Tag Archive for: Green

Forest Green extend Infinicut partnership

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Forest Green extend Infinicut partnership: It is perhaps no surprise that the club described by FIFA as ‘the greenest football club in the world’ would turn to battery power when it comes to their choice of mowers.

However, what did surprise Forest Green Rovers Grounds Manager Nigel Harvey was the enormous improvements in both operation and finish achieved with the club’s duo of 34” INFINICUT® FL’s compared to their previous petrol-driven units.

Forest Green extend Infinicut partnership

Forest Green extend Infinicut partnership

Now nine months into his role, and with the assistance of club Apprentice Matt Berry, Nigel’s transition from the Forest Green training ground to the Stadium was a swift and steep learning curve. “I had only used petrol mowers previously and because of the speed of the handover, when I took over at The New Lawn Ground, I stuck to what I knew. That was until Oliver Hall from INFINICUT® came in and did some training with me on the pair of floating head units and I just could not believe how good they were – I’d been missing out!”

“It’s not just the fact they’re battery powered, which obviously means they’re quiet to operate and aren’t kicking out noxious fumes, but it’s the quality of cut too which is just outstanding. Within the time it took me to mow half the pitch I could tell the definition of stripe and cleanliness of cut was far superior to what we had been using. With fewer conventional tools and techniques at my disposal to tackle issues such as disease control, the balance and adjustability of the INFINICUT® delivers the perfect cut – with no shredding or bruising – to maintain plant health.”

Along with the two FL 34’s, Nigel has also got a range of TMSystem™ cassettes as his disposal including the SarelRoller™ and ThatchMaster™, which will be of particular use in preparing the surface for next season. The club are also looking at add further battery powered equipment to their fleet, with the aim of significantly reducing petrol usage at the stadium.

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Council protects parks and green spaces

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Council protects parks and green spaces: Liverpool residents will be guaranteed access to park and green spaces, forever, removing the threat that any might be built on or sold off, in a new strategic partnership between green space charity Fields in Trust and Liverpool City Council. Liverpool is the first local authority to ensure local access to green space in perpetuity for all its citizens by legally protecting each of their eligible parks and green spaces.

The city council’s Cabinet, on Friday March 19th, committed to legally protect 100 much-loved parks and green spaces across the city, totalling over 1,000 hectares and sets the ambition that every resident will live no more than a ten-minute walk from a high-quality green space. Protected parks include local recreation grounds as well as well-known city centre destination parks and children’s playgrounds. (see attached) This landmark decision ensures there will always be local parks and green spaces available for current and future generations of Liverpudlians to enjoy.

Council protects parks and green spaces

Council protects parks and green spaces

Parks and green spaces have been vital over the last year as places to play, exercise, relax, reflect and the only safe place to meet loved ones and connect with friends and our neighbours; they will continue to be important as part of our recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic.

As part of the wider City Recovery Plan Liverpool’s Acting Mayor, Councillor Wendy Simon has committed to work with Fields in Trust and secure legal protection of Liverpool’s entire portfolio of green space. The decision is based on evidence of the health, wellbeing and community benefits they deliver. Councillor Simon said “Liverpool is blessed to have so many stunning green spaces, and this new initiative means we can ensure everyone has access to free, local outdoor spaces for sport, play and recreation, forever.
“The health, wellbeing and community benefits these locations deliver are priceless, demonstrated so clearly during this pandemic where they have become such a central and important part of our lives.

“And the benefits aren’t just health related. Access to green spaces improves our neighbourhoods, tackles climate change, supports education and economic growth and they frequently become the stage on which we host many of our hugely popular cultural celebrations.
“Our partnership with Fields in Trust is a ground-breaking, forward-thinking approach to protecting our parks and green spaces and we look forward to working with them to secure the future of these vital assets.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected Liverpool more severely than many parts of the UK: both in the number of cases and the rate of infection. Research conducted by Fields in Trust has demonstrated clear physical health and mental wellbeing benefits from regular use of parks and green spaces, yet these vital community assets are not equally distributed.

