal impact where possible.

Throughout Green Careers Week, Lantra will be posting engaging and insightful content about the surprising green careers within the highways industry on social media. They will also be sharing more insightful videos as a documentary series on YouTube.

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Carus Green Golf Club becomes fully automated

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Carus Green Golf Club becomes fully automated: Carus Green Golf Club, a popular golf club in the North of England, is now reaping the rewards of automation, thanks to the installation of a fleet of Husqvarna professional robotic lawnmowers.

The 18-hole course, located on the outskirts of the Lake District, embarked on its automation journey back in August 2023, following a demonstration of the Husqvarna CEORA™ on its driving range. Since then, the club has bought into the technology and rapidly scaled up its fleet of robotics to ten machines altogether; five Husqvarna CEORA™, four Husqvarna Automower® 550 EPOS™ and one Automower® 430X NERA.

Carus Green Golf Club becomes fully automated

Carus Green Golf Club becomes fully automated

Here, Husqvarna speaks to Warren Bevan, Course Manager at Carus Green, about the club’s robotics journey so far, and how they’re benefitting from full automation.

Tell us a bit about how your robotics journey with Husqvarna began?

“We initially had a demo of CEORA™ on our driving range and were instantly impressed. Both myself and Graham Curtin, owner of the golf course, quickly noted the quality of the cut and finish and wanted to invest in the technology and expand it onto the course itself. We’ve always been progressive and forward thinking in our approach to new ideas and technology, and after a short demonstration, it became apparent that robotics was absolutely the path we needed to explore.”

How long did it take to scale up to ten units? 

“Following the demonstration, we initially started with one CEORA™ and one Automower® 550 EPOS™ which together managed one area of the course that included four fairways with some semi-rough. This allowed us to observe the machines and plan their usage across the full course. The time period from implementing those first machines to rolling a full fleet of mowers out across our whole course was approximately six months – a quick transition but we haven’t looked back. It took some time to get all the necessary infrastructure and electrics installed, but nine months later we’re enjoying the benefits of being fully automated on all fairways, rough and approaches.”

How do the robotic mowers operate on a daily basis?

“Four of the five CEORA™’s are cutting the fairways at a 10mm cutting height; and those machines cut overnight, every night, whilst the course is closed so as to not interrupt the golfers. The machines will then recharge before automatically changing their cutting height and commencing the rough cutting during the day at 60mm.The four Automower® 550’s are cutting the ‘carrys’ from tee to fairway around the clock on a 24 hour cycle. The last CEORA™ maintains our driving range split into different zones and can cut the full range over the space of 48 hours, which has eliminated significant hours of labour a week for our team who can now focus on other tasks in that time. The last machine, the Automower® 430X NERA cuts an area just in front of the clubhouse.”

How has the feedback been from members and staff?

“The feedback we received from the members was overwhelmingly positive, with many noting the improvements in the quality of the finish, and in particular the edge of the fairways which are now immaculately maintained due to the mower’s GPS navigation system. Members also commented on the reduction in noise pollution as well as the absence of tyre marks which our former ride-on mowers sometimes caused during wet conditions.

“The feedback from our Greenkeeping team has also been really positive, with many of our staff now able to dedicate more time to take on and complete jobs we didn’t previously have capacity to do as often as we’d like, such as edging bunkers, which has now increased from once every two weeks to once a week.”

How has automation helped overcome industry challenges?

“There are two main issues that robotics have helped us to overcome. The industry is currently navigating changes to the climate, with more frequent wet days making maintaining the quality of the cut typically difficult, however, robotics really help overcome these challenges, as they can cut in any condition, whereas a conventional ride-on mower simply can’t. This year, we were able to mow the course throughout March and April, which we haven’t been able to do in previous years.

“The other challenge robotics has helped us to overcome is the labour shortage. The industry is experiencing a huge drop off in the number of greenkeepers, and robotics has not only helped plug this gap but has also freed up staff to do jobs that they previously didn’t have time to do.”

What led you to choose Husqvarna over other similar brands?

“When we were in the early stages of our robotics journey, we had a demonstration with a competitor brand, however the competitor’s machine didn’t leave the same quality finish or cut low enough on the fairways compared to CEORA™. This, combined with the level of service, enthusiasm and support from the Husqvarna team ultimately led us to become a valued partner. Since introducing the fleet of machines, we haven’t needed to use our traditional fairway mower at all.”

“I also like that Husqvarna are conducting further research into turf health and plant response from being cut with their robotic mowers.”

About Husqvarna CEORA™

CEORA™ is the ultimate solution for greenkeepers. The machines have an automatic cutting height adjustment system, meaning they can operate on fairways, semi-rough and rough, as well as other course areas, at cutting heights from 10 to 60mm. With a capacity of 20,000–25,000m2 per day, CEORA™ can cover an area of up to three regular-sized fairways every day and night.

For more information on Husqvarna visit www.husqvarna.com/uk

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A journey into the Green Heart of Innovation

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A journey into the Green Heart of Innovation: In his role as bridge between R&D and consumers, the expert agronomist Fabio Banin is the voice of the first chapter of “Green Talk,” the project to discover STIGA’s innovations designed for more sustainable and accessible garden care.

STIGA, leader in the garden care sector, presents its new, innovative project “Green Talk”: a journey into the heart of innovation, technology, design, and sustainability through the renowned voices of industry experts.

