Happy New Year 2008 to you all

Happy New Year 2008

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers, friends and associates, as well as our enemies, a very happy & prosperous New Year 2008.

SHOW PROGRAMME CONFIRMED AND SHOW DEALS START TO ADD UP!

Show organiser Brintex has released programme details today for its New Products LIVE demonstration theatre and Sales Improvement sessions.

The demo theatre will run six 20 minute sessions during each of the show’s three days. They will start at 10.30am and run every hour through to 3.30pm.

The team of presenters have chosen products from Everbuild, Mirka Abrasives, Johnstone’s, Mac & Bell, Plug Pal, Olympia Tools, Avon Equipment, RB UK, Wolfcraft, Ali Industries, Sandtex, IBP Conex, Ledco, Butterick, Original Tools, Ironclad, Kinzo and Titan to demonstrate, ranging from peel and stick wall decorations, to a great range of tools and some garden shelving! In addition, they’ll also be on the look out for ‘pick of the show’ new products to bring to their audiences’ attention.

The presenting team this year will be joined by interior designer Chrissi Baldwin, who comes fresh to the show, having just worked with famous TV designers Justin and Colin on their ‘How Not To Decorate’ road show. She is an experienced interior designer and colour consultant for both companies and individuals, and replaces Clare Steel on the New Products LIVE presenting team.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall Presenta Connect will run its Sales Improvement sessions at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Each session will last 30 minutes, and build upon the information given in the previous talk. Key topics will be ‘What a difference a £ makes’, ‘Big ticket items – yes please!’ and ‘Your till staff – the best sales people you have?’

In addition, candidates for the show’s new ‘Show Super Deals’ display area are coming in, with many exhibitors also confirming the final details of their show offers. The Brintex team is hoping to compile a full list of all the deals around the show to hand out to visitors as they arrive to ensure no-one misses out!

The DIY & Garden Show and Totally Tools take place on the 13, 14 and 15 January 2008 in Earls Court, London. Visitors can register online using either of the show websites www.diyandgardenshow.com or www.totallytools.co.uk, which contain full exhibitor and show information, and gives them a chance of winning a trip for two, to visit the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas!

Small increase in green spaces can offset temperature rise

Scientists at the University of Manchester have conducted a study looking at the effect global warming will have on our major cities, and say a modest increase in the number of urban parks and street trees could offset decades of predicted temperature rises. The study has calculated that a mere 10% increase in the amount of green space in cities would reduce average urban surface temperatures by as much as 4°C.

This 4°C drop in temperature, which is equivalent to the average predicted rise through global warming by the 2080s, is caused by the cooling effect of water as it evaporates into the air from leaves and vegetation through a process called transpiration.

Green spaces collect and retain water much better than concrete, and as the water evaporates from the leaves of plants and trees the surrounding air is cooled. This process, called transpiration, is similar to the human cooling effect of perspiration.

“Urban areas can be up to 12°C warmer than more rural surroundings due to the heat given off by buildings, roads and traffic, as well as reduced evaporative cooling, in what is commonly referred to as an ‘urban heat island’,” said Dr Roland Ennos, who worked on the project with Professor John Handley and Dr Susannah Gill in the School of Environment and Development.

“We discovered that a modest increase of 10% green space reduced surface temperatures in the urban environment by 4°C, which would overcome temperature rises caused by global warming over the next 75 years, effectively ‘climate proofing’ our cities.

“Such a reduction has important implications for human comfort and health within urban areas and opportunities need to be taken to increase green space cover wherever structural changes are occurring within urban areas, as well as planting street trees or developing green roofs.”

Increased green spaces in urban areas would have multiple other benefits, such as increased rainwater retention and carbon capture. Currently most of the rainwater that falls on urban areas is lost as “run-off” through storm drains, which increases the city’s sewage treatment load as well as increasing the need for irrigation. A 10% increase in green space will only have a minimal impact on precipitation capture however, as the overall climate model predicts that towards the end of this century, our summers will be hotter and drier but winters are expected to be wetter. This results in insufficient water during the time of the year when the plants need it the most, which leads to reduced transpiration; effectively cancelling out that benefit of the green spaces. Winters, on the other hand, are expected to become much wetter, producing an excess of precipitation when the trees are unable to use it to their best advantage. In order to maximize the benefits of green spaces, cities would require an infrastructure to store water in winter months to irrigate the green spaces in warmer months. Given the advantages of the cooling effects of the green spaces as well as the air purification benefits, the cost of updating urban infrastructure becomes very minimal.

