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/54529
FieldScience >> THE NEW INDOOR FACILITY, the baseball field, Rosebowl football prac- tice field and, in the far back behind the blue wall, the track. All of these can now be watered from the cistern system. tential for a substantial amount of savings in both labor and fuel by mowing 2-3 times a week rather than daily, to say nothing of the reduction in emissions. From personal experience, we were having some stress on our fields due to clean-up passes occurring with regular daily mowing. When we got on a Primo program, it allowed us to skip some clean up passes and thereby reduce the mechanical stress on the turf caused by frequent mowing. I will also admit that I was skeptical at first of using a PGR, but have now incorporated them into our agronomic program. Finally, consider ways to potentially reduce the maintenance to non-essential or common areas. A much more dramatic approach to the fuel and emissions issue is to use bio-diesel. Many equipment manufacturers are offering machines that are bio-diesel ready, making it easier to transition into this fuel source. Westminster Schools here in Atlanta has taken bio-diesel use to the next level by producing their own fuel from cafeteria waste oil. Not everyone will have the capability or even a cafeteria on their site from which to make fuel, but it is a sign of the good things that are happening in our industry to make our green industry greener. 30 SportsTurf | February 2012 My personal favorite sustainable turf management practice is to simply recycle all the cardboard I come in contact with, even if it was not generated by me or my department. Sure it takes a few more minutes to break down a box and transport it to a recycling area especially when the convenience of a dumpster is all around, but it is the right thing to do. I like to follow a similar practice with pallets. More than likely, there is someone in your area in a ratty truck that will gladly collect them. Not only will you have recycled your pallets, you will have provided for someone willing to go out and do some work. Another idea is to collect your pallets in-house and take them in on a rainy day. Divvy up the money among the crew or have a pizza party, whatever. Recycling triple-rinsed empty 2.5g containers is yet another simple but helpful and smart sustain- able way to practice sports turf management. These last ideas are neither radical nor glamorous, but they do make and impact and most importantly, anyone can do them. Ulti- mately, to practice sustainable turf management does not require a fancy cistern watering system or a bio-diesel producing facility. It does require some common sense and a little effort. ■ Jon Dewitt, CSFM is athletic field manager for the Georgia Tech athletic department. www.sportsturfonline.com