Seven Steps To Reducing Your Salt Use

Not ready or can’t make a big investment in equipment that can help you reduce your company’s salt usage? It’s OK to start small and to grow and invest as you’re able – even the most basic steps can result in big gains.

1. YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE

Examine your current operations to identify areas of weakness or opportunities for improvement in material inventory and tracking, product types, application rates, calibration processes, etc. This could take awhile to identify and correct, so be patient! A hastily implemented plan can result in failure or unrealistic and unrealized expectations.

2. BABY STEPS

They say: “Go big or go home!” But that may not be the best rallying cry when it comes to wholesale changes in your salt management program. Consider clients who might be receptive to experimentation with application rates, alternative products, etc. Once you have success on one site, expand your horizons.

3. EXPAND YOUR PRODUCT TOOLBOX

Consider treated products that can be used in colder temperatures and when dealing with longer-duration storms can generally allow you to use less. If treated salt is cost prohibitive, consider purchasing a liquid product to prewet your salt stockpile. Take it a step further by adding a system to your spreaders to prewet salt at the spinner.

4. GET YOUR FEET WET

Research anti-icing as a prestorm tool to reduce bonding of snow and ice. Do your homework and test and train before starting with liquids. Again, start small. Sidewalks are a great place to start with a smaller investment. Learn how to make your own brine or investigate the best products on the market that fit your needs.

5. GO OVER THE EDGE

Invest in plows and pushers that offer a cleaner scrape to reduce material use.

 

6. TAKE THE NEXT STEP

Investing in software, technology, and systems (including brine making systems and combination spreaders) that will streamline applications, tracking and documentation of material applications.

7. GO BACK TO SQUARE ONE

Achieve constant improvement by returning to the first step to evaluate each process you’ve implemented and track its success or whether changes need made. Documentation and tracking are essential for successfully evaluating your program and how your team is implementing it.

This article was featured in the Snow & Ice Management Association’s SB In Focus issue focused on transitioning from a residential to commercial snow company. Read the whole issue, sponsored by Buyers Products, here.

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Passion For Turf Management Scores Auburn Student Trip To Super Bowl

By Amy Byrnes

Unlike most fans heading to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta this Sunday to see if Tom Brady can pull off another Super Bowl win, Wilson Morgan won’t be focused on the action on the field. Instead, the Auburn University junior will be watching how the field withstands football’s biggest game of the year.

Wilson Morgan, a turf management major at Auburn University, landed a trip to Super Bowl LIII to help prepare the field for the big game in Atlanta on February 3, 2019. (Photo: Auburn University)

The Huntsville, AL native was the grand prize winner in this year’s Toro Super Bowl Sports Turf Training competition, which earned him a a trip to Super Bowl LIII to work with the grounds crew preparing the field for the big game. Morgan will spend the week leading up to the Rams and Patriots faceoff learning from the tops in the field of turf management all about synthetic field maintenance, lining, logo painting, irrigation maintenance, field preparation for media day, halftime prep, and clean-up.

Morgan, 21, is a turf management major at Auburn who says he’s known since high school that taking care of playing fields would be a career that would let him combine all of his passions. “I got some crazy looks back then,” he laughs.

It was during a greenhouse management class in the 10th grade that Morgan came across a copy of the teacher’s SportsTurf magazine, a publication of the Sports Turf Managers Association, and was struck while leafing through it by all the “serious” equipment he saw on the pages that were used to maintain sports fields. “That’s when I realized that caring for sports fields was a significant industry,” he says. “I had no idea people took care of sports fields for a living.”

An avid outdoorsman even then — he loves fishing and hunting and played football during high school — Morgan says it was then that he locked onto the idea of majoring in turf management in college. “There was no changing my mind,” he says, adding that Auburn’s Turfgrass Management Program, within its School of Agriculture, was the perfect fit to meet his goals. While his official major is Crop, Soil and Environmental Science, the turfgrass management program has offered a wide opportunity to learn how to care for a variety of field conditions and sports and tackles everything from irrigation to plant biology and weed management.

