Educational Establishments
the facilities and grounds. The campus is opened up for a variety of public festivals, heritage open days, historic tours, school events, community events, charity activities, nature walks and, of course, sporting events. As mentioned, there is a wooded area on
the grounds and a number of the pitches have trees surrounding them, which can give some headaches for the crew managing them.
Michael said: “Tree shade gives us some
problems with moss on the hockey pitches. We have to spray the pitches regularly to try and keep the moss down. There is also a lot of brushing carried out on these and the bitumen tennis courts to keep them free from leaves.” The ‘showpiece’ rugby pitch at Campbell College is named Fox’s Field and is where all the major games are played. It, too, is surrounded by trees, but is also in an area that receives a good amount of sunshine which helps keep it in tip top condition. When it comes to the maintenance
programme, the workload is distributed out among all the staff, including Michael. Each person can multi-task and carry out any of the jobs required as they have all been trained to do so. “We start to cut the grass every two
weeks from the start of March and continue that programme through until the end of April when we increase the cutting frequency to weekly,” said Michael. “With heavy footfall on the pitches, we
spike all the pitches as many times as we can from the autumn time.” “The pitches are marked out once a week,
or as often as is required. We use a transfer wheel marker to paint the lines,” said Michael. Presentation of the pitches, particularly Fox’s Field, is of the utmost importance. “We pay a great deal of attention to
presentation of all the pitches and other areas we look after,” he said. “The front of the school has to look good all the time and, in particular, Fox’s Field where the first fifteen team play.” “At the end of the season, we always have a number of renovation works to carry out which can be a real battle with unpredictable weather.” “The rugby pitches are verti-drained and
have sand spread on them. We also direct seed the areas that require it. Regular maintenance is carried out on the cricket square which is scarified, overseeded and has topdressing applied at the end of the season.” “On the artificial surfaces, we blow away and brush the leaf matter and any other material that has settled there. We also spray for moss and weeds on these surfaces,” said Michael.
Both Michael and the school staff keep
abreast of all the new regulations that are involved in the industry and receive ongoing training when it is required. As far as pests go, the only real problem
the team has is with crows gathering in the trees, which subsequently swoop down and damage the pitches on the hunt for
leatherjackets and chafer grubs. “It’s a real pleasure to still be involved with looking after the grounds at Campbell College,” said Michael. “With almost thirty years’ experience at these grounds, I know the place inside out.” “It is somewhat fulfilling to see all our
efforts appreciated by the school staff, pupils and the public alike when they visit the premises.” There isn't a great deal of machinery at the school as the majority of it is hired in when required. “The tractors and implements we use for
spreading fertiliser, for spiking and rolling, are all hired in from Cyril Johnston Hire Ltd in Carryduff as and when we need them.” “The Lawnmower Centre in Saintfield is
responsible for all the servicing of the smaller equipment and for any repairs necessary,” added Michael. “It is a system that has worked well for us over the years.”
What’s in the shed? Toro CT1240 triple mower Masport 21 inch pedestrian mowers x 2 Hayter Harrier pedestrian mower Echo backpack mowers x 2 Tanaka strimmers x 2 Tanaka hedgecutters x 2 CP15 knapsack sprayers x 2 Sisis Combi Rake Billy Goat leaf collector
AHEAD OF THE
CURVE
The Major Contoura Mower is a durable and versatile solution for the maintenance of challenging and undulating terrains.
The cutting height can easily be adjusted from 10 – 110mm making it ideal for fairway and rough turf maintenance.
3.6m working width, 2.1m transport width Kerb lift; without disengaging the PTO 10-110mm cutting height Zero turn capability Gear driven drive line
High blade tip speed of 86m/s No wearing belts No wearing spindles
Major Equipment Ltd Tel: 01524 850501
www.major-equipment.com PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 I 71
Visit our stand k080 At saltex
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 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164