Tag Archive for: Save

GroundsFest 2024 – Save the Date

GroundsFest 2024 – Save the Date: After the resounding success of the inaugural GroundsFest, the organising team is gearing up to make next year’s event even more spectacular. Scheduled to take place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, on September 10 and 11, GroundsFest 2024 promises to be an experience like no other.

Building on the feedback received from the first edition, the organising team is working behind the scenes to implement improvements that will elevate the event to new heights. One of the significant changes is the introduction of a more free-flowing layout, enhancing the overall event experience. The addition of a new entrance is set to reduce the walk to the event, ensuring attendees can immerse themselves in the festivities more quickly.

GroundsFest 2024 – Save the Date

GroundsFest 2024 – Save the Date

The camping zone is set to see new facilities and the festival area is also in for a makeover, with plans underway to introduce brand new attractions. This strategic move aims to keep the excitement levels high and provide both exhibitors and visitors with novel and engaging experiences. The goal is clear: GroundsFest 2024 will not just meet expectations but exceed them.

The success of GroundsFest 2023 speaks volumes about the event’s unique approach. With over a 90% rebooking rate from exhibitors, it is evident that the industry has embraced the innovative event concept with open arms. According to the post-show exhibitor survey, a staggering 93% of exhibitors generated new sales leads, showcasing the event’s tangible impact on business growth.

Robbie Hayter from Net World Sports commended GroundsFest, stating, “GroundsFest is doing things differently for the industry, and I think it is refreshing. A lot of the visitors are really excited to see the outdoor demos and the festival is a great idea because you loosen up a little bit and there are more conversations and networking opportunities.”

Megan Oliver from the Howardson Group echoed similar sentiments, emphasising the appeal of seeing products in an outdoor environment. “People are loving GroundsFest and the footfall has been really good. We’ve seen people from all over the country and we’ve taken a lot of enquiries. It’s got a nice festival feel and it makes it an enjoyable place to be.”

GroundsFest visitors were equally upbeat. Christopher Mortimer from Mortimer Contracts Limited said. “It was a fantastic show – the best in years. I bought new kit and saw lots to benefit my company for the future. I also made some great contacts and I’m already looking forward to next year.”

Finn Greer from Trackstars attributed GroundsFest’s success to the diversity of the event. “I think GroundsFest, being indoors and outdoors, and having such a wide variety of demos are the reasons why it has drawn such a large number of people.”

“The buzz is all about GroundsFest now,” shared Tom Duchesne from Top Garden Services, emphasising the event’s growing reputation and influence.

Marketing Director Chris Bennett highlighted the importance of industry feedback in shaping the evolution of GroundsFest. “The only way to evolve GroundsFest is by listening to the industry. This commitment to responsiveness and adaptability ensures that each edition of GroundsFest is a reflection of the evolving needs and desires of the landscaping and grounds management community.”

As anticipation builds for GroundsFest 2024, the industry can expect an event that not only celebrates the latest innovations but also sets new standards for collaboration, networking, and business growth.

GroundsFest 2024 is poised to be an unmissable highlight on the calendar for all sectors of the grounds management industry.

For more information, please visit www.groundsfest.com

You can also follow GroundsFest on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @GroundsFest for much more news, reviews and insightful views.  

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Save time, money and effort with Attraxor®

Save time, money and effort with Attraxor®: In real terms, this can mean less frequent mowing, saving manpower, petrol, and associated machinery costs. The risks associated with mowing difficult or dangerous areas such as steep banks are also reduced.

Head Greenkeeper, Alan McWilliam, based at Portpatrick Dunskey Golf Club in southwest Scotland, has been using Attraxor® for the past 12 months on golf greens.

Save time, money and effort with Attraxor®

Save time, money and effort with Attraxor®

Alan said: “Once applied I was really impressed with the reduction of turf growth. It has made the management of the course so much easier, reducing the amount of maintenance required.”

By using Attraxor®, growth is redirected from vertical to horizontal, increasing the density of turf. It also causes the thickening of plant cell walls and epidermis, contributing to a reduced susceptibility to some turf diseases with its regular use.

Course Manager, Ronnie Montgomery, based at Loudoun Gowf Club in Galston also said that he has been using Attraxor for the last 12 months on golf greens and has noticed a marked difference in the quality of the playing surface.

Ronnie confirmed: “We have noticed a better playing surface. Turf density has improved along with it being easier to maintain consistent greens speeds. We have also noticed this year a reduction in Microdochium.”

To find out more about Attraxor®, visit https://www.agricentre.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Product-Search/Plant-Growth-Regulator/Attraxor.html.

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Air-Rops designed to save lives

Air-Rops designed to save lives: BOSS ORV is delighted to announce they have been appointed as the sole UK and Ireland distributor for all Air-Rops products. Air-Rops offer a range of rollover solutions for the outdoor power equipment industry.

ROPs on ATVs has always been a contentious issue but BOSS believe that in certain applications, and after a thorough risk assessment, they do offer additional protection for the operator. Air-Rops have the advantage over traditional ROPs of not raising the centre of gravity of the machine as it sits lower than the operator when not deployed. The first Air-Rops product BOSS ORV has introduced is the AR Quad safety bar, for ATVs and agricultural machinery.