He’s been a part of Auburn’s grounds crew caring for the university’s sports fields, including Jordan-Hare Stadium — home of Tigers football — which boasts a Bermuda Grass surface and holds 70,000 fans, which becomes Alabama’s fifth-largest city on game days.

Last summer, Morgan scored an internship working on the grounds crew for the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, where he got his first taste of caring for an NFL team’s artificial turf and the opportunity to work side-by-side with fellow crew members who were part of the Super Bowl grounds crew.

“I started there the day after they’d had a huge concert and left the week after the first preseason game,” Morgan told The Season, Auburn University’s College of Agriculture magazine. “One thing I learned there was that managing the playing field is a full-time, year-round job.”

In 2002, Toro created the competition to give emerging sports turf professionals hands-on experience maintaining one of the highest quality and safest playing surfaces in the world and learning from top professionals in the field. Applicants — who are required to  be enrolled in at least the second year of a two-year turf program, or in at least the junior year of a four-year turf program — completed an application as well as an essay detailing their professional goals. Toro equipment and representatives have been involved in preparing the stadium and practice fields for the Super Bowl for over 50 years.

Morgan, who arrived in Atlanta a week before the February 3 game, says he’s looking forward to the experience of working with an artificial playing surface, as opposed to Auburn’s natural grass football field. “I’m also really excited to meet the crew, who are legends in the sports turf management industry.”

This summer, Morgan will expand his range of field-type expertise when he takes up residence as an intern for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. “That will give me experience in college sports, the NFL, and Major League Baseball,” he tells The Season. “Plus, I’ve only worked with warm-season turf, but the Phillies play on Kentucky bluegrass, so then I’d have experience managing a cool-season grass.

As for the future, Morgan says he’s conflicted about which direction he’d like to move in: baseball versus football and college versus professional sports fields. But for now, he’s focused on this once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl experience. “This is an amazing opportunity to learn from the best of the best,” he says.

Byrnes is a freelance journalist. You can read more of her work at amybyrnes.com.

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Employee-Owned Landscape Services Company Earns Carolinas Chapter Award

The Greenery, Inc. was named the 2018 Employee Owned Company of the Year by the Carolinas Chapter of the national Employee Stock Ownership Plan Association for effectively meeting the criteria of communicating the benefits of employee ownership as it relates to the success of the company. Established in 1973 and based in Hilton Head Island, SC, The Greenery is an employee-owned company in coastal South Carolina and Georgia and nearby regions with comprehensive landscaping services including residential and commercial landscape installation and maintenance, hardscapes, and irrigation.

Group of The Greenery, Inc. employees

There are approximately 100 ESOP companies that comprise the Carolinas Chapter in South Carolina and North Carolina and it is part of the national ESOP Association, based in Washington, DC. An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is an employee-owner program that provides a company’s workforce with an ownership interest in the company.

In receiving the Carolinas Chapter award, The Greenery demonstrated that it nurtures a sense of ownership among its more than 450 employees. The company celebrates this achievement while also celebrating its 46th Anniversary in February and its 11th anniversary as an employed-owned company.

Lee Edwards, CEO, The Greenery, Inc. of Hilton Head Island, SC accepts a 2018 Employee Owned Company of the Year award.

Lee Edwards, The Greenery’s CEO, stated, “We were honored to be recognized within our ESOP Chapter for both South Carolina and North Carolina for our efforts to educate and encourage our employees about the values and benefits of employee ownership. We believe that every employee owner can contribute to the actual success of their company.”

The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Scott Slawson, oversees the internal committee responsible for communications about the employee stock ownership plan, and stated, “The hard work throughout the year really paid off. The Carolinas Chapter award put us in contention for a national award, and although we did not win it, it was an honor for the whole company to be among the top ESOP groups in the nation.”

