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How You Can Get Involved With #GroundsWeek

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How You Can Get Involved With #GroundsWeek: #GroundsWeek 2025, taking place from 17 to 23 March, is fast approaching.

This nationwide celebration, led by the Grounds Management Association (GMA), shines a spotlight on the professionals and volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sports surfaces and green spaces thrive.

How You Can Get Involved With #GroundsWeek

How You Can Get Involved With #GroundsWeek

The week is all about recognition, whilst inspiring more people to appreciate and explore careers in grounds management. Whether you’re a professional grounds manager, a volunteer or someone who enjoys well-maintained outdoor spaces, there are plenty of ways to get involved and show your support.

Building on the success of the 2024 campaign, which reached an impressive 18 million people, we hope #GroundsWeek 2025 will reach a global audience, shining a spotlight on the vital role of grounds staff not only in the UK but across the world.

Ways to take part in #GroundsWeek 2025:

  • Download the #GroundsWeek Toolkit – Access ready-made graphics, templates and ideas to help you spread the word.
  • Share Your Story – Tell us about your experiences in grounds management for a chance to be featured during the week.
  • Join the Online Conversation – Keep an eye on @wearetheGMA across all social media channels and help us kick off the week by sharing our launch post on Monday 17 March.
  • Show off Your Grounds Team – Post a photo of your grounds staff or volunteers, or share a short video of someone at your club or organisation saying thank you.
  • Use the Official Hashtag – Tag @wearetheGMA in your posts and include #GroundsWeek to ensure your content reaches a wider audience.

#GroundsWeek is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the people who make great outdoor spaces possible.

Get involved and help raise awareness of the vital work that goes into keeping pitches, parks and green spaces in top condition.

To find out more about #GroundsWeek 2025, please visit thegma.org.uk/groundsweek.

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

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Birkdale provides all you need

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Birkdale provides all you need: Birkdale has introduced five new additions to its SITEMATE® tools range: the Heavy Duty Professional Double Shovel Holer, Micro Shovel, Irish Pattern Long Handle Shovel, D-Handled Fencing Shovel and the Manual Fence Post Auger. Each tool has been developed with practicality and efficiency in mind, and the range helps to make high-quality fencing installations as simple as possible.

The Heavy Duty Professional Double Shovel Holer provides efficient removal of soil to create holes for fence posts. 1600m in length, it has been designed to offer enhanced leverage and grip, making soil and stone removal effortless. The scissor action handle provides greater closing power and a fully adjustable blade pitch enables the user to adjust the soil removal capacity, as they work to deliver deep, narrow, vertical sided post holes.

Birkdale provides all you need

Birkdale provides all you need

Another addition to the range is the handy Micro Shovel. Available in a square or round mouth option, it offers an ideal tool for digging or shovelling with precision and accuracy in tight or confined spaces. With a reinforced fibreglass shaft and soft grip handle, the shovel combines both comfort and practicality.

The Irish Pattern Long Handle Shovel is a versatile option, suitable for a wide variety of general landscaping and groundwork. Featuring a comfortable grip hardwood shaft, hardening steel socket and a V-shaped blade, angled for ergonomic digging and scooping, the shovel is highly durable and effective – ideal for contractors and use on building sites.

Also new to the range is the D-Handled Fencing Shovel. With the addition of the ‘D’ handle, the shovel provides an enhanced grip, leverage and comfort along with greater scooping capacity. The shovel incorporates a threaded plug at the top of the handle, allowing the handle tube to be filled with cement to add desired weight.

Finally, the versatile Manual Fence Post Auger, made from high-grade carbon steel, provides maximum speed, strength and quality. Ideal for drilling holes for fence posts, as well as planting shrubs and trees, it offers a fast and accurate method for producing 150mm diameter holes in all types of soil conditions. Furthermore, a removable steel handle means it is convenient to store away.

