Tag Archive for: Woodland

Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance

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Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance: It’s well documented that time is a precious commodity for every greenkeeping team. At Bungay & Waveney Valley Golf Club it’s no different, with woodland maintenance one of the biggest pulls on Tony Moore and his team during the autumn and winter months.

That all changed however with the delivery of their GreenMech Arborist 130 woodchipper in November 2024, which has not only slashed the time it takes to thin-out and raise lower branches, it’s also significantly reduced the amount of traffic moving around the course.

Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance

Arborist 130 makes light work of woodland maintenance

Affectionately named the ‘Hidden Jewel of Suffolk’, the course is nestled in the picturesque Waveney Valley and is lined with a mixture of mature oak, birch and pine trees which need attention in the winter months to improve airflow and ensure good lines of sight. “Some years we’ll do more work than others, but either way, any tree work ties up multiple people who end up killing time while someone runs backwards and forwards with branches in a trailer” explains Head Greenkeeper Tony.

“I got in touch with GreenMech’s Neal Hussey who coordinated with our local dealer TNS to bring us a couple of chippers in on demonstration. We were really impressed with the capacity of the Arborist 130, the fact that it’s very easy to use and, importantly, the price.”

Delivered in November, the Arborist 130 was put straight to work. He continues, “Neal came back to get the team trained up on how to use the chipper, but it’s pretty foolproof so we were up and running with it really quickly. With the chipper, we now have less hands on the job and are having to make significantly fewer trips with the trailer which reduces our fuel consumption and is better for the course when the ground conditions are softer.”

The Arborist 130 is an ideal fit for golf courses, landscapers and contractors looking for a low-maintenance, high-output 6” machine. Equipped with a number of GreenMech’s unique features including a wide infeed chute, no-stress in-feed system and disc-blade chipping technology, the chipper is a robust, capable addition to any machinery fleet.

“We can get the machine exactly where we need it which means we can achieve more in less time, and free up labour for other tasks around the course. It’s been a gamechanger for us” he concludes.

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Green-tech Supports Woodland Restoration at Rockyfold Wood

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Green-tech Supports Woodland Restoration at Rockyfold Wood: Rockyfold Wood, situated within the Kentchurch Estate in Herefordshire, recently suffered an outbreak of Ash Dieback. Large areas of infected trees had to be felled, leaving the site in need of restocking.

A key challenge of this project was the presence of local deer populations, which posed a threat to young saplings. To safeguard the newly planted trees and give them the best chance of thriving, protective measures were required.

Green-tech Supports Woodland Restoration at Rockyfold Wood

Green-tech Supports Woodland Restoration at Rockyfold Wood

The Project

To effectively restore the woodland and ensure the successful establishment of new trees, Pryor & Rickett Silviculture collaborated with Kilmaha Ltd. to lead the replanting efforts.

Pryor & Rickett Silviculture is a well-respected forestry management company that provides sustainable woodland solutions across the UK. Their work involves long-term planning, biodiversity enhancement, and commercial timber production. Working alongside Kilmaha Ltd, a forestry and countryside management company,  they were tasked with restocking the site while ensuring the new trees had optimal protection from deer browsing.

Products Used

To support healthy tree growth, the team turned to Green-tech, the leading supplier of tree protection materials and the largest distributor of Tubex tree shelters. Green-tech provides shelters and stakes that offer a controlled micro-environment, reducing environmental stress and preventing deer browsing damage.

To maximise tree survival rates and create a thriving woodland, the following products were selected:

  • Tubex 1.5m tree shelters – Chosen for their reliability and effectiveness in shielding young saplings from browsing deer, which aids tree establishment and enhances survival rates while fostering optimal growing conditions.
  • Stakes – Used to securely position the shelters and ensure stability during early tree development.

Green-tech involvement.

Tom Whitchurch, Senior Forest Manager at Pryor & Rickett Silviculture, comments, “We sought competitive quotes and ultimately chose Green-tech as our supplier due to their strong industry reputation, competitive pricing, and high standard of customer service. Our sales advisor, George, provided expert guidance, ensuring that the right products were selected for the project’s specific requirements.”

The Outcome

The Rockyfold Wood restoration project has successfully restocked the woodland, ensuring a new generation of trees can establish and thrive. The use of Tubex tree shelters has provided essential protection against deer, securing the long-term success of the replanting efforts. This initiative restores a vital part of the Kentchurch Estate and contributes to sustainable forestry practices and biodiversity enhancement.

