It is coming up to our next major industry show of the year with Groundsfest at Stoneleigh next week on the 10th and 11th of September. I along with many other trade press editors shall be there to see how the show unfolds. Hopefully the weather will be better than on day one last year. 
 
The organisers are keen to promote GroundsFest as the largest, annual, free event for grounds staff, greenkeepers, landscapers, designers & architects, gardeners, local authorities, estate managers and contractors. As with the inaugural event in 2023, the show combines indoor business and education opportunities with outdoor demonstrations.

It will be interesting to see how well received the outdoor demonstrations are, as this is now the only show for our sector out of the big three national events (the others being Saltex in October  and BTME in January) that offers outdoor demonstrations. 

Trade shows are significant events for industries, offering a wide array of benefits that can greatly impact visitors' businesses and their growth.

  
I am also fully aware just how important these shows are to the organisers in terms of income generation and what they are providing for their members etc. However, for me, for the past several years with both Saltex and BTME only attracting around 5000-6000 visitors over the duration of their shows, this a poor reflection on how many earn a living working in the sports turf, horticultural and amenity sectors. We have many thousands participating and have a career working in our diverse industry, so I believe our show should be attracting an awful lot more practitioners through their gates.

Take for instance local authorities alone. There are over 400 providing local services in the UK with their estates and grounds departments employing in excess of 50 people or maybe more. Those figures alone generate over 20,000 employees. We then have sports clubs of all disciplines. Together they will total, as an estimate, around 10,000 clubs with say 3 people involved in the management and maintenance of the playing surfaces. That creates another  30,000 people. 

We then have some 2500 golf clubs, with on average 6 staff. That equates to a further 15,000. We then have the servicing dealers with around 3500 outlets, with an average of six staff. That equates to 21,000.

On top of this we have people working in the arboriculture industry. Estimates from trade bodies suggest that there are around 10,000 to 20,000 people working in tree care and management in the UK - including both arborists and other related professions.  

You can add into this horse racing, private schools, the gardening sector, landscape companies and many self-employed gardeners / grounds workers. I guess we could be looking at a further 10,000 people.

The total of the estimated people given in the figures I have calculated is roughly around 116,000 individuals who make their living working in our industry. And I have not even counted colleges or other land managed business. 

 
In fact according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from the ONS, as of recent years, there are approximately 150,000 to 170,000 people working as gardeners and landscape gardeners in the UK – with groundsmen and greenkeepers making up a further 30,000 to 40,000 on top of that.

So whatever the actual figure, we’re talking about a significant number of practitioners who should be in the frame to attend our trade shows.

For myself and those who take the time to attend these events, they have always been an integral part of our calendar year. 

I enjoy attending all three of our main shows as they all have specific interest to me as a journalist and practicing grounds professional. But for both the exhibitor and the end user, I feel the time has come for a single show format. I say this because with my ear to the ground, I hear many sides to the issue of industry shows, including debate over what is the best time of the year to hold a show? 

Exhibitors are coming to the point that they may need to choose just one show to attend as they do not have the resources to appear at all three. 
I believe it’s time all the major players come together and take the opportunity to amalgamate in order to host an annual international show that suits the needs of all practitioners who work in this unique landscape sector. 

There should be a coming together of professional gardeners, landscapers arboriculturists, sports grounds professionals, parks professionals, as they are all interconnected. I feel it could certainly bring our industry together and make for a truly inspirational show and would be well supported. 

For the likes of BIGGA and GMA, they of course would still organise their own educational days across the year for their own members. 

But when it comes to machinery exhibitions and celebrating our diverse industry, we need to look to the future and create an annual show that brings the best of our industry together. The show could run for three days allowing attendance to all practitioners, managers, end users and on the final day we should be encouraging schools and colleges to attend, allowing 16-18 year olds to come and see what our industry has to offer in terms of career opportunities.

And maybe the shows could be hosted at large, professional sports venues? For example at race courses or colleges, thus allowing it to be at a different venue around the country each year?

This all-encompassing show could attract a lot of interest and finally put into context the scale and complexities of our industry - whist at the same time promoting it in a way never seen before.