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/32290
Facility&Operations Getting started FOR MORE INFORMATION to become better environmental stewards contact Jim Sluiter, staff ecologist at Audubon Inter- national, jsluiter@auduboninternational.org. Remember, en- vironmental stewardship is not a fad but rather our social responsibility. So many sports turfgrass managers have al- ready shown support and shared ideas for new ways of re- thinking grounds maintenance programs without re-inventing the wheel. We have to be a team to make a dif- ference to clean our local watershed and reduce our carbon acts as an oxygen converter. This combats and fights greenhouse gasses and hopefully suppresses global warming. Turfgrass and trees along interstate highways produce enough oxygen for millions of people. Erosion Control. Turfgrass acts as a supe- rior control mechanism for erosion. Turf- grass has a superior root structure system that is ideal for eliminating soil erosion. Preventing soil erosion helps to eliminate silt and phosphorus matter from leaching into our local watershed and stabilized shorelines. Turfgrass also reduces storm water runoff much better than other vegeta- tion. dioxide for greenhouse gasses. Everything we do to prevent storm water runoff and to reduce our carbon footprint adds- up. We are the leaders who care about tomorrow’s sport turf managers. I remember how many golf course superintend- ents mentored me along the way on my turf management path. I still use some of the old-school concepts that I learned from those guys. In my humble opinion, I think this is a great way to give back and help the new generation of sports turf managers.-Kevin Mercer OTHER BENEFITS TO PROMOTE Turfgrass helps to filter rain and storm water runoff for underground aquifers. The heavy root masses and soil microbes act as a filter to capture and break down different types of pollutants. Case studies from Cor- nell University have shown that properly fertilized healthy turfgrass is one of the best protections against the possibility of nitro- gen leaching into your local watershed. There is another study that proves turfgrass acts as a superior filter for as storm water runoff. Remember, however, that certain turfgrass cultivars that are mowed once a year control and absorb much more storm water runoff then short-mowed turfgrass within ditch lines or culverts. Turfgrass is one of nature best ground covers for reducing solar radiation from the sun. Each individual blade of turfgrass acts as an evaporative cooler. The cooling effect in turfgrass comes from evaporation and transpiration: one acre of turfgrass can lose about 2,400 gallon of water. This evapora- tive cooling dissipates approximately 50% of the accumulated heat. Other benefits include: fire prevention, allergy control, glare reduction, pest control and noise abatement. You do not need multiple signs; one sign can sum your entire environmental pro- gram in bullet point format. WILDLIFE HABITATS Meadows/naturalized areas can provide habitat for many different types of wildlife. Show through signage how you are protect- ing the local ecological system. 26 SportsTurf | June 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com