Air-Rops designed to save lives

Air-Rops designed to save lives

The AR Quad uses Air-Rops technology in a fully automatic Roll Over Protection System. They base the technology on state-of-the-art automotive components, including safety electronics and proven and reliable airbag gas inflators. The AR Quad electronic control unit continuously monitors the behaviour of the quad and warns the rider with acoustic and visual signals when the vehicle is about to reach a state where stability is compromised. The system automatically evaluates the rollover condition until a tilting state is reached and, only when the tilt takes place, activates the rollover bar. The electronic control unit operates the inflator, and the gas is fully released, extending the bar and the mechanism locks. The system only operates when the rider enters and cannot avoid the full tilt. The final position after deployment of the ROPS is limited to a maximum 90°, preventing full rollover which not only helps minimise personal injury it also reduces damage to the quad.

The universal AR Quad design fits most ATVs with independent suspension using bolts on the luggage carrier and towbar. Installation is easy as the system comes fully assembled and only requires the ATV dealer to perform simple electrical and mechanical actions. It requires no scheduled maintenance and is reusable after a rollover. It just needs inspection and approval by an ATV technician, and the gas generator can be replaced to return the bar to its original condition. Because it sits low behind the rider and is compact, you don’t notice the AR Quad when you are driving, only when it is needed. The system is SGS Certified and CE marked, adhering to the strictest environmental and regulatory standards. Anyone using a quad should seriously consider having an AR Quad fitted, it could one day save your life.

Air-Rops will only be available through specialist approved dealers and regional distributors and unlike other ROPs will not be available by mail order or directly online. This is to ensure that every unit is correctly installed and able to be monitored by the supplying dealer. For all enquiries, you can contact sales@bossorv.co.uk and visit www.bossorv.co.uk

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Save More With Otterbine

Save More With Otterbine: It’s taken a little time to warm up this year (unlike last year!), but British Summer Time is in full swing and water management specialist Otterbine is offering all customers an extra five percent off its entire range of aerators and aerating fountains on orders placed before 31 August.

The promotion is timed to help customers when they need it most, says Pete Newton at Reesink Turfcare, Otterbine’s UK distributor.

Save More With Otterbine

“When higher levels of sunlight and heat is generated by the summer sun it can lead to excess nutrients in water bodies and when combined with low oxygen levels and minimal circulation, it prematurely ages the water throwing its natural ecosystem out of balance,” he explains. “This can quickly lead to problems with algae, aquatic weeds and a build-up of silt on the riverbed, and in severe cases can even lead to unpleasant odours and cause fish to perish.”

In order to avoid this, a proper water management system is needed, Pete says: “Waiting until symptoms of poor water quality appear before implementing good water management could be detrimental to the environment and be costly to rectify.”

“Once a lake has lost its ecological balance, it goes into crisis, at which point the cost of restoring it dramatically rises. As well as often being more expensive to implement, reactive solutions tend to be less friendly to the environment too.”

To prevent or eliminate stagnant water in a pond or lake, the most natural water quality management solution is to introduce aeration, which is where Otterbine’s aeration systems can help.

With solutions suitable for small ponds to vast lakes, Otterbine’s wide range of aeration systems comprise aerating fountains, industrial aerators and diffused air systems. Each has unique features that work to increase oxygen levels and circulate oxygen rich water, keeping water quality high, and inhibiting algae, aquatic weeds and odours.

Plus, installation is quick meaning that if this situation does occur it is easily fixed with Otterbine, says Pete: “These symptoms are quickly formed but with Otterbine also speedily rectified. We offer the highest oxygen transfer and pumping rates in the industry with independent testing done by the University of Minnesota and GSCEE to prove it. The High Volume units, for example, adds 3.3lbs or 1.5kg of oxygen per horsepower hour into the water and pumps over 920gpm or 199m3/hr per horsepower.”

And now, with an extra five percent off any purchase, is the time to ensure that these unwanted symptoms don’t impact on your water feature or bring about a negative perception.

For more information on Otterbine aerators and aerating fountains, contact distributor Reesink Turfcare on 01480 226948, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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How Golf Course Can Save Bees

How Golf Course Can Save Bees: The putting greens are perfectly smooth, every blade of grass is polished and preened to perfection. No stray clumps of moss or random dandelion leaf to cause even the slightest bump.

Bunkers of fine sand dazzle under the Georgia sun. The crystal-clear water sparkles. Even Augusta National Golf Club’s fairways’ rough edges would put most ordinary folks’ gardens to shame.

How Golf Course Can Save Bees

The clock is ticking down to this year’s US Masters tournament, when the lovingly manicured Augusta course almost overshadows the golf and televised HD action leaves armchair players dreaming of putting on the smoothest of greens at one of the world’s most beautiful courses.

It is also when greenkeepers at Scotland’s 550-plus golf courses brace themselves for the annual Augusta fallout from golfers demanding to know why their course isn’t as perfectly polished.