John Abernethie, Managing Director at Birkdale commented: “Our growing SITEMATE® tools range means that trade professionals can come to us for everything they need to get the fencing job complete, and in whatever conditions they face – quickly, easily and to a high standard.”

Birkdale offers a full range of fencing and gate solutions. For more information about its SITEMATE® range, visit https://www.birkdalesales.com/pages/stockists-sitemate.

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If you want something done well, do it yourself!

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If you want something done well, do it yourself!: Scott MacCallum travelled to Northern Finland to find out more about Avant and their brand new battery technology.

Where better to develop new batteries than one of the northern-most locations on the planet? Avant are based in Tampare, Finland, 100 miles north of Helsinki, and a place which is renowned for being a bit chilly.

If you want something done well, do it yourself!

If you want something done well, do it yourself!

It is therefore perfectly suited to testing the extremes of new battery technology and, having developed a battery which can cope in such conditions, Avant has recently opened a new battery factory to product the power units to operate their sophisticated range of electric loaders.

“Following a lot of development we believe we have produced the perfect solution for our type of machine. Of course it is not the perfect solution for any kind of moving machine, but we don’t have a huge circumference to cover, compared to cars which need a huge infrastructure of for recharging points,” Avant CEO, Jani Käkelä, explained to Turf Matters.

“For us the electric vehicle are very viable as a solution of a way to create a machine with zero emissions. We don’t need a huge battery so the cost of the machine is still reasonable and then also the charging infrastructure doesn’t need to be too big. Overall the size of the machine has not altered from that of the diesel machine.

The Avant HQ, even taking away the stunning Nordic scenery, is impressive with the new battery factory fitting seamlessly into the overall plant, and it is the ability to produce their own batteries which is seen as a gateway to taking the company onto the next level.

The new OptiTemp battery packs feature a globally unique immersion lithium-ion technology offering Avant users several benefits.

The 4-module 27 kwh OptiTemp battery gives an electric Avant e5 loader twice the capacity of other loaders in its size class. With a 4-module battery it is possible to work the whole day with one single charge.

A globally unique thermal management system keeps the temperature optimised and gives you the same capacity in hot and freezing weather.

If you want something done well, do it yourself!

If you want something done well, do it yourself!

Rapid charging. Thanks to the structure of the battery, you can charge your battery in just one and a half hours with a rapid charger, which enables long workdays.

Unique solutions for safety – the structure and the immersion cooling system of the battery – guarantee 100% safe batteries. Avant has been producing compact loaders and attachments for over 30 years and they have risen to become the global market leader in their field.

But it was having worked with electric loaders and batteries for a number of years that the began to realise that there was no battery pack available to fulfil the needs of their loaders.

Since the battery factory – Avant Power, a subsidiary of Avant Tecno – was opened a few months ago he batteries now produced are truly fit for purpose – and fully capable of dealing with Finland’s extreme temperatures, but also in hotter temperatures in other parts of the world.

The new Avant e513 and Avant e527 loaders are almost identical, the only difference being the capacity of the batteries. The Avant e513 (13 kWh) is a good choice for short-term continuous use on cattle farms, horse stables, greenhouses or DIY and leisure time, for example.

The Avant e527 loader (27 kWh) with a larger battery is ideal for demanding professional use. Construction and demolition contractors will benefit from this model.

“For years, the market has been longing for fully electric loaders that would be more like diesel loaders in terms of functionality.

Until now, operating time and pricing have been key issues related to electric loaders, but with Avant’s new e series, we solve them both”, explained Jani.

We Care, That You Care

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We Care, That You Care: As we approach STIGA‘s 90th anniversary, the gardening mower and tool company stands at a unique intersection of rich heritage and exciting possibilities.

The ‘We Care, That You Care’ campaign embodies the STIGA passion for nature and the pledge towards a more sustainable future.  The goal? To support 90 community garden groups throughout the UK, honouring each year of the 90th anniversary, by empowering others with innovative, eco-friendly garden products.

