Giving back to the community
As a business, Easylawn is aware of the environmental impact of abstracting water from water courses. Which is why, by working with the Environment Agency, we have installed our own reservoirs that capture winter flood water to be used in the summer. These have become filled with an abundance of wildlife and utilised to solve problems with flooding and aid our irrigation requirements.
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​In 2013 we purchased 90 acres of disused quarry containing 35 acres of lakes. In agreement with many interested environmental groups, including Natural England and Herefordshire Council. We are working together to create new habitats and protect existing habitats whilst reducing our need to abstract water from rivers in the times of low flow.
Reducing our
water usage
Irrigation of the Easylawn product is imperative to its success, and thus water must be available from either a licensed abstraction point or from one of our purpose built water storage reservoirs.
The Environment Agency give strict guidelines on water extraction to maintain river flows and limit the impact on wildlife. The water Easylawn use is monitored and recorded by a senior member of staff to satisfy government legislation and to:
Reduce natural water extraction
Improve natural environment resources
Continually improve our efficiency of water use
Create alternative water resources
Invest in innovative irrigation machinery
A responsible approach to plant protection products
Our fields are closely monitored by BASIS and FACTS qualified agronomists who advise on the chemicals to use and their application rates. Chemicals are applied through specialist spraying equipment by our in-house qualified staff and records are kept for each field. No Easylawn fields are sprayed in anything less than optimal conditions.
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Easylawn fertiliser policy is to test fields where possible prior to seeding. This means we can match the requirements of the grass and limit the risk to the environment. All fertilisers are applied during the growing period on a little and often basis. This reduces the risk of runoff and the pollution of rivers. We also operate 2 meter field margins to prevent chemicals directly entering watercourses and have invested in a root stimulation spray (biostimulant), which encourages root growth to turf to increase carbon capture, reduce water run off and prevent flooding.
We always use Government approved chemicals and try to keep up with innovative products on the market to reduce inputs
We operate a ‘problem solver’ approach - chemicals are only used to target specific problems
All chemicals are stored in line with the Health and Safety Executives best practice guidelines
Continuous training delivered to in-house employees involved in chemical use and its application
Caring for the environment and the ground
Easylawn recognises that our distribution of turf has an impact on the environment and we have taken steps to limit this as far as possible. We've invested in new, fuel efficient lorries that meet European Legislation on emissions and employed computerised fuel consumption monitoring systems to make informed decisions over the efficiency of our fleet.
Contributing to a national scheme to assess and monitor the removal of soil by turf growers, we aim to reduce the removal of soil by using floating head harvesters that allow accurate depth control to cut the turf as thinly as possible. Easylawn is part of a large farming business which means we can return organic matter from either our poultry or cattle enterprises. By keeping to a strict rotation, we're able to fully rest ground in accordance with good agricultural practice.
