Park pride

Love Parks Week 21-29 July 2012

This year urban park visits are up by 13% and 93% of the population agreed that having open green spaces close to where they live is important*, proving the significance of quality local green space and acknowledgment of the commitment made to these spaces over the past decade.

Despite the economic struggle that green spaces have encountered this year, awareness raising campaign Love Parks Week has over 900 free events listed and will be reaching out to communities across the UK with 1.3 million people expected to join the festivities throughout the week, which display exactly what parks and green spaces can, and do, offer to communities that need, use and love them.

Mark Camley, Director of Park Operations for the London Legacy Development Corporation said, “The range of activities planned across the country for Love Parks Week is great news for parks and park users. Parks are the most democratic of places providing spaces for activity, relaxation, education as well as offering great health benefits. This year’s launch of the Inspire Programme will be a fitting tribute to all the celebrations in 2012 bringing people into parks by staging events linked to the excitement of the Games. I’m excited to say that only a year after the hosting of the 2012 Games, we expect the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to be reopened and host a range of events and activities as part of Love Parks Week 2013.”

Love Parks Week is now in its sixth year and is a campaign which aims to raise awareness and call for continual reinvestment of green spaces. Paul Bramhill, CEO from organizing parks charity GreenSpace “These results prove that quality, easily accessible green space really counts, particularly to those in urban areas where it can provide escapism from every day troubles and good old fashioned family fun at little or no cost, whilst also strengthening communities, making them a more desirable location.” Bramhill continues “The challenge we are faced with is maintaining these much loved quality green spaces with diminishing budgets. Continual erosion of funding to the sector could result in a decline in visits and therefore a potential increase in crime, obesity, chronic stress, unsociable behavior, not forgetting the effect on the environment. We need people to understand the risks and stand strong for their parks.”

This year the campaign is also running a Park Health Check asking people to think about and assess the quality of their local park and has also created a Love Parks Club both encouraging a greater sense of stewardship.

- Notes to Editors -

• Statistics from The Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) 2011/2012 survey by Natural England http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/research/mene.aspx

• Love Parks Week began in 2006 with a simple aim: to encourage people to visit, enjoy and take pride in their local parks and green spaces. The first year 240 events took place with 96,000 attendees attending. Over the next five years the campaign made huge steps forward, building up to 1,200 events and one million people taking part in Love Parks Week 2011.

• Park Health Check - A healthy park means a happy community. That’s why this year we’re highlighting how vital it is that our green spaces are kept in good health. How does your local park make you feel? Is your local park providing what it should? Take the two minute Park Health Check survey to find out how your nearest park is doing and what you can do to help it improve. http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/content/park-health-check

• The Love Parks Club aims to enable supporters to strengthen their advocacy and to contribute to spaces in need. By joining the club, supporters will help us to campaign stronger throughout the year. We’ll be sharing knowledge and supporting the endeavours to transform your local park. http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/love-parks-club

• Love Parks Week is organised by parks charity GreenSpace. GreenSpace is a registered charity which works to improve parks and green spaces by raising awareness, involving communities and creating skilled professionals. For more information: www.green-space.org.uk.

A selection of events

A-Z

From Animal Olympics to Zumba and 24 other ideas in between we've pulled together a colourful mix of

events to get your imagination going. View and download - http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/sites/default/files/LPW%20A%20to%20Z1.pdf

Top Ten guides

Top 10 Family-friendly events: http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/content/10-family-friendly-events

Top 10 Olympic-themed events: http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/content/10-great-olympic-inspired-events

Top 10 BIG Festivals and Fairs: http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/content/10-big-love-parks-week-festivals

Top 14(!) music and arts events: http://www.loveparksweek.org.uk/content/14-music-and-arts-events

View all events at www.loveparksweek.org.uk

CONTRACTORS CHOOSE BLEC MULTISEEDER FOR WELSH PITCH

PAUL DAVIES and his wife Amy, of Shapewright Services, have completed the second stage of a renovation at Llanelli AFC’s stadium - Stebonheath Park, in South West Wales.

