Bulldog Mini Bypass Pruning Shears BD3150 – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith

The Bulldog BD3150 mini bypass pruning shears are a very nice and handy little pair of pruners for the cutting back of live or 'green' foliage and also capable of basically all small pruning tasks. In my opinion those pruners are also great for children who wish to help in the garden. Yes, I do know that they are cutting tools and sharp but they will never learn how to do things if they are not permitted to learn when young.

The cutting capacity is 6mm which is just under 1/2 inch in old money. However, it is probably possible to cut a little thicker pieces like that. It all depends on what material they are. While I would not suggest to cut a 3/4 inch apple twig or one of other hard wood with this pair of pruning shears it it, however, possible to cut bramble runners of that size and even bigger, especially if they are “green”.

While an ideal little pair of pruning shears for the home and also the allotment gardener they are also suitable for the professional when about generally in case there is something to be that needs dead heading, whether roses or flowering plants in general. In addition it is also an ideal small pair of secateurs for the Park and Countryside Ranger on patrol should the need arise to cut some bramble runners or such clear from a path to protect the public from injury. It is the small size here that comes in at the forefront, allowing it to just be slipped into a pocket or a notebook belt pouch or such.

Those mini bypass pruners are also brilliant for harvesting produce in your veggie garden or plot, whether those be beans or other vegetables, and do a much better job than garden scissors, for instance.

The grip is a soft elastomer kind of material than makes using them a pleasure.

Priced at an RRP of £8.44 they hardly break the bank and as with all Bulldog tools we are talking quality at an affordable price. I know that you can get secateurs for less than £3 or even for as low as 99pence but what are you getting there?

The only one thing that I am not too sure about, I must say, as to reliability and durability, is the yellow – in the case of the green handles version of the BD3150 mini bypass pruning shears that I was given for review – plastic sliding lock. I would have rather seen something like the lock on the BD3152 bypass pruning shears. In use I find that at times that lock slides forward and, in fact, locks the shears. This is, though, not the only kind of lock on secateurs that I have a problem with. The old style, as on the afore mentioned BD3152 – the clasp on the bottom of the handles – still takes a lot of beating. The spring too, maybe, just maybe, could do with, in my opinion, being just a little bit stronger.

However, this small pair of mini pruners is something that many people will have been waiting for, and also those gardeners that want to be able to allow their youngsters a go in the garden with dead heading and such but the secateurs on the market in general are too large to really be able to do that. These mini pruning shears will, certainly, bridge that gap.

© M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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IOG SALTEX SUPPORTS PERENNIAL HORTICULTURE CHARITY

Perennial - Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society is being supported at this year’s IOG SALTEX show, with collection boxes located around the showground dedicated to the national charity for those who work or have worked in horticulture. Perennial provides help, advice and support people from the grounds care industry, arborists and other horticultural trades, when they are experiencing need or difficulties.

Debbie Lyne, the charity’s Director of Marketing and Fundraising, said: “We’re delighted to have been chosen as the IOG SALTEX Charity of the Year for 2008. Perennial is not yet that well known among grounds care staff and others who attend and exhibit at IOG SALTEX, and we’re extremely grateful to everyone at the IOG for providing us with this opportunity to raise our profile among its membership and with other visitors to the show.”

Perennial’s stand will be situated in the Training and Development Hub, opposite the South Entrance.

For more information on Perennial and its services, visit www.perennial.org.uk.

Source: Wildish Communications Ltd

IOG SALTEX HELPS COUNCIL TEAM REDUCE THE HARD WORK OF LEISURE SERVICES

With responsibility for 309 hectares of major urban and country parks, 65 play areas and numerous small areas of open space, the Leisure Services department of Swale Borough Council faces a major challenge to maintain and improve the region’s green landscape.

Located on the North Kent coast between London and Dover, the council provides a host of services to residents in Sittingbourne, Sheppey, Faversham and the surrounding parish areas.

