EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS
Laying the foundations for the resin bond path in Clara’s Garden
Recently re-dug pond in the newly created conservation area at King’s Ely Acremont
control of stuff. I think that’s the biggest thing, when we want to put the verti-drain on we can do it rather than having to wait.” “We’re lucky, our budgets are healthy, the school does invest well in us, and they do allow us to do our job. Obviously, we have a consultation, we’re not just running around doing what we want when we want, but on a day to day basis they know we work well with the sports department, so they let us get on with it. It wouldn’t matter if we didn’t speak to anyone else for a month, they’d know things are happening and they can see it. From a grounds perspective, it has been a big thing to build up towards this.” Whilst the machines play an important role in the operation, it is the staff who make the biggest impact. Trevor Mott and Stacy Squirrell have been at the school for a combined fifty-five years, with other staff members coming from diverse backgrounds ranging from being a forklift driver, golfer, cleaner and bus driver.
With a large site and always plenty to do, both Will and Chris place a lot of importance on the character of their staff. They’d both rather someone who is willing to pitch in and put in the effort, but this approach has presented one of the bigger challenges. “One of the biggest challenges has been to get people to think for themselves,” Will explained. “You might have to repeat
yourself three or four times on one thing, but I think you can only get to that when you allow people to do it in some regards. But it’s challenging because a lot of it is a confidence thing because they don’t want to get it wrong, not because we’re horrible bosses, but because they care.” “I’d like to think they get that from us, and
that’s because our management care and our bosses will walk around and talk to us and tell us what a great job we’re doing. More so in the last few years, we’ve got a lot wider appreciation, whether it be an email or a thank you card or whatever, we are getting more and more of that and more involvement as a department in other activities.”
Chris continues: “By doing these things we aren’t just the guys walking around in the green tops marking pitches, so it’s a big thing that helps everyone, especially with their confidence.” “We know people are going to make
mistakes. One of newest guys hadn’t been with us long when he cut our long grass at the 20mm outfield height. It looked a state when he did it, but when he came to me, I just laughed because these things happen. It’s not that I like them making mistakes to learn, but when they do make mistakes, it’s important they learn from them. Sometimes, they’ll have their own ideas about what will
- Treat Your Turf
PC December/January 2020
echneat 93
work best and, even though you think there’s a better way, you let them try it because, once again, they learn from it.” Will concludes: “Every morning there are ten people that want to come to work and, in any profession, to have ten people who want to come is great. It’s not a trade where you benefit from big financial reward or pay, it’s not a glamorous job, but it’s a job they, and we, get satisfaction out of, at a place we all like to work at, with people we like to work with - if you don’t have that, you can forget about it.”
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