The stadium, home to The Reds (Welsh Cup winners last year), was Koro’d last year by Paul before he installed a full primary and secondary drainage system.

This year he and Amy topdressed the pitch and then overseeded using their new BLEC Multiseeder, which was delivered to the stadium by Gary Mumby, managing director of BLEC Global.

"We were impressed by the machine at demos," says Amy, "and it has done a fantastic job. We have other BLEC machines and they have proved reliable and efficient - so that was good enough for us."

Their other machines are a BLEC Stonerake (pedestrian model) and BLEC Sandmaster which they used for the secondary drainage at Llanelli last year.

Paul and Amy, married for four years, launched Shapewright Services Ltd in 2007 and are based near Llanelli at Llannon.

Paul had previously been working for other sportsturf contractors and is experienced in all aspects of construction, drainage and renovation.

“We are delighted they have chosen a BLEC machine again,” said Gary. “We pride ourselves on reliability of our equipment and their efficiency in operation.”

www.blec.co.uk

Source: Oakfield Media

BIGGA SETS GOLF-FOCUSED SEMINARS AT IOG SALTEX

The British and International Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) is once again staging a day-long series of education presentations at the IOG SALTEX open space management show at Windsor.

The free-to-attend BIGGA Golf Education Day on Wednesday September 5 features some of the ‘greatest hits’ from this year’s highly successful Continue to Learn programme - presented by David Cole (Loch Lomond GC), Chris Haspell (Castle Stuart GC) and Symbio’s Paul Lowe – and will be focused on the management of winter ‘kill’, the building and grow-in of a links course, and the difference between organic matter and thatch.

David Cole, Course/Estate Manager at Loch Lomond Golf Club, will start the proceedings with ‘Managing Winter Kill in West of Scotland’. In the winter of 2009/10, the Loch Lomond greens suffered from devastating winter kill, and this session will give an insight to the damage that occurred and the precautions taken in 2010/11 to prevent similar problems.

Then ‘From Grazing to Scottish Open Status in Five Years’ will be discussed by Chris Haspell, Course Manager at Castle Stuart Golf Club. Chris will outline his experiences of building a links golf course and its grow-in. He will also describe the journey towards the Scottish Open 2011, the event, and the rain and the recovery!

Paul Lowe, Symbio’s Technical Sales Manager, will wrap up the proceedings with ‘Organic Matter – Friend or Foe’. Measuring organic matter levels is becoming very popular, almost an industry standard procedure, and the resulting information can be invaluable to greenkeepers and groundsmen alike. However, how do we decipher between thatch and organic matter and why it is important to do so?

Paul’s presentation will discuss the various differences between problematic thatch and beneficial organic matter, the problems with working to a figure, the difference between drainage and percolation rates and how you can turn thatch to your advantage.

BIGGA CPD credits (0.5 CPD credit) are available for each seminar.

Visit www.iogsaltex.co.uk for full details.

IOG SALTEX 2012 (www.iogsaltex.co.uk) will be held on September 4-6 at Windsor Racecourse, Berks, and will embrace fine turf and sports surfaces, turf maintenance equipment, children’s outdoor play and safety surfacing, landscaping, contractors, commercial vehicles, outdoor leisure and facilities management, as well as software and security equipment. The show is attended by open space management professionals and contractors – from groundsmen and greenkeepers through to play officers, architects, designers and surveyors as well as local authority and outdoor leisure facility managers.

Source: Wildish Communications Ltd

“IOG AWARD HAS RAISED OUR PROFILE AMONG CLUB MANAGEMENT AND STAFF,” SAYS MANCHESTER CITY TEAM

“Winning the IOG Industry Awards has certainly raised the grounds teams’ profile among club management and coaching staff,” says Manchester City FC’s Grounds Manager Roy Rigby. “Importantly, the Awards have also attracted much praise within MCFC for the positive attitude and teamwork we continuously show in maintaining top-class playing surfaces both at the Eithad Stadium and at our Carrington training base.

