Educational Establishments


The extensive rugby pitches Was there one person who inspired you?


Several, as mentioned above, within the industry ‐ Martin Galvin, Steve Byrne, Mark Collins and Duncan Kelso. Their vast knowledge and willingness to share it helped me to get where I am today. The support of my family was, and remains, immensely important and a great motivating tool.


Are you responsible for budgets or do you report to someone else - for example a bursar, facilities manager or committee?


The team structure at SLC is that the Grounds and Gardens team are within the Bursary Team as a whole and that is led by the Bursar and a Facilities Manager. All annual budgets are set out by the Bursar, with each individual line manager then putting in their bids for the coming financial year for due consideration.


What additional staff do you have (names, ages, length of service etc.)?


We are currently running a team of seven within Grounds & Gardens; Head of Grounds ‐ myself (41 years and 2 years service);


“ 56 I PC JUNE/JULY 2018


Senior Groundsman ‐ Alan Crowhurst (33yrs and 2 months service after coming from Canterbury Christchurch University); Gardener ‐ Joe Hoyle (52yrs and 30yrs); Groundsman ‐ Owen Brooker (19yrs and 20 months); Groundsman ‐ William Hayward, 24yrs and 4yrs); Apprentice ‐ Kofi Tomlinson (19yrs and 7months) and finally Apprentice Ashley Young (18yrs and 7 months service).


We have had a major restructure of the team, introducing the roles of apprentices and a designated gardener, which has given better structure within and all the team remain highly motivated leading to well‐ presented site.


What additional help do you get (part time, consultants, agronomists, contractors etc.)?


We like to keep most tasks in‐house as the team have a wide variety of skills. During peak periods we do call upon some contractors for fencing work and we have a spraying contractor that applies any liquid feeds to the playing fields. This is purely because we currently do not have a boom mounted sprayer.


How would you describe the soil profile?


We work with deepest 4‐6 inches of soil which lies directly on chalk and obviously high pH levels being alkaline. The soils have fantastic infiltration rates leading to excellent drainage capabilities.


Does it require any special maintenance techniques?


It naturally drains fantastically well during the winter months, however it burns up remarkably quickly in the summer, especially being in the driest part of the country and the drying sea breezes. Moisture management of the soil profile and leaf is paramount.


Applying sufficient amounts of K leading into these stressful periods helps, along with wetting agents on specific areas such as cricket wickets.


Winter playability is brilliant, however the negative effect of this is that we host a lot of fixtures and getting surfaces turned around quickly for the next term’s usage can be challenging.


We have had a major restructure of the team, introducing the roles of


apprentices and a designated gardener, which has given better structure


St Lawrence now employs a designated gardener


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