Additionally, buildings could divert greywater to irrigate green roofs and nearby green spaces, which would lessen the need for city water piping changes, and provide an additional source of nutrients to the plants.

Source: Built Environment, University of Manchester

FELCO TO LAUNCH NEW ESSENTIEL RANGE AIMED AT AMATEUR GARDENERS

Stand F59 - DIY & Garden Show and Totally Tools

Felco are renowned for being manufacturers of world-class garden tools, in particular, secateurs, which are the choice of professionals worldwide. Felco is now setting out to reach enthusiastic amateur gardeners too through their new essentiel range of secateurs.

New for January 2008 and to be launched at the DIY and Garden Show by UK distributors Burton McCall Ltd, the Essentiel range of secateurs offer the same high Felco standards but a lower price point, allowing amateur gardeners to experience the quality of Felco.

Available in two sizes – both with similar cutting ability but one for the larger and one for the smaller hand – they integrate the ergonomics, durability and spare parts concept for which Felco are renowned.

Essentiel secateurs have sturdy red and black coloured handles made of an ultra-lightweight composite material and the cutting heads are a high quality hardened steel. The blade adjustment system is easy-to-use and every part of the Essentiel secateurs is replaceable.

Felco have also invested in the Essentiel range packaging. The stylish try-me anti-theft recyclable packaging allows consumers to try both models for fit, while in store.

Felco secateurs are made in Switzerland, with precision, and each pair comes with a lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects. Essentiel secateurs have a trade price of £13.80 and a RRP of £24.99.

Patrolling of Parks and Open Spaces

The patrolling of Parks and Open Spaces, regardless of size, should be conducted and carried out in such a manner as for the Ranger or Warden to be able to fully interact with visitors and other members of the public.

Therefore, ideally, any such patrols should be undertaken, in this author's opinion, on foot and/or, where feasible, also by (patrol) bicycle, where, obviously, patrol cycles are available to officers. Where they are not the acquisition and introduction of such human-powered vehicles might be an idea.

I am well aware of recent stories that some police forces are considering, after only just having gotten their officers back onto bicycles, to stop using cycle patrols because of the fact that risk assessments have shown that officers might be able to fall off their bikes and injure themselves. Obviously, there is no such risk with motorbikes then?!? I doubt we will be hearing that the police is going to stop using motorbikes.

Patrols in cars and vans do NOT allow for the kind of personal direct interaction with the public that is possible with foot- or cycle patrols.

The Ranger on foot patrol, or on a patrol bicycle, appears to be and indeed is far more approachable than the Ranger on patrol driving through a Park in a car or van.



Patrolling on foot or on bicycle gives the Ranger a change to interact on a much more personal level with the public by, already, the simple “good day” acknowledgement when passing (other) users of the Park he or she is patrolling. This gives any visitor an opening to a conversation about the Park and its facilities, or to ask questions, or to even report an incident or such.

While the Ranger patrol in a motorcar, or on a motorbike, is able to respond to specific incidents that may occur during its patrol faster than on foot or even on bicycle the level of interaction that is possible on foot or on bicycle is lost when using car or van.

In my opinion, foot- or cycle patrols, especially with “resident” Rangers and Wardens, and the ideal, according to CABE/Parkforce is the return of the “resident” Park Keeper/-Warden/-Ranger to all individual parks, are superior to any vehicle drive-through patrols, for that is what it mostly only amounts to; namely a drive-through and little more.

In more “wild” parks and open spaces vehicle patrols will never reach many of the “dark”, “hidden” and “out of the way” places and cannot (quietly) approach such places. But it is in such areas that are basically unreachable by car where things happen that need policing.

So, let's here it for foot patrols and the cycle-mounted Ranger.

© Michael Smith, December 2007

Creating a greener, safer environment

Trials of Syngenta’s turf growth regulator Primo MAXX carried out by Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, clearly showed that the product has much wider implications, and can bring environmental benefits when used on a diverse range of areas such as nature trails, green spaces and roadside landscaping.

