PITCHCARE CLASSIFIEDS CLIMATE CHANGE
Tackling the big climate change challenge
Climate change is proving a challenge for David Liddiard, Head Groundsman at Marlborough College, but new machinery is helping his team keep on top of presentation at this famous educational establishment
The past year has been one of the most challenging David Liddiard can remember in his twenty-five years in managing sports fields. In a matter of weeks, he went from trying to prepare cricket pitches in the teeth of the ‘beast from the east’ to worrying that rock-hard rugby pitches would inflict broken collar bones.
When visited at his domain at Marlborough College this January, he and his team of six were all busy trying to clear snow and ice from a hockey pitch ahead of a crucial fixture.
Situated on the edge of the elegant Wiltshire town, Marlborough College is one of Britain’s most famous independent boarding and day schools. Established in 1943 and fully co- educational since 1989, it has counted Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge amongst its former pupils. Others have included singer and songwriter Chris de Burgh, First World War poet Siegfried Sassoon, actor Wilfrid Hyde-White, sailor extraordinaire Sir Francis Chichester and Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman.
David Liddiard came to the college ten years ago as a cricket pitch specialist, moving into the lead role when former Head Groundsman Chris Clarke eased towards his well-earned retirement. David had worked previously for Somerset County Cricket Club along with other cricket and football clubs. The opportunity to work in a school with a great pedigree and in a town ideal to bring up his young family was a strong draw.
The site is a big one that straddles the A4. The 20-hectares looked after by the grounds team accommodates twelve rugby pitches that convert through the year to football, lacrosse and cricket outfields. There are also five cricket squares, twelve artificial cricket wickets, two artificial hockey pitches, an artificial running track and eleven hard-surfaced tennis courts. On top of that, there is picturesque parkland surrounds that include woodland, River Kennet frontage and two fishing lakes.
It adds up to a fascinating mixed bag for David, deputy Luke Flippance and their team. But, for all the beauty of the place, David recognises that there is also a growing challenge from the weather. “In my working career, I have seen the weather patterns change considerably,” he says. ‘What we have now are much slower cycles that last maybe eight weeks at a time. Last year, we had two longs hits - a very wet spring and then a long hot summer.”
“That has made the job much more difficult because you are continually trying to second- guess the weather, which is often at extremes.
156 PC June/July 2019 David Liddiard
Surfaces were affected by snow and heavy rain in the spring and then we had a lot of damage to our cricket outfields from the intense heat and dryness.”
He adds: “Going forward, I think how we handle climate change will dominate the profession. We have to improve turf and make it more hardy and better able to survive hot, dry conditions in summer and cold, wet conditions in winter. We also have to look at how we best use the playing fields, tempering our use when conditions are bad and introducing more artificial surfaces where we can. We also have to cope with reduced water and chemicals.”
David has been working on a sustainability plan to put all that into practice. In the meantime, he recognises the value from making the right decisions about grounds maintenance machinery.
On a big site with sometimes mountainous terrain and rough tracks, one of the fundamentals is to move people, tools and materials quickly. The college has, in recent months, replaced most of its fleet of Kubota RTVs and now has four two-seaters, of which three are diesel-powered and the other petrol.
“We have used the Kubota RTVs before,” says David. “We looked at all the competition once again, and decided the Kubotas were still the best in the field. We took advice from other people and looked at reviews, and pretty much everyone seemed to agree. It’s down to the size, the reliability and the functionality - we can attach anything from salt spreaders through to sprayers.”
“We had an off-road training course a few weeks ago and the instructor (who has been doing it for many years) was blown away by what out RTVs can do. They are the backbone of both the grounds and garden departments here.”
On the grass cutting front, David recognised the need not just to replace their old three-unit machine but to upgrade its capabilities. “We were struggling to keep up with grass cutting in spring and autumn,” he says. “We had several demonstrated, and the Baroness LM2700 was the stand-out. We got it at the back end of the summer and it was fantastic - the operator wouldn’t get off it!”
“We like the fact that it’s user-friendly, easy to maintain and rugged, but with a fantastic finish. The cylinders are undoubtedly the best on the market - I know people who have had them three years and never needed a re-grind because the metal is so hard. That is important on a busy site because, if a machine is down, it creates quite a pressure.”
He adds: “It has been a real game-changer because the speed at which it works and the width of the cut means that the work is probably done in around 40% less time, which gives us more man hours for other work.”
David is also enthusiastic about the support he receives from Lister Wilder, describing Area Sales Manager Toby Bennett as an “incredibly helpful source of invaluable and honest advice” and backed by a service and parts team which “I can’t fault”.
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