What about the invasive ‘native’ plants…? June 29, 2016

I have recently become a ‘gardener’ – don’t get me wrong – I’ve been a ‘Landscape Architect’ for years …. but it’s only recently that I’ve started ‘gardening’. I’m out there getting my hands dirty, digging holes and watching what plant relationships work within my own space. What works, what grows quickly, what struggles…and what dominates.

This has given me a whole new take on the ‘invasive’ nature of certain plants.

This does flag up a pretty major flaw in my training and in my design abilities. In the past I’ve chosen plants for colour of leaf, colour of foliage, colour of stem – size, growth, deciduous, conifer shade loving, sun loving, north facing, south facing etc… etc.. but I’ve never really given an awful lot of attention to a plants ability to dominate a particular environment.

One of my favorite ground covers used to be ‘Polygonum affine Darjeeling red’ – then I began to notice that though this particular plant was very good at covering the space in which it was planted ….it was also pretty good at filling the spaces in which it wasn’t planted…

This particular Polygonum isn’t a native but it was probably the first time I noticed plants bullying their neighbors.

With my new ‘gardening’ head on I’ve now come across a whole host of other problem plants within a few feet of my door.

It’s useful to be a bit more hands on with these type of issues.

For years I’ve been obsessed with invasive non-native species but, maybe, I’m missing a trick here?

Maybe I need to look a bit closer to home and start dealing with the invasive native and ornamental species that cause gardeners so many issues.

I’m pretty sure if I can sort an answer to ground elder then I will be a millionaire!

Mike C

Opinion: Dose of common sense needed in glyphosate debate June 28, 2016

Read Monsanto’s article that was published by the NFU recently regarding the Glyphosate debate:

Guy Smith comes from a mixed family farm on the north-east Essex coast, which is officially recognised as the driest farm in the UK. He is also vice-president of the NFU.

In my more idle moments, I sometimes wonder about the exact circumstances in which these words might get read.

Is it in the bath amid the suds as the big toe on the right foot carefully manoeuvres the hot tap another quarter turn? In the loo (a room Mrs Smith brusquely likes to refer to as “his reading room”)? Then again, maybe Farmers Weekly gets read in bed?

It’s probably best not to explore the bedroom setting too much further. I will merely – in a timely tribute to one of my favourite comedians, who passed away recently – quote a Victoria Wood line from her song Let’s do it.

It goes: “Not meekly, not bleakly, beat me on the bottom with a Woman’s Weekly.” And let’s be honest, who hasn’t played out the farmhouse version of that ditty?

Or maybe it’s at the breakfast table where you do your ag-mag reading? I’m imagining now my mugshot being pebbledashed with bits of fried tomato flak, mixed with the shrapnel from the bottom of the cornflake box.

If by chance you are indeed now sat at the breakfast table, can I suggest you stop reading this and finish your apple juice first, because it’s the subject of urine that occupies me this week. “Too late!” I hear you cry.

Let’s be clear, it was some green MEPs that started all this wee talk. In a stunt called “We’re peed off” they brought in their own samples to the European Parliament to complain how much glyphosate there was in them.

It was all part of the push by the anti-pesticide NGOs to have glyphosate banned. The urine test revealed glyphosate levels was about 1ng/ml.

At first I thought this quite alarming. As someone who regularly handles the concentrate, I suspect my readings might be higher.

To be frank, I started wondering if I need to be more careful when caught short away from the yard. Farmers are already blamed for the demise of wild flowers as it is.

So do we need to ask ourselves what rare orchids we might be jetting into oblivion as we relieve ourselves behind a hedge next to our floristically enhanced margins? And should such applications be given a mention in our spray records (type of nozzle used)?

See also: Glyphosate debate shows science should prevail

But then I stopped to work out what amounts of glyphosate these green MEPs are getting in a stew over. One ng/ml is a billionth of a gram in a millilitre. To kill a thistle you need at least 0.015g of glyphosate.

So you would need to pee more than 15,000 litres on to a thistle to get it to succumb. So good luck with that.

A bit of further internet research further enlightened me about what we are carrying round in our bladders. There is 400ng/ml of arsenic, for starters, which doubles if you eat shellfish. There’s 30ng/ml of cyanide, which doubles if you are a smoker. Finally there’s 20 ng/ml of mercury.