“For these reasons alone – in addition to the kudos the Awards have generated for us within the groundscare sector – I would urge everyone involved in the industry to stand up and be recognised for their efforts by entering this year’s competition.”

Reflecting on his grounds team’s success as last year’s winner of the IOG Awards for Professional Sports Ground Management Team of the Year and for Professional Football Training Ground Team of the Year, Roy continues:

“The Awards demonstrated to the club just how skilled this team is – working together as a unit with a very positive attitude, from Lee Jackson and colleagues at the stadium through to Lee Metcalfe and his team at Carrington. Indeed, the club’s Chief Infrastructure Officer, Jon Stemp, made sure every department of MCFC knew of his praise of the groundstaff!

“But our expectations are high, of course, and there’s no resting on our laurels. The management and the players – indeed, everyone at the club, including the ground team itself – expects to maintain the same high standards going forwards.”

Visit www.iogawards.com to view the easy-to-enter categories of this year’s IOG Industry Awards, being held at York Racecourse on December 6. Tel: 01634 832221

The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) is the leading membership organisation representing grounds managers, groundsmen, grounds maintenance managers, greenkeepers and all others involved in the management of sports pitches, landscape and amenity facilities in the UK. As well as maintaining the IOG Performance Quality Standards and providing a consultancy service for sports grounds, lawn maintenance and amenity horticulture, the IOG’s extensive Training and Education programme includes cricket, football, tennis, horseracing, bowls, artificial surfaces, turf science and many other specialist subjects. It also stages the annual IOG SALTEX exhibition, Europe’s leading show for the open space profession. For more information visit www.iog.org

Source: Wildish Communications Ltd

BLEC GLOBAL to show new products at IOG SALTEX

BLEC GLOBAL will use IOG SALTEX at Windsor (September 4-6) to promote new products for the groundcare and sportsturf marketplace.

Two models of the Multivator, both heavy duty and compact, will be on show – and demonstrated - as well as the new BLEC Power Box Rake for Italian-style two wheel tractors.

Also on show will be the BLEC Power Box Rake heavy duty version for tractors – with long-life pointed carbide toothed rotor for pulverising, earth moving, grading and stonepicking . . . all in one tough machine for landscapers, with an optional laser control kit.

The BLEC Discseeder (heavy duty), Multiseeder, Cultipack Seeder, Star Seeder and Stump Grinder will all be on show.

The contractor’s favourite, the BLEC Laser Grader, will also be on display. It has become an essential tool for levelling and grading golf tees that need renovating.

On the stand at Windsor will be the BLEC Turfmaker Seeder. It has a well-proven method of accurate seeding, with a heavy-duty three-point linkage frame and spacer rings available to allow for better germination of seeds.

BLEC will be using SALTEX to display and demonstrate products launched at last year’s show – including the GKB Sandfiller, a tractor-mounted scarifier and sandslitter which removes and collects spoil and fills grooves with sand in one pass.

It has received wide praise in trials on golf courses and football pitches.

The BLEC Multivator is a multi-use machine carrying out a wide range of tasks achieved with only one drive unit.

Decompacting, soil recycling and topdressing all in one pass, the Multivator has quick hook-on rear attachments, an easy-change blade system and heavy duty reversible drive system.

Other options available offer a verticutter with removal, stone burier, soil screener and turf lifter with side elevator removal.

Says BLEC managing director Gary Mumby: "Saltex is a very important show for us where we get the chance to demonstrate all our new innovations for turf and landscaping professionals."

BLEC SALTEX STAND: i50

www.blec.co.uk

Source: Oakfield Media

BLEC Rotor Rake puts final touches to Kilmarnock FC pitch renovation

HUGH MURRAY, director of Greentech Sports Turf Contractors, took delivery of a BLEC Rotor Rake to complete a major renovation of Kilmarnock Football Club.

