SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/30215
begun a more intensive approach to liming to help our soils better manage nutrients, thus making them more available to the plant. The practices have allowed us to streamline the amount of phos- phates we apply. We are seeing a bigger bang for our buck when it comes to the overall plant response since our soils have been im- proved. Being in the Chesapeake Bay wa- tershed, there is a larger focus on municipalities to reduce their potential runoff and leaching that could impact the Bay. We have tried to be proactive by not exceeding the state environmental guide- lines for nitrogen applications and on some fields operating well below the sug- gested limits. By working to balance our soils, we have not seen a drop off in the performance of the fields. We have also tried to build in some slow release fertilizers to minimize potential leaching of nutrients. Water conservation is another concern on the forefront, and we are planning to make irrigation upgrades in the future that will allow us to fine tune our irrigation strategy. ST: How do you motivate students to work on fields for no pay? MORAN:Well I must say if I could pay my students I would. They truly work hard and know how to get the job done. We have never been in a situation where the job did not get done before the end of the school day. I think the students in class have a tremen- dous sense of pride when it comes to pro- ducing a great product. It never fails that they run to the top of the bleachers at the end of the period to check out how the fields look. I think a lot of students take the class because they know they get to work on the fields, but it does not truly click for them until they realize how hard the tasks truly are and then to they see the end result and realize their efforts truly make an impact. I also try to encourage those students who participate in the sports that use our fields, to take a stronger role in that fields success. They seem to pay extra attention to the little things that affect their sports. In an effort to reward them for their work, our athletic director provides passes for each member of the class to all home games. He also provides funding so I can purchase “Field Staff” shirts each of the students. I try to express my appreciation for their hard work regularly. They need to know that they are doing good work and that those efforts are appreciated. ■ SportsTurf Your Digital issue is Here! With digital editions, you get the same in-depth articles PLUS interactive features that let you experience your issue in a whole new way. • PAGE-FOR-PAGE REPLICAS OF THE PRINT ISSUES • E-MAIL NOTIFICATION WHEN EACH ISSUE IS READY • RECEIVE YOUR ISSUE ONE WEEK PRIOR TO MAILED ISSUES • READ CONTENT INSTANTLY—NO DOWNLOADING REQUIRED • HOTLINK TO ADVERTISER WEB SITES • IT’S FREE... AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY Go Digital! Subscribe Now! www.stma.org SportsTurf 39 Digital background and laptop images courtesy of istockphoto.com.