It almost feels as if we are carrying around Dr Crippen’s medicine chest in our bowels. Then, of course, there is naturally occurring botulinum, a teaspoon of which can kill one billion people.

Fortunately this doesn’t turn up in the bladder, but instead we deliberately inject it into ourselves for cosmetic reasons – its marketed as Botox.

But the easy thing to overlook is that modern analytical methods allow us to detect more or less anything at levels of microscopic inconsequence.

It’s almost as if in our hyped-up world of scare stories, we have forgotten the wisdom of Paracelsus, who wrote: “Poison is in everything and nothing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.”

Enjoy your breakfast.

Football June 22, 2016

‘Dier dier’ shouted the commentator – which I obviously heard as ….  ‘dire, dire’ … is it just me or is football crap. I can’t believe how many wasted evenings I’ve had on the settee just waiting and hoping for England to do something remarkable (as in remarkably good….not remarkably dire…) 

What makes it worse is that my wife hates the whole ‘football’ thing. She hates the violence, she hates the supporters, she hates the TV coverage and she hates the huge ridiculous sums of money that gets thrown at these guys….and I’m beginning to think she’s right.

Many years ago I had an incident in Manchester when I was staying at the Lowry Hotel. I was wanting to leave the car park and a Bentley was blocking the main entrance. I went to reception and asked if the car owner could move the vehicle and was told … ‘it’s Mr Ronaldo’s car…’

They then went on to say the Mr Ronaldo was in the bar – I then went upstairs to see Mr Ronaldo and his bouncers drinking at the River Room tables – I went over and said… ‘excuse me – can you please move your car?’

Nothing.

‘excuse me – can you please move your car?’

Nothing again – then he threw the keys on the floor at my feet.

Now I’ve lived this moment many times in my head – and wish that I had picked the keys up and parked his car in the nearby River Irwell .

Unfortunately, one of the staff quickly grabbed the leys and moved the car – and the situation rapidly was diffused.

This does I believe though give insight to the footballer’s mind set. They have been told for years that they are demi-gods and behave just as if they live under a different set of rules to the rest of us.

Now me for instance – when I was selected to play for Derbyshire Schools football some forty years ago – gave my absolute ALL – in EVERY game. I was so honoured to be representing the county that I would have died for the team. If I had ever been lucky enough to carry on and play for club and country, I would have given everything I had at every game…. now forgive me if I’m being harsh but I just DON’T get the impression that this happens with the England Team?

Did one of them really request a Power Bar, during the game??? Duuuhhh

I would just be a lot happier if a little more time was spent on seeing these lads really try and give their all for the country – and a little less time having their hair cut and shaped.

When things start to go tits up – all we get from the commentators is …. ‘Roy Hodgson’s job will be on the line….’

Again forgive me – but Roy bloody Hodgson isn’t actually playing. He’s just the old duffer who will get blamed when England get knocked out.

Great comments from some of the ‘experts’ last night by the way;

‘England have totally dominated the game in every way ….apart from scoring’

Sorry I thought that was the point?

Mike C

Quantity not quality …? June 15, 2016

I had a conversation with one of the team today and got to reminiscing about some of the lads that have worked for us in the past.

We ended up concluding that many of today’s available workforce don’t actually want to work – they would rather draw benefits and feel sorry for themselves.

We then remembered the various characters that had graced us with their skills:

 

The lad that wore his high visibility vest underneath his sweatshirt
The lad that leapt off a dumper and wiped out a Tesco’s sign
The lad that when putting in fence posts said to his mate – ‘when I nod my head – you hit it’ – and the other lad did exactly what he was told
The lad that planted 850 whips (young trees) upside down – roots above ground/ foliage beneath
The lad that put a new tyre on a trailer using ignited petrol –
The lad that used our machinery and vans to do a series of – ‘foreigners’
The various characters that have been drunk/thrown up wrecked hotel rooms

The list just goes on and on…

Please note none of these characters now work for us, the trouble causers and time wasters are soon weeded out (pardon the pun) and the lads that we currently employ would never do any of these ‘crimes’.

