David Love Cameron and David Archibald – Foundation Degree in Horticulture, Greenmount Campus

One of the best ways to learn is to get to see real equipment and touch live plants and as students on the Foundation Degree (FdSc) in Horticulture at CAFRE- Greenmount Campus we get to do just that. Already this year we have been to visit gardens, parks, garden centres and last week we were on two visits to the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin and to Groundsman Industries in Ballymoney.

My name is David Love Cameron and I am part-time student.  After our visit to Groundsman Industries with the Full time FdSc students I was inspired by a local business that competes world-wide with corporate giants in the world of grounds maintenance machinery. On the factory floor gleaming green turf cutters were arranged, ready to be palleted, shrink wrapped and despatched to exotic locations such as Chile and Dubai. Nearby a Deep Aerator, Groundsman’s newest innovation will enable grounds staff to probe new depths of soil improvement with aeration tines now extending 30cm in length.

Sales Manager Brian Thompson enthused “You can under aerate but you can never over aerate”   The ‘teched- up’ team proactively evolve the designs of these durable, versatile and user friendly machines that are right at the cutting edge of the sports turf industry.  They can also be used to lay pipes and produce holes for planting bulbs. Ok, so I’m not a petrol head – veg is my thing – but that didn’t stop me being energised by the Groundsman success story and as a student it is immensely valuable to have gained an insight into this area of the industry.  

I would agree totally with David.  I’m another David - David Archibald, and the visit to Groundsman was right up my street as I want to follow the horticulture sportsturf option of the Foundation Degree here at CAFRE.  Our visit to see the work of first designing and then building these machines gave us a greater insight into the whole subject of aeration.  I had no idea there were so many different types of tines.  By seeing and handling the machines we were able to put the previous days lecture on lawn maintenance into context.

As a follow up to the visit, Groundsman then came to the college to show us the machines operating.  As students we are very grateful to local businesses for providing these excellent learning opportunities for us.  I know that in the future when I have to select an aerator or turf lifter I’ll be able to make a more informed decision.

Sales manager Brian Thompson of Groundsman Industries points out the finer details of the new Deep Tine aerator to Horticulture Foundation Degree students and lecturer Keith Jeffers.