Summer Sports - Tennis
Early signs of spring in our conservation area
Grounds Manager Dave Lawrence, Anthony Knight and Tom Pardoe planting trees
“ PC0415 74 I PC APRIL/MAY 2015
The knock on effect of this is that, hopefully, the selling point for our members is that they can get a little bit of the ‘Wimbledon experience’ in the middle of Birmingham!
year planting trees around the site. This is linked to our ongoing commitment to ensure we promote a naturally diverse environment for wildlife. We are part way through planting trees to replace those lost during the club’s recent redevelopment, to ensure we achieve a balance of growing the club, without having a negative impact on our surrounds. Planting the trees has definitely been a major undertaking. Several times we have dug part the way down only to find paving slabs, brick walls and even a Tarmac road in the bottom of one hole! Linked to this project is our intention,
going forward, to turn more areas ‘wild’. There have been two key motivations for this project. Firstly, there are the obvious environmental benefits to such a strategy. We are looking to sow areas with mixes that are native to this country and, ideally, our local ecology, thereby promoting local wildlife. Last year, we planted over two-and-a-half- thousand shrubs on site, and the increase in the numbers of insects, such as bees, was drastically noticeable. It is hoped that, by using colourful mixes, we can achieve a similar outcome. The second motivation for wildflower areas is the low-maintenance approach that these areas will then require. As a small team - we have five staff to care for fourteen acres - we have to be innovative with our approach to maintain the site.
Anything which can save us a little time is always a bonus! All these extra projects, however, have to
be worked in around one of our most important areas to maintain - the club’s eight championship standard grass tennis courts. We received rave reviews on the quality of the courts during the 2014 season, from members right up to those playing in the Aegon Classic Birmingham. Of course, whilst high praise is nice, it now comes with the pressure of, at the very least, attaining the same standards again, if not trying to progress and improve on them! Planning to achieve this began pretty
much as soon as the season started last year, as we identified areas we felt could be improved and then decided on how we would achieve this, initially through our end of season renovations, and then moving through the winter and into the 2015 season. Courts were renovated between August and October (with the last courts open being in use up until the final weeks of October 2014); however, they are all treated in the same way to ensure consistency from one court to the next, and from one venue to another. It’s worth noting, at this point, the ethos
we work to; that, as the home of grass court tennis, the courts at Wimbledon are what we are trying to recreate. For us, there is no point in a player playing in our pre-
A reciprocating arrangement
The Classen RA21 reciprocating aerator is designed to punch cleaner holes in tough soil without additional weights. Core tines reciprocate at 450 revolutions per minute and cover up to 26,000 sq.ft. per hour.
Simplicity is built in. It doesn’t use hydraulics to drive the tines, so the operator controls are simple. An open design allows clear access to the engine. It’s easy to use, easy to maintain and - thanks to its cost-effective price, even easier to purchase.
It all adds up to an arrangement we believe you will really like.
Schiller Grounds Care 0800 840 0888
info@classen.uk.com www.classen.uk.com
Built To Use and Designed To Last
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156