Let us all hope this extended lockdown period, now set to continue at least into March, will finally put the brakes on this ongoing pandemic. With the ongoing rollout of the vaccination programmes we all look forward to finally beginning to get back to some form of normality.
However, there are no guarantees of timeframes. We just need to stay strong and support one another for a few more months and hope that the vaccines do their job and reduce the number of people needing to go into hospital.
As mentioned in last week’s TurfPro, the next few weeks will be a busy time for practicing grounds professionals, with spring fast approaching.
As for the weather it seems we are still facing some changeable fronts as mentioned in Mark Hunt’s weekly weather forecast. Notably with still some spells of snow and rain forecast.
There have been a lot of flood warnings reported and floods seen across the country. These floods cause a lot of damage to the environment, with landowners, farmers seeing their crops and soils being washed away.
Soil erosion is becoming a growing problem. You can read my thoughts on the subject today here.
Grants
In other news, there seems to be a number of club groundsmen frustrated that they cannot find the relevant information about available funding or grants for their clubs.
As we all know the pressures on clubs during this pandemic has been colossal, with many facing closure. We probably will not find out the full list of casualties until next year.
As for grants and funding opportunities, I have heard many good news stories on the grapevine of clubs receiving capital grants to help them through. Having taken the time to trawl the internet I came across this very helpful website Grantsonline that gives a wealth of information and list of current grants available. Check it out.
The Football Foundation also has the following information on possible funding.
Locally to me in Shropshire, The Shropshire Crown Green Bowling Association have posted a list of potential funding opportunities such as The Screwfix Foundation. Also mentioned are possible grants of up to £1,000 through the NFU Mutual Community Giving Fund Charities.
Sport England have a very helpful website that gives information on funding for sport.
Also worth checking out are:
And finally, on the golfing front clubs will now be adhering to the new lockdown measures, with no play allowed. This will at least now enable the greenkeeping staff to focus on getting their courses ready for the relaxation of the lockdown - hopefully if all goes well, sometime around the end of April or early May?
A summary of the lockdown restrictions for Wales, England ,Ireland and Scotland can be found on the BIGGA ‘s site.
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