“It’s the ‘Augusta effect’,” says Jonathan Smith, executive director of the Geo Foundation, which works with courses around the world to help them become more in tune in nature and more sustainable.

“Golfers watch the Masters and think their local golf course should look like that. And that can put pressure on greenkeepers to meet these aspirations and increased demands.”

At Augusta, the green staff often stress how the former indigo plantation’s smooth turf and the perfect blooms of the dogwoods and azaleas are largely thanks to good irrigation, perfect timing and Mother Nature.

However, golf has been in a long battle with environmentalists who argue pesticides, fertilisers, heavy use of water and intensive landscaping means golf courses are no more than overworked “green deserts”.

With water resources under pressure from climate change and rising populations, along with mounting concern over the loss of bees, butterflies and other pollinators and the impact on food production, golf is having to strike the balance between raising its environmental score and meeting players’ ever-rising expectations.

“Golf in Scotland is recognised as one of the most environmental and sustainable in the world,” insists Smith, whose organisation offers a certification scheme and green flags for courses which meet environmental and sustainability targets.

“One challenge is biodiversity and habitat, the use of water, fertilisers and pesticides. Another is achieving zero waste to landfill and avoiding or recycling waste.”

At St Andrews’ famous links courses, wildflowers nod in the breeze in fairway buffer zones to help attract pollinating insects, and bee hives have been introduced. Bird boxes and bird feeders are dotted around, and there are sheep grazing on the fringes of the Castle Course.

Last summer, a “bug hotel” for beetles, centipedes and spiders popped up near the seventh hole of the Old Course and at the Jubilee greenkeeping sheds. Golfers who had paid handsomely to play the Old Course even had to avoid the famous Hell Bunker when at least 20 sand martins moved in after struggling to find nesting space in the weed-clogged West Sands dunes.

A telegraph pole at the Castle Course became a nest for a pair of kestrels who obliged by producing a chick, and greenkeepers have worked with RSPB Scotland to encourage corn buntings by laying grain for them to eat and planting wildflowers for food and shelter.

Running alongside is a determined effort to minimise the use of pesticides, ease back on fertiliser and rethink water, energy and general waste.

All of which is particularly important in light of a troubling report from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxfordshire, which warned climate change, habitat loss and pesticides had led to widespread losses of wild bees and hoverflies, posing a potential future threat to agriculture.

“Everything we do, we try to do it so we minimise any impact,” says Jon Wood, course manager at the Castle Course. “We’re not using as much pesticide or fertiliser, we’re looking at best practices for waste management.”

While St Andrews Links Trust has been working with agriculture company Syngenta to introduce its biodiversity programme Operation Pollinator, which encourages bee and butterfly-friendly measures at golf courses and farms, clubs around the country are taking steps to raise standards.

Royal Dornock Golf Club used spoil from old buildings as base material and recycled wood and timber for a new shed. Designed to absorb the heat of the sun, the building features self-sustainable LED lighting and solar-heated water, while electric vehicles have been introduced to the fleet.

Outside, a new water feature is home to waterlilies, bulrushes, cattail, heron, moorhen, dragonfly, frogs, newts and insects.

At Trump Turnberry’s Ailsa course, old sleepers have been used to rebuild the Ayrshire Coastal Path, while at Dundonald Links in Troon, environmental work has encouraged small blue butterflies to return to the area.

And in East Lothian, Gullane Golf Club’s green waste is collected for compost, and wetland habitats created to increase biodiversity.

At Fairmont St Andrews, head greenkeeper John Mitchell, has undertaken a beekeeping course and overseen the planting of a “bee lawn” the size of a football pitch in front of the hotel to attract more pollinators. “It helps make people more aware of what we’re doing here because it’s very visual,” he says. “Hopefully by the end of this year we will have our own honey.”

Caroline Hedley, Scottish Golf’s environment manager, says the costs of coping with climate change-related issues such as drainage, drought and water charges are on greenkeepers’ minds.

“Greenkeepers are very keen and very attracted to more sustainable courses,” she says. “That’s from Open venues to even small clubs. They are being more sustainable, frugal and efficient.”

Golf management lecturer Ian Butcher teaches the next generation of greenkeepers at Scotland’s Rural College’s Elmwood campus in Fife, where students recently used the college’s 18-hole golf course as a design template for a course of the future designed around ecological, environmental and sustainability issues.

He says: “We need to make sure that students are aware of water management, wildlife and habitat management, as well as aspects that can enhance the location rather than manicure it.

“Golf is in a process of evolution, not least in working with nature rather than against it.

“There’s a trend in golf industry to bring courses back to a more natural state,” he adds. “The millennial generation want golf to be sustainable and environmentally friendly.”

A crucial element, he adds, involves managing the expectations of golfers weaned on television championship courses, and reminding them that a more “hands off” approach means they may share their round with diseased turf, occasional weeds and more wildlife.

“Less or no pesticides means you will get some diseases,” adds Butcher. “There needs to be a threshold of tolerance. It’s natural and it’s not going to affect the game.

“Even Augusta can’t be in tournament condition all the time.”

The US Masters begins on Thursday with the final round a week today. British hopes rest with Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. Patrick Reed defends.

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