Its leisure team of seven people includes 36-year-old Alan Marolia, the borough’s Parks and Children’s Play Officer, who has worked for the council for the past nine years.

Responsible for a £1.2 million annual grounds maintenance budget as well as other significant amounts to spend on play area maintenance, including major lottery funding, his role is multi-faceted.

“We effectively see our responsibilities as covering pretty much any area that is green - that includes allotments, playgrounds, roadside verges and cemeteries as well as parks and gardens, recreation grounds and playing fields. Across the borough we need to ensure the broad range of public green space is maintained to the highest standard.”

For Alan Marolia, a key part of that delivery is an annual ‘catch-up’ visit to IOG SALTEX, an event he has been attending since his student days.

“My background even before joining the council has always been in horticulture, working in commercial nurseries, garden centres and landscaping, so IOG SALTEX has always been important to me. The only difference today is that when exhibitors see my name badge they are slightly more willing to talk to me than when I visited as a student - but I’ve got a long memory,” he jokes.

Last year he returned to the show with several leisure services colleagues. “Windsor is only an hour away so we go up on the opening morning and make a real day of it. It’s good for teambuilding and we all have our own areas of specialism so between us we can cover large sections of the show.”

With specific responsibility for grounds maintenance and play, he finds that the show assembles everyone and everything he needs. “I find it incredibly beneficial because not only do I check out the very latest in plant, equipment, chemicals and even legislation, I also get the opportunity to catch up with people whose help and advice is invaluable.

“It’s not just salesmen that you meet on the stands but managing directors, area managers, other client officers and basically like-minded people who share a professional interest in all things horticultural.”

For him, another most important aspect is the ability to ‘see, touch and feel’ equipment, something that no amount of web surfing or reading of product literature can achieve.

“If you’re buying a new car you want to test drive it rather than just order off a catalogue picture. It’s the same with new play equipment. If I’m spending £20k-£30k, I want to actually see how it looks and performs before I invest.”

Swale Borough Council has, in fact, purchased from an IOG SALTEX exhibitor new sets of play equipment that have been incorporated into urban play area schemes.

Although the council’s leisure services team goes to the show with some specific ideas on who and what it needs to see, Alan Marolia is also a firm believer in having a good browse round and discovering stands that might not have been on the original target list.

“While I’m disciplined in terms of identifying what I definitely need to see at the show, I would always recommend having a look at some of the less obvious exhibitors. There are always new, interesting and different products and services to see and, with the best interests of our council residents in mind, that’s why it’s so important my team goes to the show every year.”

Spource: Wildish Communications Ltd

Fly tipping on the rise

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Fly tipping of rubbish seems to be on the increase everywhere

Ever since the changes in refuse collection in many many local authorities those with connections to parks, open spaces and countryside and their management see and report more and more incidents of fly tipping.

While it used to be that fly tipping would be an occasional occurrence and it would generally be building refuse or tree clipping that a “tree surgeon” dumped now it is household rubbish of all kinds and green waste.

This is, however, hardly surprising seeing that so many local authorities have gone over to a fortnightly refuse collection and/or charge so much per bin liner per week and/or will not permit more than one bin bag put out per week and also charge horrendous annual fees for small little bags for removing garden rubbish (green waste) that once would be collected free.

The biggest problem in the UK is that the governments, local and central alike, seem to like to fine and charge people rather than to give them (financial) incentives to go recycling, and such.

While the amount of waste collected from the kerbside may be going down and hence the waste going into landfill via standard refuse collection trucks the amount of fly tipped rubbish, on the other hand, in parks, open spaces and countryside, as also back alleys in towns and cities, is on the increase; in some case the increase has been 100% plus.