We then got on talking about what the lads have done since they left the employment of JKSL? One of them works for ‘Quick-fit’, one of them is in prison, one of them is a drug dealer …and one of them sub-contracts to a successful landscape company that deals with Japanese Knotweed …..duuuuh ….wtf

Who is this person and how on earth have they managed this I asked????

Well it turns out that the lad who was fired for destroying a Tesco sign, and for planting trees ‘upside down’, the lad who was thick as a fence post and was hit on the head to prove this ….has managed to get himself a sub- contractor job working for one of the larger companies working in the weed control market…!

We also got to talking about other companies that these rejected lads from JKSL go to work for – one of whom has been travelling to Scotland to carry out sub-contract spray and strimming works near to Edinburgh. He has been travelling from Manchester to do these works and is being paid absolute rock bottom wages – so does a quick job and gets the work done with little or no thought as to what he is doing.

On a totally separate issue I was discussing with one of the senior guys at ‘G***********l’ the fact that they had been awarded a major contract with Network Rail relating to trackside maintenance of weeds and other unwanted vegetation.

I was asking how they managed to get the resources to complete such large scale projects ….?

He wasn’t really interested in answering my questions but was keen to tell me of their multi-million pound turnover…

Enough said.

Me?… I just wouldn’t sleep well at night using sub-contractors to carry out our works.

Mike C

Brexit? Bremain? But things will stay the same June 14, 2016

There has reportedly been a significant shift to the Brexit camp recently, as certain interested groups have become increasingly negative about the European Commission’s continued failure to approve the recommended renewal of glyphosate as an approved herbicide.

The process for authorising the substance has been followed properly; both the German ‘Federal Institute for Risk Assessment’ and the European Food Safety Authority have concluded that glyphosate is safe, and that it is unlikely to be carcinogenic (contrary to the recent IARC paper).

Normally, the next step would be for the Commission to follow the expert scientific advice and ratify the decision of their advisory bodies. However, the Commission is stalling on this step, and failing to pass the decision. This is unprecedented behaviour and contrary to protocol and expert advice.

Basically, if the decision is not made by July 1st, then glyphosate will no longer be approved. It will not be approved for farmers; it will not be approved for amenity contractors and local authorities and it will not be approved for members of the public.

Roundup and any other product containing glyphosate will not be authorised for sale as of that date, leaving retailers and professionals with stock that they can’t sell anywhere in Europe. What’s more, glyphosate will not be authorised for use, and overnight, the main herbicide used by allotment gardeners and old ladies on their pathways and drives will be, essentially, illegal.

Local authorities will lose the main chemical that they use to keep our pavements level and free of trip hazards; highways managers and rail maintenance contractors will have lost the main chemical that they use to keep our transport networks safe. British farmers will still be significantly affected although our farmers use glyphosate less than their counterparts in other parts of the world.

The principal issue with this is that we will be replacing one of the most widely-used and least-hazardous herbicides (to human health) with a variety of alternatives – virtually all of which are more harmful to health, and most of which are more damaging to the environment. This is a massive backwards step, ironically driven by so-called “green” campaigners, who simply don’t seem to understand the consequences of a blanket ban on glyphosate. It’s going to make things worse all-round, rather than better.

So, many professionals who rely on pesticides are now going to vote to turn their backs on the EU in the hope that Brexit could change things back to how they were.

But that’s not going to be the case. Brexit would not immediately mean that the UK would be relieved of the yoke of the oppressor and “free to approve whatever chemicals we like” – even if this is the case in theory.

Even if we find ourselves officially out of the EU, we would still be bound by UK law – and UK laws have been made under the guidance (or instruction) of the EU and rely on decisions made at EU level. This would not change overnight.

We would still only be able to use substances approved at EU level – but we would no longer have any say in what those substances were. A new position would require a comprehensive change in UK law, which would most likely take years to put in place.

What’s more, a new framework would be needed for UK decision making, which, for best practice would involve the Expert Committee on Pesticides, as well as the UK’s Chemical Regulations Directorate and would need to include a mechanism for approving active ingredients – the role that the European Commission currently plays.

This approach would require the UK to carry out its own research into every single active ingredient in pesticides, rather than sharing this burden among the current 28 member states who all contribute to these assessments at present.