This project demonstrates the value of sustainable woodland management and highlights the strong partnership between Green-tech, Pryor & Rickett Silviculture, and Kilmaha Ltd in delivering high-quality, long-lasting solutions for UK woodlands.

“Green-tech is my go-to supplier for plant protection and landscaping materials. George and his team deliver high-quality service and always come back with solutions to any problems or queries I may have. They price competitively and dispatch efficiently.” Tom Whitchurch, Senior Forest Manager at Pryor & Rickett Silviculture

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Green-tech to distribute Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser

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Green-tech to distribute Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser: Green-tech is proud to announce the latest addition to its extensive product portfolio, Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser. This innovative product, distributed exclusively by Green-tech, offers a groundbreaking approach to natural plant nutrition, harnessing the power of woodland soils.

Woodland Grow is a Natural Fertiliser, borne from years of scientific research into soil biology, and coupled with the benefits of enhancing soil’s natural ecosystem. The fertiliser incorporates British native woodland fungal communities and soil microbes, designed to rejuvenate and enrich intensively managed soils.

Green-tech to distribute Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser

Green-tech to distribute Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser

Green-tech is a leading supplier of products for landscaping, forestry, and horticulture industries. Their dedication to sourcing sustainable and innovative products that support ecological balance and promote biodiversity is well known. This product supports Green-tech’s commitment to sustainability and providing customers with environmentally responsible solutions.

Green-tech’s Purchasing and Product Development Director Chris Swan comments, ” Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser is the latest addition to our extensive product portfolio and supports our ongoing efforts to provide more sustainable solutions for our customers. Over the last five years, sourcing products with strong environmental credentials has been our focus, ensuring we offer the most up-to-date developments in the marketplace.”

Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser is composed of UK-sourced materials that replicate woodland soils, including a blend of 10-15 natural ingredients such as NPK, seaweed, blood fertiliser, lime, hoof, and horn. This 100% natural fertiliser works in harmony with nature to improve soil health and plant growth without relying on synthetic inputs.

Its key benefits include:

  • Contains naturally occurring mycorrhizal species
  • Provides disease suppression
  • Enhances plant quality and vitality
  • Mimics peat properties
  • Improves soil structure and water retention

Daniel Iddon, Founder and Director of Woodland Grow, highlights the importance of this innovation: ” Woodland Grow represents a 21st-century engineered compost that replicates peat, enabling us to innovate beyond the sterile environments we’ve grown accustomed to. It enables the forestry industry to close the carbon loop of timber production by putting microbial life back into forest residues.  I am thrilled to be partnering up with Green-tech. Their extensive sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities make them the perfect distributor for Woodland Grow Natural Fertiliser.”

For more information or to request a sample pack, please contact Green-tech on 01423 332 100 or email sales@green-tech.co.uk

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Planting of a new ‘community woodland’

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Planting of a new ‘community woodland’: Leading international exhibition for sports turf professionals helps create wildlife habitat at Harrogate Golf Club with the planting of a new ‘community woodland’

Staff from the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association joined the greenkeepers and members at Harrogate Golf Club recently to plant a ‘community woodland’, comprising more than 200 trees donated by exhibitors at the upcoming BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME).

Planting of a new ‘community woodland’

Planting of a new ‘community woodland’

BTME is due to take place at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 24 to 26 January and is recognised as among the most influential events on the UK golfing calendar, with more than 5,000 golf greenkeepers and turf professionals in attendance.

High on the agenda each year is sustainability and the increasing importance of environmentally friendly practices on golf courses, particularly with the annual Golf Environment Awards taking place in Harrogate concurrent to the trade show.

Overall, British golf courses cover an area roughly equivalent to the whole of Greater Manchester and provide wide-ranging habitats including wetlands, wildflower areas and woodland. Countless forward-thinking golf clubs around the UK are now undertaking activities that boost their environmental credentials and the team at BIGGA, as the UK’s only membership association for golf greenkeepers, wanted to do their bit.

When booking their spot at the 2023 exhibition, supporting companies were invited to ‘Plant a Tree for BTME’ and it is hoped that over the years sufficient trees will be planted to create a network of ‘BTME community woodlands’ around the UK, with Harrogate Golf Club the first to participate in the scheme.

