PRPS Park Maintenance Institute Hosts Webinars On Managing Forest Ecosystems, Natural & Artificial Turf Management

The PA Recreation and Park Society’s  Park Maintenance Institute will host two Shop Talk webinars on Managing Forest Ecosystems For Birds and Biological Diversity and a third webinar on Natural vs. Artificial Athletic Turf.

Forest Ecosystems

These webinars will help teach managers of public open spaces about sustainable techniques to manage forests for habitat, while meeting other goals, such as timber management, tree regeneration, and recreation. 

The Institute invited Ron Rohrbaugh, the Director of Conservation Science and Forest Programs at Audubon Mid-Atlantic to present on forest management practices in woodlots and large forest tracts that improve habitat for forest birds, while also meeting goals of multiple stakeholder groups. 

Participants will: 

-- Learn about the status and habitat needs of forest-dwelling birds 

-- Learn how to evaluate forest health and habitat quality at various scales 

-- Learn which forest management practices produce desired habitat conditions 

-- Learn how to plan for and deal with issues, such as deer overbrowsing and invasive plant species

The webinars will be held--

-- August 4: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.  Click Here to register.

-- August 5: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Click Here to register.

Natural vs Artificial Turf

This webinar will help educate athletic turf managers and field owners about important considerations and comparative research surrounding natural and artificial playing surfaces. 

The natural vs artificial discussion continues in this webinar highlighting important considerations before deciding whether or not to go with a synthetic turf field. 

Panelists will discuss essential maintenance for synthetic surfaces, compare research on playing surface hardness, and even talk about why major sports teams in the NFL and MLB have chosen a synthetic surface on their fields.   

Participants will: 

-- Learn about required synthetic field maintenance practices 

-- Learn about important considerations before deciding if a synthetic surface is right for their facility 

-- Learn the why’s and why not’s of a synthetic surface

The webinar will be held--

-- September 7: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.  Click Here to register.

For more information on facilities and grounds, land management and park maintenance needs, visit the PA Recreation and Park Society’s  Park Maintenance Institute webpage.

[Posted: July 20, 2021]  PA Environment Digest