 

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Project EverGreen: Swinging For The Fences For Kids

Project EverGreen, the national nonprofit devoted to creating a greener, healthier, cooler Earth; the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA), the city of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department, local businesses and residents teamed up on January 21 at the half-a-century old Lindo Park in South Phoenix, AZ to give the 22-acre park something the community has always wanted: a real ball field.

Volunteers including sports field managers, lawn care professionals, landscape contractors, groundskeepers and neighborhood youth assisted with the transformation that had an estimated value in excess of $50,000.

The project included:

• Surveying the field to determine existing and proposed elevations for the playing surface.
• Laying out new grass edges along 1st and 3rd base lines.
• Re-inspecting and adjusting the irrigation system to insure proper coverage in the outfield.
• Fertilizing and silting seed for the outfield turf – nearly 60,000-square-feet.
• Laying out and rebuilding the pitcher’s mound and installing a new pitching rubber.
• Laying out and rebuilding the batter’s boxes/catcher’s box and installing a new home plate.
• Grading the infield surface to cut high areas and fill low areas.
• Installing sod to repair areas of damaged turf.

“Neighborhoods deserve a healthy park or community green space that they can call their own,” says Cindy Code, executive director of Project EverGreen. “Thriving parks create a community hub for neighbors – young and old – to connect and helps to instill pride in their community and confidence in area residents, and creates a place for adults and youth to exercise and have fun.”

STMA supported the renovation project by having more than 100 professional sport turf managers on site.

“We were thrilled to be a part of this important project and bring a well-managed and playable ballpark to a deserving community,” says Kim Heck, CAE, CEO of the STMA. “To use our professional expertise and know-how and bring a plan like this to life is a win-win for everyone.”

Project EverGreen has renovated more than 32 community parks across the country since 2006. In January of 2018, the city of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and community leader Muriel Smith nominated the park for a new ballfield.

“This is an exciting project for the community,” said Councilwoman Felicita Mendoza, who represents District 8 in which the park is located. “We’re grateful that Lindo Park was selected by Project EverGreen and for the volunteer service and financial support of STMA and local businesses to make it possible. The new ballpark will enhance the recreation center and other amenity upgrades made to the park in recent years. “

Smith, 72, has lived in the community surrounding Lindo Park for four decades. She has raised three children, 13 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren; many of whom grew up playing in Lindo Park.

Over the years, Smith worked with the city of Phoenix Neighborhood Services and Parks and Recreation departments, Phoenix Police Department, former District 8 Councilwoman Kate Gallego and District 7 Councilman Michael Nowakowski. They worked with local high schools and hosted graffiti clean-ups on the weekends, and things turned around and the park became a place to gather again.

Since then, a recreation center named after Smith was built in Lindo Park in 2016 along with a large ramada with picnic tables for gatherings outside and a new playground. Now, neighborhood groups hold meetings, host tree plantings, put on special events and kids read and study there.

“This ballpark will be the icing on the cake for the kids in this community,” said Smith.

A city parks and recreation department and/or a community group can nominate a park for revitalization. Once selected, Project EverGreen works with local businesses, community groups and volunteers to transform and sustain community green spaces.

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Plowsite: This Week’s Cool Threads

From feedback on hourly rates to advice on a snow removal equipment purchase, popular questions posted by the ice and snow management professionals on PlowSite forums this past week.

BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS

• A new PlowSite Member from Minnesota is looking for feedback on his hourly rates for a commercial plowing job. Share your thoughts… 
• A Junior Member from Southwest Pennsylvania wants to know how long other members’ plow routes take them to complete. Share your thoughts…

TRUCK & EQUIPMENT REPAIR

• A Junior PlowSite Member is having trouble with his hitch pins when he hooks up his plow, and he wants to know if this is damaging his equipment in any way. Share your thoughts…

COMMERCIAL SNOW REMOVAL

• A Junior PlowSite Member from North Jersey is looking for advice on how to efficiently plow an apartment complex parking lot that has some very long runs. Share your thoughts…

RESIDENTIAL SNOW REMOVAL

• A Senior Member from North Dakota is looking to add another tool for snow removal from a flat roof. Do you have any experience with the products he’s considering? Share your thoughts… 

 

PlowSite is the largest and most active online forum servicing snow and ice management professionals.