A journey into the Green Heart of Innovation

A journey into the Green Heart of Innovation

With the experience of STIGA experts, “Green Talk” is designed to discover the valuable stories behind the brand’s innovations, demonstrating the strong connection between man and nature and how important the care for green spaces is for our planet. As sustainability and environmental awareness are increasingly in the spotlight, “Green Talk” aims to inspire and educate, offering a unique perspective to explore the interplay between nature and technology.

The first chapter of this journey features Fabio Banin, an expert agronomist in the field of green innovation, who likes referring to himself as a “grass advocate” because of the fundamental message that guides his work: “Greenery is alive and therefore needs to be cared for, not maintained.” Currently part of the STIGA team, Banin holds a wealth of experience in the industry, a cutting-edge vision, and his passion for environmental sustainability.

In this exclusive interview, Banin explored the fascinating world of garden care, sharing his experience, the challenges he faced over the years, and his vision for the future of the industry. As an advisor at STIGA, Fabio Banin brings a unique perspective by playing a crucial role as a bridge between R&D and customers, offering specialized technical assistance and gathering valuable feedback to improve STIGA’s products and services. “Within the company, I like to describe myself as a “joker”, a role that allows me to act as a connector between the different departments and the sales network, providing a cross-functional perspective that fosters collaboration and development.”

Reflecting its green soul, Fabio Banin addressed the constant focus on innovation and sustainability in STIGA’s approach – factors that make this company truly unique in its sector. “It is the winning combination of a future-oriented attitude and a deep commitment to sustainability. This is evident not only in the research and development of cutting-edge products, but also in the company’s practices that put environmental stewardship at the heart of its actions.”  Fabio continues “Among the most significant projects in which I am involved, I am particularly proud of the multi-year project on mulching in collaboration with the University of Padua, aimed at exploring the benefits of this practice for lawn health and for reducing fertilizer use. Preliminary results indeed demonstrate the effectiveness of mulching in improving lawn quality and in reducing the environmental impact of excessive or incorrect use of polluting fertilizers. In addition, from a resource-saving perspective, the results prove that mulching can work in synergy with fertilizer, enhancing its effectiveness and therefore requiring less of it (up to -60%) for a more lush, healthy lawn.”

Besides showing STIGA’s commitment to sustainable and advanced gardening solutions, this research project also has an educational objective aimed at the end consumer, so that the company’s efforts translate into innovative practices adopted by individuals to generate a positive impact together.

Moreover, Fabio Banin analyses the changes and challenges in the market, which are essential to adapt to environmental and consumer needs, underlining the importance of innovation and ongoing research to maintain leadership in the garden care sector. In this context, STIGA is constantly striving to remain at the forefront of current trends, starting from the transition to electric solutions and the integration of advanced technologies into products, ensuring effective and sustainable solutions for customers.

“Looking to the future, my hope is that STIGA will continue to be recognized for its commitment to sustainability and innovation as hallmarks, thus establishing itself as a pioneer in the garden care sector, designing machinery and equipment that can make gardening more efficient and accessible to all, and guiding the market towards more conscious choices.”

This is just the first of the stories from STIGA experts’ first-hand experience. A journey into the green world of innovation, guided by the passion and expertise of people like Fabio Banin and STIGA’s longstanding commitment to the care of greenery.

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Winner of Best Kept Green in Shropshire Announced

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Winner of Best Kept Green in Shropshire Announced: Trench Bowling Club has been announced as the winner of the 2023 Best Kept Green in Shropshire, sponsored by Dennis and SISIS.

It’s been a good year for Telford based Trench Bowling Club. Not only has 2023 seen the club celebrate its centenary year but they have also been awarded the Best Kept Green in Shropshire. Trench finished top to pip Whixall, Edgmond and Tilstock by just two points.

Winner of Best Kept Green in Shropshire Announced

Winner of Best Kept Green in Shropshire Announced

As well as being the secretary and the bar coordinator, David Evans is the man largely responsible for maintaining the green. He’s been part of the club for nearly 60 years and after retiring in 2013, he decided to take full-time responsibility of the green.

“I’ve learnt greenkeeping as I’ve gone along,” said David. “It must be in the genes because my father was a keen gardener and always took a great deal of pride in his lawns. Also, over the years I have been involved in bowls, cricket, and golf. I always took an interest in what the greenkeepers or groundsmen, were working on. The Dennis and SISIS bowls education days we have recently attended have also been very informative. These are a big help to people in my position to not only show what equipment is on the market but also to gather advice on maintenance tips.”

Trench Bowling Club came second in the competition in 2022 and David revealed why he believes they landed the trophy this year.

“I’ve managed to significantly reduce the thatch since we bought a new Dennis FT510 mower at the start of the year. I think this was the missing link because it has really helped me to improve the surface of the green. The verticutting cassette has thinned the grass out and eliminated the thatch and we’ve had lots of compliments from members and visiting teams about the playability of the green. Over the last couple of years, we have installed new gutters, which has vastly improved the overall presentation of the green and the green surrounds. I’d like to think that this also went some way towards winning this award, as the construction of the new ‘boxes’ and the installation was all carried out ‘in house’ by our members.”

With David spending most of his time at Trench Bowling Club, and his wife and daughter sharing the responsibility of the treasurer role, it is very much a family affair. However, the modest David was quick to acknowledge the hard work and dedication from everyone else who works at the club.

“As a family we put a lot of time in, but we’ve got a great committee that runs the club and there are so many other brilliant people that help out. I certainly can’t take all the credit. This award is for everyone at Trench.”

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

For more news, reviews, and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter @DennisMowers and SISIS @SISISMachinery. You can like the Facebook page – 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.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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