WA Turf Industry E-News

WA Turf Industry Awards Evening 2025

The WA Turf Industry Awards evening is fast approaching.

Our guest speaker this year will be Alec Pengilly, Turf Manager at Green Options Landscape Management. Alec is a highly respected and loved character in Turf Management in WA.

Members please be aware that you can attend this event to support the Sports Turf Graduates 2025, for the cost of catering and drinks on the evening.

We welcome everyone to attend and support this important event.  Please invitation above. RSVP closes this coming Tuesday.

NOTE: The next STA (WA) committee meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th April 2025 from 4:30pm online.

Members are most welcome to attend committee member meetings. If you are interested in attending, please advise our Secretary, Richard Gainsford by email at rich.gainsford@toro.com

Stormwater WA invites you to join this unique project spotlight and industry networking event.

Showcasing the 2025 Stormwater National Award-winning project: Flood management capacity building training program by Rain Consulting

This project won the National Award for Excellence in Policy and Education

REGISTER HERE

Networking Event │ Flood management capacity building training program by Rain Consulting

Date: Wednesday 19 March 2025

Time: 4.45pm for a 5.00pm start – 6.30pm (AWST)

Location: At Stantec, Ground floor, 226 Adelaide Terrace, Perth

Cost: This is a free event but registration is essential to ensure appropriate catering. Light refreshments and nibbles will be provided.

Presenters: Luke Cunningham and Rianda Mills, Directors of Rain Consulting

Flood management capacity building training program  

This project was to design and deliver a targeted training program to build capacity of council staff across the Melbourne Waters management region so they could feel more informed on technical flood information and challenges across the region. The key outcomes of the program were:

• An improved level of knowledge and increased confidence to use new approaches or practices

• Application of learnings from the program in a practical way

• Equipped participants with the best practice concepts and tools to apply.

The judges noted that “This is a well-designed and executed capacity building project that met industry knowledge needs through its customized format, implementing a key priority for Melbourne Water’s Flood Strategy. The online availability of these knowledge sharing products for future use is a great outcome, and the phase 2 rollout in 2024 is a strong demonstration of project success and value.”

Presenters: Luke Cunningham and Rianda Mills, Directors of Rain Consulting

Rain Consulting was founded in 2019 to pursue creative and original approaches for managing water in Australia. Rianda Mills and Luke Cunningham are the founders and directors of Rain Consulting, now with a team of environmental engineers and scientists across Melbourne and Perth, they are focused on all thing’s stormwater management from integrated water management to large strategic projects, to flood studies and facilitating and designing training courses. Rianda and Luke both draw upon their decades of experience to help translate complex ideas for a range of audiences. They are passionate about knowledge sharing and enjoy learning and incorporating new ideas and concepts through their work and from their colleagues.

Thank you to our Venue Sponsor, Stantec.

Session 3 on Tuesday 25 March

Register now

Date: Various Tuesdays from January to May 2025, schedule below

Time: 9.00am – 12.30pm (AWST)

Cost: $55pp (incl.GST) for each session, includes morning tea

Location: DBCA State Headquarters, 17 Dick Perry Avenue, Kensington

REGISTER HERE

These sessions are framed around site context that is representative of the key critical conditions around Boorloo and Bindjareb (the Perth and Peel region) and focus on opportunities to improve water sensitive cities outcomes in a largely urban context.

They are aimed at anyone wishing to better understand the urban water cycle and its interactions with the development, redevelopment and management of lands within our urban communities. We welcome anyone from industry including Councilors and senior decision-makers, local and state government and industry planners, engineers, landscape architects, asset managers and developers.

Webinar Presentation │ How to apply climate change projections to water management decisions

Date: Wednesday 30 April 2025

Time: 10:00am – 11:00am (AWST)

Online Event: This online event is hosted via MS Teams. Please register your information below to receive the access link.

REGISTER HERE

Join us to learn how The Guide to future climate projections for water management in Western Australia (Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, 2024) can strengthen your climate impact assessments. This new guide is a step-by-step decision support tool that provides a contemporary framework for selecting and applying climate projections for water projects.

This session is useful for anyone who needs to assess climate-related risks or design water infrastructure that is resilient and adaptive in a changing climate.