We Care, That You Care

We Care, That You Care

Become one of the Stiga 90!

STIGA believes that everyone deserves the chance to cultivate beautiful spaces responsibly, and during 2024 the team are giving away their eco-friendly garden products to community garden groups, up and down the UK, for free! ‘We care that you care’, and this is our way of showing you we care.

Cultivating Connections

The campaign is aimed at a diverse array of community groups, from schools and hospital gardens to urban gardens, food bank gardens, community gardens and guerrilla gardeners. Each one of these groups represents a unique opportunity for STIGA to engage, help and empower local communities.

Growing together

Communities and individuals associated with the community group can engage with STIGA through a dedicated web page, where information about their project will be collected and products selected that will benefit their project. This process ensures every aspiring group has an equal opportunity to bloom with STIGA.

How to get involved

If you are responsible for any non-profit, community group or charity that looks after a green space and would like to receive products from STIGA’s innovative, eco-friendly garden product range…for free, then simply register on the wecare.stigauk.com website.

The STIGA judging panel will assess your application along with your social engagement tokens. You will be notified if you are successful, stating the free products that will be donated to your community group.

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Worm casts causing you a problem?

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Worm casts causing you a problem?: Earthworms are vital for maintaining healthy soil. By continuously moving soil, worms loosen and aerate it, aiding water infiltration. And, when earthworms feed on nutrients in the soil, the waste products they leave provide valuable fertilisation.

But despite the benefits, earthworms create big problems for greenkeepers.

Worm casts causing you a problem?

Worm casts causing you a problem?

As they expel waste, earthworms leave small worm casts on the soil’s surface. These tiny mounds affect ball movement on golf courses and look unsightly. During milder months, worms are more active near the surface, and these soil casts can mount up, creating more work for greenkeepers.

Up until 2019, greenkeepers had a simple way to tackle worm casts. However, since Carbendazim was banned due to the potentially toxic effects it has on the human reproductive system, no clear chemical solution has emerged to replace it.

How Worm Casts Affect Cylinder Mowers

Worm casts are not just an inconvenience. As a greenkeeper, worm casts cause several other issues, particularly when using cylinder mowers.

Due to their wet, sticky nature, worm casts clog mower rollers, eventually causing them to lock up. When this happens, the mower skids over the turf causing costly damage to both the turf and the machine.

Additionally, worm casts cause an abrasive grinding paste to form between the bottom blade and cylinder. This blunts the cylinders so that regular and costly sharpening is required. If the sharpening is not completed the blunt cylinders affect the overall cut quality and presentation of the course. For many Greenkeepers, this means their cylinder mowers spend more time in the workshop than out on the course.

While strategies like delaying the cut until the middle of the day to reduce stickiness, brushing the turf prior to cutting, or using an older mower when cast levels are high can help, these are not practical solutions as they add time and expense to the ongoing task of turf maintenance.

Using a Trailed Rotary Mower

Until a solution is developed to control worm casts on turf, one time-saving way of tackling them is to use a rotary mower. Trailed rotary mowers do not encounter the same problems as cylinder mowers, as they have been engineered to perform in a wider range of conditions with unwavering reliability.

Most trailed rotary mowers have 5” diameter smooth rollers which are nearly three times larger than a cylinder mower, providing strength when it’s needed most. These rollers are fitted with scraper wires (either a thin metal wire hugging the roller or a solid steel bar running across the length of the roller) which provide constant pressure across the roller, for keeping it free of debris and worm casts.

Another advantage of a trailed rotary mower is their high spindle speeds and airflow, this helps keep the blades clean of worm casts, improving the cut quality and reducing maintenance costs. The other consideration is cleaning. This process is made much easier with a trailed machine as the decks can be folded vertically giving clear access and removing the need to crawl under or bend over the machine.

If you want to see how a trailed rotary mower will perform on your worm casts, give Trimax a call on 01933 652235 or visit their website https://trimaxmowers.co.uk/book-a-demo/

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

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