The entire idea of fortnightly rubbish collections and the fines and charges and all that are rather a shot in the foot as the cleaning up of the dumped rubbish costs time and money – more than that what is being saved. Only, often it comes from different budgets and hence no one seems to notice the link and it goes through different sets of statistics. While there are savings on one side no one notices the increase in costs for cleaning up fly tipped rubbish on the other side and no one of those that sit in ivory towers seem to see the link between the two factors, namely the reduction of waste collection, e.g. from weekly down to fortnightly; the silly ideas of just one bin liner per household or otherwise extra charge; and all that, and the increase in fly tipped refuse. It would appear that only the guys on the ground, namely park staff and countryside management staff seem to – at least some of them – make the connection between the two, as do many ordinary residents of areas where this is happening.

While in the statistics the fact that there is less rubbish from the standard household and trade waste collections going into landfills is being highlighted it seems to be forgotten that somewhere along the line the fly tipped rubbish also will go into landfill. It is therefore a rather doubtful set of statistics that state that there is less going into landfill.

Maybe the departments need to compare data and then, and only then, will we get a true picture and maybe, just maybe, the authorities will figure out that there may be a better way than charging and fining people into becoming “green”, as that does not work.

In order to stop our parks, open spaces, countryside and back alleys of villages, towns and cities from drowning in fly tipped rubbish we must find another way. That way can only be to encourage people – by incentives, whether financial – though best – or other wise – to bring their refuse for recycling. It works in the USA for instance with recycling centers paying good money for aluminium drinks cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles, etc., with people making a living from going around and picking up such cans, bottles, and such like from the countryside and also even from out of the municipal litter bins in towns and parks, and elsewhere.

It is a proven fact that most offenders in the realm of fly tipping are never ever caught or brought before the courts and, therefore, people will continue to dispose of their rubbish elsewhere if the keep being charged more and more for the municipal rubbish collections, and when they have to pay at the centers for the disposal of their refuse, or face additional charges and fines for putting out a rubbish bin at the wrong day and such.

Where does that leave parks and open spaces? The short answer to this is “covered in trash”.

So, what can be done about it?

Fines only work as a deterrent if people are actually caught fly tipping and are convicted. The chances of this happening are, however, relatively low. Out of a 1000 people who commit such acts of fly tipping probably less than 990 are being caught and convicted; hence there is no deterrent. And education is also, more likely a lost cause.

The only feasible way to go is that of financial incentives to get recyclables to the recycling centers, whether those are operated by the municipalities or the private sector, like in the USA, and to stop the stupidity as to waste collection regulations as they stand at present, e.g. the fines for bins out at the wrong day; refusal to empty bins where there is a little more rubbish in them than there, maybe, should be in there, and all that. If we do not get sensible now we will see an ever increasing amount of fly tipping and of rubbish littering our open spaces.

Time for a real good rethink at government level, local and central.

© M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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DONAL KEARNEY APPOINTED IOG REGIONAL ADVISOR FOR IRELAND

After 12 months as the Institute of Groundsmanship’s (IOG) part-time Education & Development Officer, Ireland, Donal Kearney has now been appointed full-time IOG Regional Adviser, Ireland.

The move is another progressive step in the IOG’s Challenging Perceptions strategy and it complements the recent appointment of Ian Mather Brewster as Regional Advisor for the North. Both are new full-time positions created by the IOG.

As IOG Regional Advisor, Donal’s role as the ‘man on the ground’ for local IOG branches will also involve continual improvement to the current IOG education and training arrangements throughout Ireland.

Accredited with an MSc in Sports Surface Technology, a BSc in Turf Science & Golf Course Management and a Diploma of Sportsturf Management, Donal will also handle the IOG’s research and development programmes, as well as technical issues, liaising closely with the IOG’s Head of Professional Services, Ian Lacy.

Donal brings to the role an extensive background of golf course construction and maintenance, and turfgrass expertise. His job roles in the sports turf sectors began at apprentice level right up to management on some of the finest golf courses in Ireland, the UK and in the USA. His ‘hands-on’ practical experience complements his technical knowledge gained at university, most recently at a Department of Justice rehabilitation project in Dublin with the PACE organisation as Horticultural Instructor.