Fields in Trust’s evaluation of Liverpool’s green space shows that there is around 25.3 square metres per person, around a quarter the size of a six-yard box on a football pitch. Yet only four hectares of Liverpool’s parks are currently protected leaving them vulnerable to loss or building development. This new commitment will protect green spaces in every one of Liverpool’s 30 wards and guarantee they will remain as green spaces forever. This is vital when 1 in 6 people in Liverpool (16%) have no access to a private or shared garden, compared to 1 in 8 people (12%) across Britain as a whole. Additionally, the average size of Liverpudlians’ private outdoor space (144.4m2) is less than half the average across Britain (332.7m2). (Source: ONS)

Fields in Trust Chair of Trustees, Jo Barnett said: “Through the pandemic we’ve realised just how valuable parks and green spaces are to our health and wellbeing, yet across the UK only 6% of parks are protected and access to them is not equitable. We welcome this pioneering commitment by Liverpool City Council to recognise the proven physical and mental health benefits of local parks. These are valuable places; places where we can all move, breathe, run and play. We need to champion and support these precious spaces by protecting them for future generations to enjoy. Because once lost, they are lost forever.”
With the population of Liverpool set to increase by 10.3% over the next 20 years, any future loss of parks and green spaces would disproportionately impact the most disadvantaged and underrepresented communities, who would be missing out on these health benefits, as well as opportunities to get out into nature, have a kickabout and connect with their neighbours.

Fields in Trust have been conducting development work in Liverpool, using an evidence-led approach to make the case to Liverpool City Council for the legal protection of their green spaces; as well as contributing to Simon O’Brien’s green space audit, becoming a partner of the Liverpool City Region Year of Environment and supporting local Friends of parks groups. At the 2019 General Election, MP for Liverpool, West Derby, Ian Byrne, along with 37 other MPs took Fields in Trust’s “Parks Protector Pledge”, committing to championing parks and green spaces within their constituencies and across the UK.

Full details of the pioneering agreement between Liverpool City Council and Fields in Trust can be found on the Fields in Trust Website www.fieldsintrust.org/liverpool

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Vandals damage green at Whinhill

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Vandals damage green at Whinhill: Inverclyde Leisure bosses are feeling teed off after mindless vandals went on the rampage at Whinhill Golf Course.

Read the full article from the Greenock Telegraph here

Vandals damage green at Whinhill

Vandals damage green at Whinhill

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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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Celebrate parks and green spaces

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Celebrate parks and green spaces: Green space charity Fields in Trust is collaborating with parkrun to celebrate the wellbeing benefits that the UKs parks and green spaces have delivered during the coronavirus crisis.

The joint campaign invites park users to share stories of how important green spaces have been as places to exercise, relax, reflect and as a safe place to meet loved ones and connect with our friends and our neighbours.

Celebrate parks and green spaces

Celebrate parks and green spaces

The #notjust campaign identifies the different ways communities engage with outdoor spaces, A local green space is #notjust a park, it has so many more intangible benefits, emotions and memories that contribute to our physical health, mental wellbeing and community contacts.  Park users are invited to celebrate their local green spaces by recording video clips or taking photographs celebrating what their local park means to them and their families and sharing the stories on the campaign website www.fieldsintrust.org/notjust and social media using the #notjust hashtag.

Speaking on the joint campaign, parkrun’s Global Head of Health and Wellbeing Chrissie Wellington said “if there’s one thing to lift our spirits, it’s being outside in the open air, being connected to nature and moving our bodies. We need parks more than ever before and this means taking steps to protect, value and, importantly, celebrate them. We are proud to join hands with Fields in Trust to do just that and would like to encourage everyone to get involved by sharing what your park means to you and the wonderfully diverse and amazing ways you have been using them over the past year. Together we can make sure that parks are here for us, and for all those who follow in our footsteps”.

As places for us to remain physically distanced but socially connected local parks have come to the fore this year. Data shows increased usage of green space throughout the year, but the campaign also recognises that access to parks and green spaces is not equally distributed across the UK.

Fields in Trust Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths, said: “2020 has been an incredibly difficult year but imagine how much more difficult it would have been without our local parks. For thousands of us the park was a daily lifeline. Now as we approach the end of that year – but sadly not yet the end of the crisis – we want you to join with us and our friends at parkrun to celebrate just how much we’ve all valued these spaces. Parks are one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic and if there was ever a time to show our appreciation for parks and how important they are to our collective health and wellbeing this is it! Let’s take this opportunity to work together to protect the future of these precious spaces because one they’re lost, they’re lost forever.

Park users are invited to share stories of their own much-loved local parks at the campaign website www.fieldsintrust.org/notjust and share on social media using the hashtag #notjust.

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