FieldScience |
Jon DeWitt, CSFM Sports turf management sustainability in the transition zone S
USTAINABILITY in sports turf management is a topic that covers a vast amount of territory, and can be as complex as an in-house bio- diesel production facility or as
simple as recycling cardboard. Both are steps in the right direction, but how can we im- prove? Certainly the public is looking at all areas
of industry and demanding more environmen- tally friendly methods of doing business. Ironi- cally, many environmental activists have targeted the turf industry, especially golf, as enemies of the environment. However, as sports turf managers, this push toward sustain- ability is an opportunity for us to promote our industry and show that we were green before Green was cool. For example, the October issue of Sports-
Turf magazine had in informative section on storm water management. A simple shift in perspective could view sports turf managers as protecting 2.8 million acres of filter media rather than contributing to 2.8 million acres of runoff-producing development. One of the hottest topics in the world of sustainable agriculture/turf is water usage. Un- fortunately, many people in the transition zone have come to view a green field during the summer as quite possibly a bad thing because of the water required to maintain that field. The reality is that the water used to maintain a field is paying dividends by providing erosion control (as mentioned above), a carbon diox-
The reality is that the water used to maintain a field is paying dividends by providing erosion con- trol (as mentioned above), a carbon dioxide scrubber, an oxygen producer, and last, but not least, a venue for entertainment.
28 SportsTurf | February 2012 www.sportsturfonline.com
>> A CISTERN being installed under the southwest corner of the natural turf practice field.
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