EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS


We are much more informed and consider things such as pollinating plants,


incorporating more hedging etc.… It has just made us think differently


ESD Waste2Water Wash Pad facility


ponds and a well-stocked fi shpond, which has a large sturgeon, carp and goldfi sh. Over the past few months, I had to quickly learn how to maintain the fi shpond myself, as the member of staff who was responsible for this work was furloughed.


We also have seven beehives on site and constructed a purpose-built area next to the orchard. They have just started to produce honey, so the locals are happy. We have been lucky this year not to suff er with chafer grubs and, as a result, badgers and foxes have not been digging to get to them. As a rule, we do not tend to have much bother from them … touch wood! We use a local dealer for all our machinery and expect staff to be able to carry out the basic maintenance of a machine including the day to day greasing, cleaning etc. Then, once every two weeks, we have mechanic Chris Perkins come onto site; he completes the servicing of machines, and undertakes any major maintenance work that needs doing. We are defi nitely moving towards more battery-powered equipment to reduce noise


levels and become more effi cient. All new hand-held equipment purchased such as leaf blowers, brushcutters etc. are electric Stihl machines and we are currently looking to replace the two John Deere diesel gators for the electric equivalent. All of the gardeners’ vehicles in use for transferring equipment are already electric.


We have a monthly grounds meeting to discuss requirements with all the grounds team, which also includes a representative from the school’s Health and Safety department, however these meetings are currently on hold. All the staff have yearly appraisals and they know my offi ce door is always open if they ever need a chat. I work to a set budget decided by the Bursar, although the pandemic has certainly aff ected things this year. As I am sure is the case with all industries, it has been hard to plan for the coming year as nobody is sure what is around the corner. I hope that things will get back to some sort of normality soon. We have a good Bursar who backs us in terms of what the school needs and is keen to invest in people and training alike. Having


100 PC October/November 2020


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