The job involved power-harrowing the pitch to incorporate 100 tonnes of fibresand into the pitch following drainage problems during the season.

“We have a number of BLEC machines,” said Hugh, “and this job was ideal for the Rotor Rake.

“The pitch has been topdressed with sand over the years and the fibresand content diluted. The club felt it was time, after 15 years, to replace the fibresand in the top of the surface.”

The three-metre Rotor Rake was delivered to Kilmarnock by Gary Mumby, managing director of BLEC Global.

“We were delighted Hugh chose one of our machines again and the results on the Kilmarnock pitch are remarkable,” he said.

Other BLEC machines in the Greentech stable include a Laser Grader, a Grading Box Rake, a Sandbander and two Cultipack Seeders.

Greentech used one of their Cultipack Seeders for the final seeding of the Kilmarnock pitch.

One of the features on the BLEC Rotor Rake is the built-in equipment to enable it to be laser-controlled for complete accuracy.

www.blec.co.uk

Source: Oakfield Media

Sundridge Park GC bridges the gap between forestry and greenkeeping

Sundridge Park Golf Club in Kent has as much interest in its trees as in its greens and fairways.

So much so that they have their own forester, Terry Gladwell, who planted some of the 250,000 trees – nearly 50 years ago - from which he built a fabulous new oak bridge over a rebuilt pond.

It’s just one of the many tremendous features of this stunning 36-hole club that boasts nearly 1,200 members – and yet maintains a quiet and unassuming entrance near Bromley down a quiet back lane.

Course manager Paul Rudkin, who has been at the club for 26 years, and his team of 12 greenkeepers, plus forester Terry, have their work cut out maintaining this superb course to very high standards.

Speedcut Contractors carried out the dredging of the pond on the 18th Hole of the West Course last November (which involved temporarily removing 2,000 fish, mainly carp, to another newly-built pond on the East Course).

They also regraded and shaped the area in preparation for the paths and bridge installed by Paul’s own team and lowered and laser-graded the 18th tees, which now have a superb view across the water and beyond.

“Speedcut did a great job,” says Paul. “I have known contracts manager Barry Pace for many years and he and his teams are always very meticulous and down-to-earth in their approach. Their attention to detail is remarkable and the results speak for themselves.”

Barry’s team also laser-graded the tees around the renovated pond, which now have a superb view across the water and beyond. They also aerated greens with their Gwazae deep pressure decompacter.

Part of the club’s major investment has also gone on a new practice area facility just completed, with four members bays, a separate teaching bay and a large enclosed state-of-the-art professional’s room that includes cameras to show players how they are improving.

The new range building was a joint venture between Speedcut Contractors and Mike Copson Associates and the results are proving a very popular asset for the club.

The project also included relevelling and extending the existing grass practice tee with Paul and his team, installation of full 25metre-width Huxley Range mats to the back and improvements to drainage, car parking and access.

One of the most important aspects of Sundridge Park is the care of the 250,000 trees. Members are given tours of the plantation areas and talks on the flora and fauna of the course.

Forester Terry, who gives the talks, has been with the club for nearly 50 years and has seen fairways and greens disappear to make way for tree plantations so that the club can be totally self-sufficient in trees.

The creation of storm shelters from their own harvested timber and the building of the bridge and walkway at the 18th on the West Course are completely down to Terry.

“The trees here are what we are known for,” he says. “They are the most important feature and create a haven for wildlife.”

Trees on the course include oak, ash, cherry, sweet chestnut, horse chestnut, beech, silver birch and young redwood. There are also poplars and fir trees.

SPEEDCUT CONTRACTORS: www.speedcutcontractors.co.uk

Speedcut Contractors are specialists in sportsturf construction, drainage and renovation and have a long record in every type of sporting venue, including rugby,cricket and racecourses – and clients include local authorities, schools and colleges.

Source: Oakfield Media