NESTMA NEWS
Summers are Made for Re-Runs
O
ver the course of the past year, NESTMA offered many informative webinars for members to watch on-demand. With permission from several presenters, we are making them available again this summer. Whether you missed a few or want to re-watch them with your team, sign up is easy at NESTMA.org. The full series is available June 1 – August 31. Just $49 for members and $69 for non-members provides access to all these webinars:
Improving Water Use Efficiency with Wetting Agents Stan Kostka, Ph.D. & Mike Findanza, Ph.D., Penn State
A Year in the Life of a Synthetic Turf Field Arthur Eddy, RePlay Maintenance
Prepping Fields for Winter Michelle DaCosta, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts
Upcoming Educational Opportunities June 15 – July 31 Webinar
Modern Water Management: Do More with Planning Drought concerns, water use restrictions, sustainability initiatives and field safety have placed a heightened focus on water management. Water management used to mean conservation or “doing more with less.” This webinar will focus on doing more with impactful planning to help you realize what to look for before your irrigation becomes a mess and leaves you falling short of your goals. We’ll talk about the tools to help make adjusting to weather, predictable seasonal factors, and specific characteristics of athletic fields easier. Discover what’s available to you, what features work best in what settings, and how to plan to avoid unexpected costs. Presenter: Kyle McNerney of Smart Water Management. Thanks to Harts Turf Pro and Read Custom Soils for sponsoring this webinar.
Mark your calendar for the MALCP/NESTMA annual golf tournament at Butter Brook Golf Club in Westford on October 7. October 13 – Turf Techniques Workshop
A Tale of Two Fields: Selection, Installation, Management and Replacement of Synthetic Turf From site selection and design to installation and care, sport turf professionals are responsible for every aspect of synthetic turf management. We’ll look at two athletic fields in Needham, MA – DeFazio and Memorial – that were resurfaced over the course of a couple of summer months. Learn what worked and what didn’t. Take away valuable lessons learned from experienced SFMs. See best-in-class demos of grooming and maintenance practices. If you work with synthetic turf, you do not want to miss this workshop – jam-packed with practical advice and clear solutions. Presenters: Ed Olsen, Park & Forestry Department, Needham, MA and Bradlee Mezquita, Tighe & Bond, Inc., Westfield, MA.
Looking ahead…
How Hybrid Grass Stitching Technology Can Extend the Life of Sports Fields George Mullan, SIS Pitches
Tom Barry, CSFM of Greens Farms Academy and Ian Lacy of Tom Irwin Advisors will lead a webinar on Fraise Mowing for Weed Control in Pesticide Free Fields in November and NESTMA’s Annual Meeting and Holiday Social returns to Ken’s Steak House in Framingham, MA on December 7. Stay tuned for details as these, and other NESTMA events, continue to take shape.
& Robert Heggie, BMO Field & Training Grounds
NESTMA Network
Managing Early Season Turf Pests & Diseases Pam Sherratt, The Ohio State University
NOTE: NESTMA webinar re-runs are for reference and educational purposes only. CEU credit is not available. 8 • New England BLADE • June 2021
We are a community of problem solvers with expertise to share. With that in mind, Tom Barry, CSFM of Greens Farms Academy in Westport, CT and Derek Mannion of City of Newton (MA) Parks & Recreation of the Membership Outreach Committee have launched a series of brief polls, the results of which are regularly shared with members. Topics covered to date include snow clearing on synthetic surfaces, getting ballfields ready for spring, hard court and field maintenance, and water management. Thanks to the members who have responded and watch your email for continuing opportunities this summer. •