A keen sportsman and supporter of the G. A. A. – particularly Gaelic football and hurling – Donal says of his new role: “When I was appointed in 2007 as Education & Development Officer, I said then that Ireland’s grounds care professionals are very progressive and there is enormous potential for even further advancement in the industry.

“One year on and nothing has changed! These are very exciting times for the IOG especially in Ireland as it continually implements the developments outlined in its Challenging Perceptions strategy to improve both the professionalism and wider recognition of the industry.”

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 SCOTSTURF and IOG SALTEX exhibition, Europe’s leading show for the open space profession. For more information visit www.iog.org

Source: Wildish PR
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IOG SALTEX PITCH CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATIONS TAKE LESSONS FROM THE ROMANS!

A fascinating daily programme of ground stabilisation techniques for synthetic sports surfaces is being staged in the Pitch Construction Area at IOG SALTEX (Windsor, 2-4 September) by Smith Construction, a pioneer in applying the process in the sports surfacing industry.

Originally established in a basic form during Roman times, the technique now is a civil engineering discipline based on proven formula and widely used for large scale civil engineering projects like aircraft runways, highways, quays and railways.

The ground stabilisation process being demonstrated for the first time at IOG SALTEX will show the successive build stages of an all-weather pitch, beginning with soft and muddy ground and progressing through the stabilisation sequence using stone, tarmac and rubber shock pad and, finally, various synthetic grass sports surfaces.

According to Smith Construction’s project development manager Jeanette Munton: “Being the only company offering this stabilising technique as well as traditional build methods, we know IOG SALTEX is the ideal venue to demonstrate the capabilities of a cost-effective process that reduces environmental impact and provides excellent results all year round, even on poor ground.

“With visitors from across the open space spectrum – including decision-makers responsible for all types of sporting venues and surfaces - the demonstrations will undoubtedly appeal to the show’s wide-ranging audience.”

Register NOW at www.iogsaltex.co.uk to receive your FREE entry badge and information about IOG SALTEX, or call the Ticket Hotline for FREE tickets on 0844 557 2724.

IOG SALTEX 2008 will be held on 2-4 September 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 PR
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AEA MACHINERY DEMONSTRATIONS HELP IOG SALTEX COME ALIVE!

NEWS RELEASE

An exclusive series of daily demonstrations of machinery and equipment from AEA member companies combines with the Ernest Doe Specialist Dealer Centre (featuring Acacia Groundcare Rental) to create the new AEA Live Machinery feature area at this year’s IOG SALTEX open space management show on 2-4 September at Windsor Racecourse.

Showcasing a wide range of machinery, the programme of demonstrations organised by the AEA (Agricultural Engineers Association) will include:

• Amazone’s Profihopper scarifier/mower
• Bomford Turner’s Golfmaster Buzzard 8 mower;
• Charterhouse’s Vertidrain aerator;
• The Countax Bear Cut chipper;
• Ernest Doe – EP Barrus’ UTV Plus tractor and outfront mower (plus equipment from Wiedenmann, and IPU’s Ferris 5100 and Dual drive 36 inch mowers);
• Martin Lishman’s ML Promidi Spray skid and ML Pro tractor-mounted midi spray
• McCormick’s CT 28 compact tractor;
• New Holland’s Boomer compact tractor (featuring Supersteer); and
• Reco’s zero turn mowers.
  

In addition, the AEA Live Machinery Demonstration Area will also incorporate the Ernest Doe Specialist Dealer Centre, featuring Acacia Groundcare Rental, where a wide range of machinery and kit will be on show to illustrate Ernest Doe’s activities and expertise. The area will also include parts and service workshops.

Register NOW at www.iogsaltex.co.uk to receive your FREE entry badge and information about IOG SALTEX, or call the Ticket Hotline for FREE tickets on 0844 557 2724.

IOG SALTEX 2008 will be held on 2-4 September 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 PR
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