A shortage of open space in the City of Greater Geraldton local government area saw a proposal to restore the Eadon Clarke Reserve to its former glory, with funding sourced from all levels of government and from the Eadon Clarke Management Committee.
Stage one of the huge project included site works and levelling, irrigation, turfing, and lighting and power upgrades, with stage two seeing improved water provision, fencing, lighting and amenities.
The team at Grasshopper Turf was taken on by Council to carry out the turfing on the site after an earlier demonstration showed better results than their stolonising machine.
Using their ‘plug planting’ method and the salt-tolerant turf variety ‘Velvetene’, Grasshopper Turf have successfully established 6.5 hectares at Eadon Clarke Park. Because the plugs are placed at the right depth in the soil they coped well with the windy conditions, not losing any turf material ‘up against the fence’.
Parks Manager at the City of Greater Geraldton, Kim Trotter, says that Grasshopper Turf lived up to the City’s expectations, with the team “Working additional hours and into the night, to ensure that the planting was completed on time and the turf wasn’t stressed.”
“After nearly seven weeks I am very pleased with the result, with close to 100% strike rate and the grass looking very healthy and forming new runners. The Park’s soil conditions varied from sandy to heavy loam and the Grasshopper machine coped well with the different soil types.
“I would definitely consider using Grasshopper Turf again,” said Kim.
*Copy supplied by Grasshopper Turf