As the only resource of its kind in the marketplace, PlowSite has been a coveted place for snow and ice management professionals seeking peer-to-peer networking, business guidance and insight into industry best practices and trends since 2000.

Join your industry peers in this growing, dynamic community today:
Register For FREE!

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LawnSite Forums: This Week’s Hot Threads

From buying new boots to keeping yourself motivated, here are some questions from the landscape professionals on LawnSite forums this past week.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS

• A LawnSite Senior Member wants to buy new boots and is looking for opinions. Requirements are that they are waterproof and lined, slip resistant, have a composite toe, and good treads. Share your thoughts… 
• A LawnSite Member wants to know what types of payment apps other forum members like. He accepts checks and some credit cards, and has had a few customers ask if he takes PayPal. Share your thoughts… 

LAWN CARE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

• A LawnSite Member in his third year of business would like to know if yard signs or door hangers are more likely to land him more maintenance accounts. Share your thoughts… 

LAWN MOWING

• A LawnSite Member from Colorado has been in business almost 33 years and is wondering how others deal with the burn out. How do you keep yourself motivated to keep working?

LAWN MOWING EQUIPMENT

• A LawnSite Bronze Member from SE Wisconsin is shopping for new ear protection. He wants to know if ear buds on their own provide enough protection, or if he can/should wear ear protection over them. Share your thoughts… 

Do you need feedback on a professional challenge you’re facing within your landscaping or lawn care business? Tap into the wealth of knowledge at LawnSite, the largest and most active online forum serving green industry professionals.

As the only resource of its kind in the marketplace, LawnSite has been a coveted place for landscape professionals seeking peer-to-peer networking, business guidance and insight into industry best practices and trends since 1995.

Join your industry peers in this growing, dynamic community today:
Register For FREE!

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Porous Pave Installations Used 13M Pounds Of Recycled Rubber Last Year

Porous Pave, Inc. reached a new environmental milestone in 2018: surpassing 13 million pounds of recycled rubber used in installations of its permeable paving material. An eco-friendly green building product made in the U.S., Porous Pave is a highly porous paving material that offers superior permeability for optimal storm water retention, exceptional application versatility, and demonstrated durability. The controlled shredding and processing of recycled tires produces the fine-cut chips of recycled rubber incorporated into Porous Pave.

With 27 percent void space, Porous Pave infiltrates storm water on site, decreasing runoff into storm drains and sewers. Porous Pave XL is the company’s strongest, heavy-duty formulation for hard-wearing permeable pavement. XL combines equal amounts of recycled rubber chips and kiln-dried aggregate mixed on site with a moisture-cured, liquid binder. For more impact-absorbing permeable surfacing, the XLS formulation is made with 100 percent rubber chips mixed with a softer binder.

“Topping 13 million pound demonstrates that facility managers, public garden administrators, public works officials, landscape architects and contractors continue to trust our proven product for their permeable paving applications,” said Dave Ouwinga, president, Porous Pave, Inc.

“Porous Pave fulfills our requirements for permeable pavement,” said Jack Carman, FASLA, RLA, landscape architect, Design for Generations, a landscape architecture firm specializing in the design and development of therapeutic gardens and landscapes. “It provides greater porosity than permeable pavers, it is non-slip and gives off less reflective glare than concrete, and its texture and colors enable us to harmonize permeable pavement within our garden designs.”

Design for Generations and Eric’s Nursery and Garden Center, a full-service landscape design-build firm, installed 3,000 square feet of Porous Pave XL as part of its McCauley Convent Tranquility Garden project. When the courtyard garden they developed for Meadowood Senior Living also required 8,100 square feet of permeable paving to meet storm water management regulations, the firm again selected Porous Pave.

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