Emergency approvals could potentially be granted – but again, the processes in place for this approval are the same processes that we currently have now as members of the EU.

So this year’s growing season is unlikely to see any reversal of any decisions made at European level, and it seems clear that the grass will not be any greener in the UK – at least not overnight.

Chris Oliver
Operations Manager

Amenity Forum – Pitch Perfect for the Euros June 9, 2016

How much attention will you pay to the pitches in the European Football Championships starting this week? Amenity Forum’s latest article below highlights the preparation required to keep the pitches in tip top condition….
The hype has started mounting in Europe this week as we look to this Friday for the kick off of the European Football Championship, but how many watching will comment on the quality of the pitches? Although the fans are only likely to comment when the pitches are worn and starting to look tired, for the England team pitch preparation is vital.

As the team flew out this week and landed in Chantilly to continue their training, it has been reported that the FA have been “demanding” with their requirements even down to including grass seed that has been flown in especially from St George’s Park! The local amateur side US Chantilly who have handed their stadium over to the England squad during their stay in France, not only had a team of English groundsmen descending upon them from the 23rd of May to build the pitch from scratch but also had a pitch specialist from the FA visit them every 15 days to supervise the pitch preparation.

As part of the preparation and the general maintenance programme for the pitches, proper control of weeds, pests and diseases is both important and indeed essential. Without controlling these the pitch grass will not be at the required standard to ensure consistent performance both for training and in the matches themselves.  The adverse weather conditions that France have been experiencing in the last week, will also be having an impact, as the warm wet weather will not only encourage diseases but also weed growth will be encouraged.

Control of weed, pests and diseases is crucial for all aspects of public amenity to create safe and sustainable environments. Many football supporters will travel by train to matches. These trains would not run without proper control of weeds on the tracks and surrounds.

The Amenity Forum is taking a lead in communicating the important and essential task of weed, pest and disease control to the public and, as part of that, has produced some one page information leaflets. The first one can be found to on their website about “Producing quality football pitches”.

John Moverley, Chairman of the Amenity Forum, said ‘’We recognise the need to increase public understanding of the reasons for and methods used in controlling weeds, pests and disease in amenity areas. The Euros are a perfect example of how important the control of weed, pest and diseases are within the public’s everyday life. Dedicated professionals, who ensure our public amenity spaces are safe and sustainable for our use, carry out these controls. The tasks involved are both important and essential. I encourage the England fans to take notice of the quality of the pitches in the coming month, and appreciate all the work that has gone into them”.
The Amenity Forum is non-profit making and the independent body bringing together professional organisations with an involvement in the amenity horticulture sector. This is a very diverse industry responsible for the landscape management of urban areas, highways and rail network, sports grounds, parks, industrial and utility sites. To establish and maintain these areas to a high standard, the sector requires access to pesticides, efficient equipment and trained and qualified staff. The organisation was formed in October 2003 as a key action to support the Voluntary Initiative, an industry led project agreed with Government to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides.

The membership comprises of organisations from across this diverse industry, covering manufacturers, suppliers, trade associations, local authorities, major users, landscape, sport and leisure. Equally important are those members who represent training and qualification standards. The key Government agencies have an important observer role. The objectives of the Amenity Forum are:

The Amenity Forum conference and exhibition has become a must attend for all with an interest or engagement in weed, pest and disease control. This year’s event will be held at the Pirelli Stadium, Burton on Trent. Well known and authoritative speakers will address topical issues and stimulate discussions on the wide range of issues facing the sector. As the Forum is non-profit making, and with help from supporters, delegate rates have been kept as low as possible at £65, with a £15 discount for bookings before September. Why not book your place now and add your voice and support. The conference programme is available on line at www.amenityforum.co.uk and bookings can be made at [email protected]

Amenity Forum – Pitch Perfect for the Euros June 9, 2016

How much attention will you pay to the pitches in the European Football Championships starting this week? Amenity Forum’s latest article below highlights the preparation required to keep the pitches in tip top condition….

The hype has started mounting in Europe this week as we look to this Friday for the kick off of the European Football Championship, but how many watching will comment on the quality of the pitches? Although the fans are only likely to comment when the pitches are worn and starting to look tired, for the England team pitch preparation is vital.