BIGGA is extremely grateful to those exhibitors who have participated in the scheme, with Reesink UK purchasing 100 trees, Aquatrols purchasing 50 and The FairWays Foundation purchasing 20. Other contributors included: Advance Grass Solutions; Bernhard and Company; Campey Turf Care Systems; COMPO Expert; East Riding Turfcare; EVEN Products; GreenBest/Velvit; LFP Civil & Environmental Engineering; Redlynch Leisure; Shelton Sportsturf Drainage; and The Double A Trading Company.

James Hutchinson is Membership Services Manager – Ecology & Sustainability at BIGGA and is considered one of the UK’s leading authorities on golf course ecology. James said: “Plant a Tree for BTME is a wonderful scheme and I’m delighted that so many exhibitors purchased saplings, which we have planted at Harrogate Golf Club. This is such a brilliant idea because trees sequestrate carbon in the soil, meaning we are able to offset some of the carbon that is generated at BTME.

“Not only that, but trees create wonderful habitats for the great British wildlife. Golf clubs are often overlooked by the general public, but they provide priceless habitats for countless species, often forming safe zones for wildlife to thrive in urban areas. Harrogate Golf Club is a fantastic example and the addition of these silver birch, downy birch, rowan and cherry trees will create outstanding habitats for years to come.”

Ken Ward is Head Greenkeeper at Harrogate Golf Club and said: “I was thrilled when James asked us if we would like to take part in the Plant a Tree for BTME scheme. We are very much about ecology and sustainability at Harrogate GC and creating new wildlife habitat by planting trees is very much in line with the ethos of the club.

“Harrogate Golf Club is hugely appreciative of BIGGA and all the exhibitors who contributed to this scheme as it is such a worthwhile cause, not only for us but also for our kids, grandchildren and future generations.”

Lauren Frazer, Head of Business Development at BIGGA, said: “We’re committed to making Plant a Tree for BTME a fixture on the BTME calendar and I’m hopeful that next year we’ll be planting even more trees at another brilliant golf club and once again highlighting the vital work golf greenkeepers do to support the wider environment.

“Thank you to all of those who contributed to this wonderful scheme and I’m really looking to seeing all our exhibitors and the attendees at BTME in just a few short weeks.”

For more information about BTME 2023, head to www.btme.org.uk

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Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

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Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC: A CM220TMP woodchipper from GreenMech has transformed the woodland management programme for Wildernesse Golf Club.

The heavily tree-lined woodland/parkland course in Sevenoaks, Kent, requires year-round thinning, pruning and felling. The new 9” machine has significantly improved the productivity for Course Manager Mark Todd and his team.

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

With classified ancient woodland, Chance Wood, at the very heart of the course, the scale of the task at hand led Mark to look for an upgrade to their existing machinery at the end of 2019. “I spoke with our local dealer Burden Bros who suggested we upgrade from a 6” to a 9” machine and demonstrated the GreenMech CM220TMP. You could see straight away how it was going to be so much more effective at dealing with the large quantities of material we have to process.”

The course woodland predominantly consists of beech, birch and oak, however it’s the holly in the understory of the canopy that causes a real issue. “Some areas are smothered in it and the awkwardly shaped branches used to be really difficult to get into our old chipper unless you spent time snedding all the branches off. The CM220TMP’s large hopper means we can take down holly trees up to 20-foot-tall and get them straight into the chipper – reducing handling and stopping backlogs. Thinning this out improves not only the aesthetic and playability qualities, it also allows extra air and light to get down to the playing surfaces.”

“Being tractor mounted means we can take the chipper wherever it is needed, with the chip we produce dispersed in the woodland, used in some of the decorative beds or given to the members for use in their gardens. One of the really great things is GreenMech’s round disc blade chipping technology. Not only does it process more efficiently but when they blunt you simply turn them to the next sharp edge which means that, compared to traditional straight blades, you get three times the life out of each set.”

Mark was also thankful for having the chipper at their disposal during the recent storms, where the course experienced strong winds and fallen trees. “The chipper disposed of these without a problem” Mark explains. “While it comes into its own over the winter months, we have projects to work on throughout the year and with the CM220TMP, these have now become much easier.”

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