Scott Wills│ MC-ENV

Senior Climate Change and Water Specialist – DWER

Scott Wills has over 25 years of experience as a water professional in Western Australia, with expertise in urban stormwater design, water sensitive urban design, groundwater investigations and field monitoring techniques. Scott has recently completed a Masters in Environment and Climate Change at Curtin University and commenced work at the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) in 2023 as a Senior Climate Change and Water Specialist.  

This is what happens when a severe Autumn storm passes through on farm! West Coast Turf in Neergabby (Gingin) had this awful realization after being stuck in the shed whilst the hailstorm went through. There must’ve been some terrible wind up there. Just look at the irrigator how it has fallen over and the Dome building! There’s a bit to be fixed up here, which will put them in a precarious situation if not completed before the heat comes back.

Although, knowing Darren, he won’t let sleeping dogs lie. He will be on to sorting this out ASAP. It’s such an annoyance and disappointment though. You can ask any turf producer who has an irrigator/pivot when it’s going to fall over, and it usually at the hottest time of the year!

Join us for the WA Turf Industry Seminar Day, a premier event bringing together professionals from across the turf and landscape industry. This seminar is an invaluable opportunity for networking, learning, and discussing the latest advancements in turf management.

Who Should Attend?

·       Local Government Authorities (Parks & Recreation teams)

·       Private school Facility and Grounds Managers

·       Department of Education and Training representatives

·       Turf farm operators

·       Botanic Gardens and Parks Managers

·       Sports Turf Managers

·       Landscapers

What to Expect?

Expert presentations on the latest in turf management and biosecurity

Networking opportunities with industry leaders and suppliers.

Insights into sustainability and best practices.

TRADE BOOTHS are already selling fast – Contact Eva book a booth or larger site.

Delegate numbers are limited to 200, we already have a quarter of those places booked. Book in early so as not to miss out. You can book here WA Turf Seminar & Trade Show – SPORTS TURF ASSOCIATION (WA)

Diploma of Sports Turf Management WA

We are very excited to share that the Diploma of Sports Turf Management has begun for Semester 1, 2025, at South Metropolitan TAFE.

Huge thanks to Turf Lecturer Kaine Rogers for preparing and presenting this asset for the WA Turf Industry.

We would also like to congratulate Kaine on the completion of his Bachelor of Agriculture and Technology (Sports Turf Science & Management at Melbourne Polytechnic). He has been a very busy young man. Always dedicating himself to further learning and providing the best opportunities for the WA Turf Industry.

Sting Nematode Certification program

Local Government Authorities, private schools, Botanic Gardens, State Government departments, Managers of private and public open spaces and Sporting fields can now be assured that turf provided by accredited turf farms will be sting nematode free.

The accreditation regime is both rigorous, and transparent. All specified measures and requirements must be undertaken prior to sign off by the Turf Growers Association WA’s Executive officer. These include specific testing procedures and protocols, sampling qualification and criteria, procedures to mitigate, transportation requirements, and managing sting on farm.

Read more

Thank you to our valued and amazing Gold Sponsors:

Lawn Doctor

McIntosh and Son

T-Quip

Statewide Turf Services

New Ground.

Please support our valued sponsors.

Check out BOM’s Long range weather forecast March through to May 2025

Reporting and Environmental Incident in WA

To report an environmental incident in Western Australia, you can use the Environment Watch service provided by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Here are the steps you can follow:

1. Call the Environment Watch hotline: You can report incidents 24/7 by calling 1300 784 782.

2. Online Form: You can also report incidents using the online form available on the Environment Watch website1.

When reporting, try to provide as much detail as possible about the incident, including:

• The nature of the problem (e.g., pollution, illegal dumping)

• The location of the incident

• Any identifiable sources or responsible parties

• The time and date of the incident

This helps the authorities respond more effectively.

https://www.wa.gov.au/service/environment/pollutant-prevention/environment-watch

RECOMMENDATION:

Check out the Turf Growers Association WA and Sports Turf Association (WA) social media pages on Facebook and LinkedIn. You will find some top-quality posts on both pages.

Also check out the “Turfies at TAFE” Instagram page, it’s a ripper.