As the team flew out this week and landed in Chantilly to continue their training, it has been reported that the FA have been “demanding” with their requirements even down to including grass seed that has been flown in especially from St George’s Park! The local amateur side US Chantilly who have handed their stadium over to the England squad during their stay in France, not only had a team of English groundsmen descending upon them from the 23rd of May to build the pitch from scratch but also had a pitch specialist from the FA visit them every 15 days to supervise the pitch preparation.

As part of the preparation and the general maintenance programme for the pitches, proper control of weeds, pests and diseases is both important and indeed essential. Without controlling these the pitch grass will not be at the required standard to ensure consistent performance both for training and in the matches themselves.  The adverse weather conditions that France have been experiencing in the last week, will also be having an impact, as the warm wet weather will not only encourage diseases but also weed growth will be encouraged.

Control of weed, pests and diseases is crucial for all aspects of public amenity to create safe and sustainable environments. Many football supporters will travel by train to matches. These trains would not run without proper control of weeds on the tracks and surrounds.

The Amenity Forum is taking a lead in communicating the important and essential task of weed, pest and disease control to the public and, as part of that, has produced some one page information leaflets. The first one can be found to on their website about “Producing quality football pitches”.

John Moverley, Chairman of the Amenity Forum, said ‘’We recognise the need to increase public understanding of the reasons for and methods used in controlling weeds, pests and disease in amenity areas. The Euros are a perfect example of how important the control of weed, pest and diseases are within the public’s everyday life. Dedicated professionals, who ensure our public amenity spaces are safe and sustainable for our use, carry out these controls. The tasks involved are both important and essential. I encourage the England fans to take notice of the quality of the pitches in the coming month, and appreciate all the work that has gone into them”.
The Amenity Forum is non-profit making and the independent body bringing together professional organisations with an involvement in the amenity horticulture sector. This is a very diverse industry responsible for the landscape management of urban areas, highways and rail network, sports grounds, parks, industrial and utility sites. To establish and maintain these areas to a high standard, the sector requires access to pesticides, efficient equipment and trained and qualified staff. The organisation was formed in October 2003 as a key action to support the Voluntary Initiative, an industry led project agreed with Government to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides.

The membership comprises of organisations from across this diverse industry, covering manufacturers, suppliers, trade associations, local authorities, major users, landscape, sport and leisure. Equally important are those members who represent training and qualification standards. The key Government agencies have an important observer role. The objectives of the Amenity Forum are:

The Amenity Forum conference and exhibition has become a must attend for all with an interest or engagement in weed, pest and disease control. This year’s event will be held at the Pirelli Stadium, Burton on Trent. Well known and authoritative speakers will address topical issues and stimulate discussions on the wide range of issues facing the sector. As the Forum is non-profit making, and with help from supporters, delegate rates have been kept as low as possible at £65, with a £15 discount for bookings before September. Why not book your place now and add your voice and support. The conference programme is available on line at www.amenityforum.co.uk and bookings can be made at [email protected]

Amenity Forum – Pitch Perfect for the Euros June 9, 2016

How much attention will you pay to the pitches in the European Football Championships starting this week? Amenity Forum’s latest article below highlights the preparation required to keep the pitches in tip top condition….
The hype has started mounting in Europe this week as we look to this Friday for the kick off of the European Football Championship, but how many watching will comment on the quality of the pitches? Although the fans are only likely to comment when the pitches are worn and starting to look tired, for the England team pitch preparation is vital.

As the team flew out this week and landed in Chantilly to continue their training, it has been reported that the FA have been “demanding” with their requirements even down to including grass seed that has been flown in especially from St George’s Park! The local amateur side US Chantilly who have handed their stadium over to the England squad during their stay in France, not only had a team of English groundsmen descending upon them from the 23rd of May to build the pitch from scratch but also had a pitch specialist from the FA visit them every 15 days to supervise the pitch preparation.

As part of the preparation and the general maintenance programme for the pitches, proper control of weeds, pests and diseases is both important and indeed essential. Without controlling these the pitch grass will not be at the required standard to ensure consistent performance both for training and in the matches themselves.  The adverse weather conditions that France have been experiencing in the last week, will also be having an impact, as the warm wet weather will not only encourage diseases but also weed growth will be encouraged.

