Tag Archive for: Sugar

British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient

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British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient: First announced in February to mark the launch of its new TOPSOIL Academy online learning resource, the British Sugar TOPSOIL £500 Training Bursary has now been awarded to Richard Brusaferro, a former NHS Senior Theatre Assistant and recent career-changer.

Richard, 51, who has worked at Ipswich Hospital for the past 14 years, has always been a keen amateur gardener and, wanting to make his passion his career, he took a part-time course in Practical Horticulture at Suffolk Rural College. Having subsequently taken the plunge and left the NHS, he is now employed on a private estate near Ipswich as a gardener, putting his knowledge to practical use and building his wider experience of the horticulture sector.

British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient

British Sugar TOPSOIL announces Bursary recipient

“Completing the initial course at Suffolk Rural College and then being awarded the TOPSOIL bursary has given me the confidence to follow my heart and change careers” Richard explained. “I have taken quite a salary cut to follow my dream and so the bursary will allow me to fast-track my learning journey by studying for the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture from September. I can’t wait!”

National TOPSOIL Manager at British Sugar, Andy Spetch, is delighted that Richard is grasping this opportunity with both hands: “The training bursary selection panel was impressed by Richard’s obvious passion for horticulture and his determination to follow his dream and work in the sector, despite the financial implications of his decision. We unanimously decided that the bursary could make all the difference to Richard’s chances of building a successful career within an acceptable timeframe.”

In addition to the financial contribution to Richard’s horticultural training, mentoring will be an important element of the support the TOPSOIL Training Bursary will provide. Andy Spetch said: “Richard is now working in an entirely different sector and I hope that I will be able to assist him by introducing him to others working in landscaping and horticulture and making him aware of industry exhibitions and organisations that will be of help to him as part of professional development. I wish him every success.”

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British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy

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British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy: The wealth of technical, scientific, regulatory and storage/handling information on soils that British Sugar TOPSOIL has developed and made freely available via its website has now been ordered and consolidated under the new TOPSOIL Academy tab.

And to celebrate the launch of this comprehensive learning resource, TOPSOIL will award a training bursary of £500 to one successful applicant working in any of the following areas:

  • Groundworks/Construction
  • Landscape contracting
  • Greenkeeping
  • Groundsmanship
  • Garden design
British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy

British Sugar TOPSOIL celebrates launch of TOPSOIL Academy

National TOPSOIL Manager Andy Spetch has long been an advocate of giving those working in the land-based sector as much independently verified information on soils as possible:

“British Sugar TOPSOIL has always made its product testing and analysis data freely available and has encouraged customers to get acquainted with what that data is telling them about our products. We soon found that there was a thirst for independent, objective information on soils in general and so we made all our trials reports from the STRI and other respected organisations available for scrutiny.

“Our TOPSOIL Academy brings together all that technical and scientific information, plus more practical help and guidance, in one place where pdf documents can be easily and freely downloaded by anyone working with soils or studying to enter the land-based sector.

“We hope the training bursary will help someone working in the land-based sector to develop their career where financial constraints may have previously been a barrier to them moving forward.”

The 2022 British Sugar TOPSOIL Training Bursary terms and conditions, eligibility criteria and application form can be accessed by visiting www.bstopsoil.co.uk and clicking on the TOPSOIL Academy tab, where you can also find everything you need to know about soils.

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British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

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British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis: British Sugar TOPSOIL has long been trusted to provide detailed and current analysis of its soil products to meet and exceed the British Standards for Topsoil and Subsoil.

To further inform and assist customers with their choice of products, the company is now having all its soil and topdressing products tested with new, state-of-the-art, soil microbiology technology that is used in agriculture to determine soil health and fertility.

British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

British Sugar TOPSOIL expands analysis

Detailed analysis under a microscope looks at the levels of bacteria and fungi in TOPSOIL’s products. It is anticipated that, carried out at regular intervals over time, this level of analysis will help build a picture of soil health in terms of living organisms and give TOPSOIL customers yet more important information on which to base their purchasing decisions.

Working with Hampshire-based SoilBioLab, samples of each TOPSOIL product were submitted for analysis, together with a local arable soil, to establish and compare the amount of:

  • Active Bacteria
  • Total Bacteria
  • Active Fungi
  • Total Fungi
  • Hyphal Diameter (a physical measure of the branching filamentous structure of a fungus – in lay terms, the wider the branching structure, the more mature the fungus)

National TOPSOIL Manager Andy Spetch said: “We want to provide as much detailed technical information as possible on our products, which is freely available to anyone on our website. It is too early to draw any conclusions from this first analysis but we anticipate that, over time, we will be able to build a helpful picture of the health and effectiveness our products.”

This first set of results, which can be viewed on the TOPSOIL website at www.bstopsoil.co.uk  in the TOPSOIL Information section under Analysis, Research and Development, are very much a starting point.

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British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek

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British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek: British Sugar TOPSOIL, a leading UK producer of quality topdressing and topsoil products for the sports, amenity, landscaping and construction sectors, is proud to officially support the Grounds Management Association’s #GroundsWeek, an inaugural celebration week for the turf care sector.

Managed by the Grounds Management Association (GMA), the leading not-for-profit membership body for grounds professionals and volunteers, the turf care campaign will take place 1-7 March 2021 and will celebrate and highlight the vital role that professional grounds staff, volunteers, and the turf sector play in making sport possible.

British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek

British Sugar TOPSOIL supports #GroundsWeek

Following a difficult year for the sector due to the impact of Covid-19, #GroundsWeek aims to showcase grounds staff and the amazing work that they do – and have continued to do – despite sport coming to a grinding halt. It also comes after a year where parks and green spaces have been hugely valuable to the public’s health, with increased use for ‘daily exercise’ and physical activity.

To celebrate the week, British Sugar TOPSOIL will be promoting the benefits of using its Sports&Turf topdressing for the repair and improvement of natural playing surfaces.

A 90/10 blend of medium to coarse sub-angular sand with British Sugar TOPSOIL’s BS3882:2015-compliant topsoil, Sports&Turf incorporates readily into the sward, increasing the fertility of the root zone and encouraging grass to regenerate more readily, particularly in areas of heavy wear such as goalmouths.

Andy Spetch, National TOPSOIL Manager at British Sugar TOPSOIL, a GMA Corporate Partner, said:

“British Sugar TOPSOIL is delighted to be supporting the GMA’s GroundsWeek initiative, which will highlight the invaluable work carried out by professional and volunteer grounds staff across the country. As an industry supplier, British Sugar TOPSOIL is constantly developing and trialling its products to give grounds staff the tools they need to ensure natural playing surfaces can withstand both heavy usage and the impact of our changing UK climate.”

Geoff Webb, CEO of the GMA, said:

“After a tough year, GroundsWeek is a fantastic opportunity for every part of the sector to come together and celebrate all the hard work that’s gone on throughout the year. We want to inspire sports fans and the general public to realise the vital role we play and get even more people to enter the profession and lend a helping hand at pitches across the country.

“We’re grateful to those officially supporting #GroundsWeek, with businesses and partners helping us champion grounds staff and the amazing work they do.

More information on #GroundsWeek can be found here.

For details of British Sugar TOPSOIL products, and to download a free copy of the Essential Guide to Top Dressing, visit www.bstopsoil.co.uk/product-range/sportsturf

Twitter: @Topsoil_BS

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