Mark Dempsey (support services manager) for the council attended a seminar at BTME 2006 and was interested to hear how it was capable of not only significantly slowing grass growth, but also improving the general health of the sward.

Scotts Professional

Keeping plants healthy

Amberol Aquafeed™ Self Watering system keeps plants permanently watered, releasing the vital nutrients in the soil helping keep plant material alive and healthy. They have nation-wide ‘on the road’ product specialist’s available to advise and help choose and design the best floral displays to make every type of environment a welcoming, happy and comfortable place to be.

Amberol

Quality compost: an effective tool

Quality compost: an effective tool against climate change

According to the Met Office, last summer was the warmest extended period in 350 years and for the first time in more than a decade, the government granted three drought orders. Hotter summers, milder winters, storms, and unexpected heavy rain or snow showers appear to be becoming the norm.

With scientists warning of rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions could become ever increasing occurrences. So now is the time for landscapers to adopt methods that will support more effective water usage and, on a broader environmental theme, conserve levels of carbon in the soil. Compost made from recycled garden waste can play its part as a simple and effective defence against some of the challenges of climate change.

Here WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) highlights the key ways in which quality compost can help tackle the effects of changing weather patterns and protect our natural environment.

Retaining soil moisture
Compost improves soil structure through the addition of organic matter, leaving soil better able to soak up and retain water and therefore reducing the frequency with which plants need to be watered.

Taking steps to reduce water usage is a sensible business move and an important environmental consideration in today’s climate. When compared to expensive irrigation systems or time spent salvaging dried out parks, the potential cost and labour savings are very significant.

Cardiff County Council’s parks department has been putting locally made compost to good use in landscaping and seasonal planting projects across the city centre for a number of years. Robert Jones, Parks Maintenance Manager at Cardiff County Council, said: “Last summer was the driest and hottest I can remember in recent years. However, despite the dry weather conditions our flowerbeds thrived. We put this down to compost. Not only does it make the soil much easier to cultivate, but the soil is more friable, drains better and manages to hold moisture in dry conditions which means less watering is needed.”

Preventing soil erosion
Wind, rain, and pounding feet pose a significant threat to the condition of soil and these factors all increase the rate at which soil can erode.

Compost, however, contains the chemical building blocks which are the precursors to the creation of strong soil. Organic matter supports the creation of humic substances which bind soil particles into aggregates. These groups of particles bind to each other more strongly than to adjacent particles, keeping soil grounded and more resistant to erosion.



Counteracting climate change
Compost not only reduces the impact of climate change, it can play a direct role in counteracting carbon emissions. Work carried out by Cranfield University indicates that soils in England and Wales have been losing carbon at a rate of four million tonnes per year over the last 25 years. Soil acts as a huge ‘sink’ for long term storage and cycling of carbon. As organic matter levels fall, carbon is released into the environment. Compost can be used as part of a series of soil management activities to add organic matter to the soil and keep carbon locked in.
Professor Guy Kirk of Cranfield University said, “At least part of the losses we measured were due to climate change. With warmer conditions and changes in soil moisture, microbes in the soil turn over carbon faster, leading to more losses of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and this is a big contributor to global warming.”

A recent study from The Composting Association suggests that adding compost to the soil, and thereby significantly increasing the organic matter within it and helping contain carbon, has the potential to reduce the release of green house gases in the UK by up to 1.4Mt per year. That’s equivalent to removing over a million cars off our road each year.

Availability of quality compost
Quality compost is now readily available and easy to specify thanks to a number of initiatives. For more information visit www.wrap.org.uk

WRAP

Green waste disposal solution

Garden designers, horticulturists and landscape contractors now have an eco-friendly, practical alternative to the traditional skip for the removal, disposal and recycling of differing quantities of project waste.

The HIPPOBAG™ is an exceptionally strong polypropylene waste bag and is available in two convenient sizes – the MIDIBAG and the MEGABAG – and can hold up to 1.5 tonnes of waste.

Once full, HIPPOWASTE™ – the company behind the innovative product – will collect, transport and dispose of the bag and its contents in an environmentally friendly way from across the UK, recycling over 80%.

The HIPPOBAG™ can hold a wide variety of waste including building rubble, grass cuttings, soil, rubble and hardcore wastes.

It is stored flat-packed ready for use so avoids delays waiting for the arrival of skips and you can use as few or as many bags required for the job.

Hippowaste