Control of weed, pests and diseases is crucial for all aspects of public amenity to create safe and sustainable environments. Many football supporters will travel by train to matches. These trains would not run without proper control of weeds on the tracks and surrounds.

The Amenity Forum is taking a lead in communicating the important and essential task of weed, pest and disease control to the public and, as part of that, has produced some one page information leaflets. The first one can be found to on their website about “Producing quality football pitches”.

John Moverley, Chairman of the Amenity Forum, said ‘’We recognise the need to increase public understanding of the reasons for and methods used in controlling weeds, pests and disease in amenity areas. The Euros are a perfect example of how important the control of weed, pest and diseases are within the public’s everyday life. Dedicated professionals, who ensure our public amenity spaces are safe and sustainable for our use, carry out these controls. The tasks involved are both important and essential. I encourage the England fans to take notice of the quality of the pitches in the coming month, and appreciate all the work that has gone into them”.
The Amenity Forum is non-profit making and the independent body bringing together professional organisations with an involvement in the amenity horticulture sector. This is a very diverse industry responsible for the landscape management of urban areas, highways and rail network, sports grounds, parks, industrial and utility sites. To establish and maintain these areas to a high standard, the sector requires access to pesticides, efficient equipment and trained and qualified staff. The organisation was formed in October 2003 as a key action to support the Voluntary Initiative, an industry led project agreed with Government to reduce the environmental impact of pesticides.

The membership comprises of organisations from across this diverse industry, covering manufacturers, suppliers, trade associations, local authorities, major users, landscape, sport and leisure. Equally important are those members who represent training and qualification standards. The key Government agencies have an important observer role. The objectives of the Amenity Forum are:

The Amenity Forum conference and exhibition has become a must attend for all with an interest or engagement in weed, pest and disease control. This year’s event will be held at the Pirelli Stadium, Burton on Trent. Well known and authoritative speakers will address topical issues and stimulate discussions on the wide range of issues facing the sector. As the Forum is non-profit making, and with help from supporters, delegate rates have been kept as low as possible at £65, with a £15 discount for bookings before September. Why not book your place now and add your voice and support. The conference programme is available on line at www.amenityforum.co.uk and bookings can be made at [email protected]

Online Security June 8, 2016

I was recently contacted by Barclay’s fraud department who asked if could ring their team to discuss some transactions that looked suspicious.

I’ve had this before so didn’t really think anything of it – I rang the number they had left and was put through to the team that dealt with these type of issues.

I went through security as is standard practice – date of birth/mother’s maiden name/name a recent direct debit etc. etc. I was then transferred to another guy who asked me to access my on-line banking application on my IPad – he then explained what I needed to do to get a reference number for the fraudulent transactions – he then transferred me to a lady who helpfully explained the refund process and apologised for any inconvenience.

All was well and good in the world of my Barclays account and I was secretly impressed that they were as on the ball as they were.

Roll forward two days and I logged into my on line banking to make some payments and….low and behold ….my various accounts had all been cleared out.

Not only was there nada, no money, not a penny…. in the account…. the overdraft facility had been maxed out as well!

Aaaarrrggggghhhhh

I immediately rang my Barclays premier manager who put me straight onto the fraud department – the real fraud department this time…as it turned out the previous call ….WAS ALL FRAUD …

ALL FRAUD …everything, the holding music the whole set up…the various departments I had talked to (4 different people)…

ALL FRAUD.

Aaaaaarrrrggggghhhh again.

This has understandably rocked me.

Mike Clough is on the ball. Mike Clough is quick witted intelligent …Mike Clough is pretty sharp or so I thought …yet I’d been duped like a good ‘en.

Hook line and sinker. Completely taken in…Completely shafted.

And this, my friends is just the beginning. The last two weeks have been a complete nightmare of cancelled cards, telephone calls with Indian call centres – and multiple requests to go through security – none of these calls have taken less than an hour – and every time I’ve been on hold I’ve been thinking …

HOW DO I KNOW THAT THIS IS REAL….(how do we know anything is real…)

I would go so far as to say the FRAUD companies sound more professional than the guy from Mumbai who insists on calling me Mr. MCLUG …and then asks me for multiple transaction details from my account which I have no access to….and then says…

‘You have failed security’….

Pity then that the scally that cleared £30K out of my account didn’t fail bloody security isn’t it …

Mike C – P***ed off.

Survey to Excavation (with a bit of history thrown in) June 8, 2016

Happy 1st Anniversary to me! One year on, I thought I’d recap on one of the first jobs I won with Japanese Knotweed Solutions Ltd, from survey to excavation, with a little bit of history thrown in for good measure. Those that attended our recent seminar ‘The Others’ at the MOSI last week may recognise this case study, for those that didn’t make it, imagine a very nervous surveyor on stage in front of 100+ people.

The site in question was called ‘land off Ordsall Lane’ (not much of a ring to it but I’m sure the completed development will be catchier). The site, situated on the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford, was planned for swanky new 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments and town houses. Being local to the area and being a curtain-twitching nosey neighbour it was of particular interest to me as I could see the development of the site from my window.

When I first surveyed the site, it was in a bit of a state, with derelict warehouses filled with rubbish, broken glass and walls covered in graffiti (plus a local homeless person, who, it turns out, lived on the site for 6 years), a true health-hazard nightmare! Surrounding these buildings was dense scrub and wall-to-wall Buddleja; a common species on derelict sites which is great for butterflies but not so great for developers. Of course, the reason I was there was the Japanese knotweed.

To make it a little challenging for me, this Japanese Knotweed stand was growing along the boundary of the site, its rhizome network extending under the adjacent footpath and close to gas, electricity and telecommunication supplies – nothing like a steep learning curve for a new surveyor!

Now, I promised you some history: my curiosity in the site was sparked by the strange purple rocks unearthed during the excavation, and, being the big geek I am, decided to delve into the past (with the help of Google) to find out more about the site. It turns out that the purple rocks were dyes and this was the site of the Ordsall Dye Works, home to J & J M Worrall who moved to Ordsall in 1792 favouring the green fields to the city.  Between 1851 and 1890, the Works quickly expanded along the waterfront, with factory buildings and houses for the workers covering much of the area. In its heyday it had become one of the largest velvet dyers and printers in the world. With all this industry and no environmental regulations, this stretch of the Irwell became heavily polluted at this time, and was described in 1862 by Geologist Hugh Miller as “considerably less a river than a flood of liquid manure, in which all life dies…”

I’m pleased to say it’s not quite that gross now.

As with many new developments, space was at a premium, meaning that we could not put in practise the more environmentally friendly methodologies that look to reduce the amount of material taken to landfill. There simply wasn’t the space on site to bury the Knotweed or move it to a waste management area – leaving only one viable option: excavation to landfill. Our site operatives skilfully excavated the Japanese knotweed rhizome then installed a vertical root barrier to prevent the spread of rhizomes from under the footpath back onto the client’s site, whilst carefully avoiding those underground services! The site was left knotweed-free, ready for the next stages of development (including some very noisy ground works).

This, you might think, would make a rather neat and tidy end to the story; think again. The floods which effected much of the North West last Christmas caused the River Irwell to burst its banks in many places, including near this site. These types of flooding events destabilise river banks and wash huge amounts of debris, including the propagules of invasive species. If you are familiar with the River Irwell, you’ll know there are plenty of invasive plant species dotted along the river banks, picked up on the current and swept downstream, ready to set root elsewhere. And that’s exactly what’s happened: new areas of Himalayan balsam, giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed are now present just meters from the site.

So, perhaps this little story won’t finish here, I have a feeling we might be back in the area sooner than we think, and maybe an update will be necessary on my 2nd Year Anniversary!

Stuart Morris
Surveyor

Holidays June 8, 2016

What’s the point of holidays?

I’ve never really ‘got’ the whole ‘having a break’ thing …? If you have a break’ then you only ever have to get ‘back up to speed again’ – so why not just keep going?

This is a slightly flawed argument, which resulted in me working 22 years straight… without ever having a foreign holiday. My wife had foreign holidays, my children had foreign holidays but I was just a little too preoccupied with the next ‘big project’ to stop and ‘smell the roses’ so to speak.

This isn’t just about me finding the time to do the whole ‘holiday’ thing, it’s also about …why would I bother?

Hot sweaty airports, followed by hot sweaty claustrophobia inducing planes, followed by endless waits for baggage …then some godforsaken ride from hell with a monosyllabic driver who is a frustrated Jensen Button/Schumacher formula one wannabe …?

Hotels that are unfinished, that look nothing like the brochure and are generally terrorist hotspots…with air conditioning that simply recirculates the smell of rancid food and sweaty staff.

Generally, I’d rather not bother.

All of these problems – plus – I live in a rather wonderful part of the Peak District National Park.

I have fly fishing that is some of the best in the world, I have mountain bike trails par excellence and I have walking country that God excelled at when he created all things Peak District flavored.

I’m told by my other half that the ‘weather is unreliable’ …and that she simply must have ‘sunshine’ to survive the endless winters that we have in the UK.

B****cks… (don’t worry she never reads this)

What we actually have is an endless work cycle which means that when we get good weather we cannot react quick enough and say …’right – let’s have the week off… in fact let’s have the month off’…

We get so busy doing the next thing in front of us that we don’t stop and appreciate what we have here in the UK. We find it fairly easy to find places all over the world on the Internet… jet off on Ryan air to whatever trendy new resort takes our fancy – when what we should be doing is appreciating what is on our doorstep and making the most of our beautiful British countryside.

Give me ‘home’ any day of the week, any week of the year, any year… any time ….I’d rather be sat in my garden in Alport in the good old British Countryside.

This year I am going to make a point of enjoying life that little bit more.

I’m getting on a bit now and have realised that I won’t live forever…

So if ever you can’t reach me… I will either be sat in the garden or fishing …or writing the book I’ve been promising to do for the last ten years.

 

Mike C

What the critics said… June 1, 2016

Last Wednesday, we held our annual seminar at The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. This year’s theme, ‘The Others’, aimed to heighten the awareness of the other invasive non-native plants and animals which cause issues throughout the UK. The day was a huge success, with delegates attending from a range of industries, here’s a snippet of their feedback:

‘The CABI guy terrified me. I couldn’t decide if he is the God or the Devil. Time will tell. Loved the magic guy.’  Warren Slaney, Haddon Estates

‘Chris Baines kept his presentation short and intimate and raised some key questions which need to be answered in the long term.’ Sam Poultney, Haddon Estate

‘All were really good. Very, very interesting and informative.’ Andy James, Manor Estates

‘Mike Clough made the issues accessible and entertaining. Professor Baines was extremely engaging about the responsibilities individuals have  – it was as useful for thinking about my own garden as in advising my clients.’ Amy Johnston, Stephensons Solicitors LLP.

‘Chris Baines – something slightly different. All presentations were well delivered with interesting slides.’ Jo Farndon, RSK

‘Olaf Booy and Dick Shaw – extremely relevant to work I’m involved in and very good speakers and presentations.’ Tom Newstead, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions

‘A most worthwhile event. Thank you for the invitation 5 stars plus.’ Brian Egerton, Hawksmoor

‘It was good to see presentations on the day-to-day running of JKSL. Great range of talks from Scientists, Agency and the company.’ Zarah Pattison, University of Stirling

‘Mike Clough, clear and used language that was easily understood by a novice/someone who is new to invasive plants. Also, good use of visual information.’ Matt Bradley, Balfour Beatty

‘All speakers were excellent and very informative and complimented each other.’ Tom Dugdale, Braemar Estates

‘Chris Baines – his passion and enthusiasm for nature conservation and public engagement was a great take on an alternative solution.’ Victoria Armstrong, RSK

Olaf Booy, very informative at what a Government agency is actually doing about this problem.’ John Jones, Network Rail

‘Trevor Renal’s talk was very interesting in Freshwater Ecology.’ Michael Bradburn, Network Rail.
We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all those who were involved in the day, speakers, delegates and exhibitors. Over the years the event gets bigger and bigger and appears to have gained a well earned place on the calendar. The bar is set high, but watch this space for next year!

 

Suzanne H