From
Institute of Groundsmanship
Award goes to Ashton on Mersey Cricket Club
The
club officers at the awards ceremony L to R - Mark Robinson (secretary),
Vivienne Duncan (membership secretary), John Watling
(utilities manager), Andrew Roscow (fundrasining manager), Ian Duncan (treasurer), David Gaster (chairman)
ASHTON on
The club picked up the prestigious ‘Environmental
Project of the Year’ award at the at the
Hosted by talkSPORT Radio’s
Mark Saggers, the awards recognise
leadership, innovation and outstanding achievement across every aspect of
grounds-care – from grassroots pitches to professional stadia,
including all types of public and private sports venues.
Ashton on Mersey were nominated for the award by
The award is the culmination of an ambitious five-year
energy efficiency project which began in 2006.
It has been managed by John Watling,
who retired as club chairman this year after 13 years in the role, and
fundraising manager Andrew Roscow.
The project set out five year targets to reduce energy
consumption by 45 per cent and the carbon footprint by 50 per cent. This was
achieved by a range of measures including upgrading existing appliances to
modern highly efficient ones, installing renewable energy forms, educating club
members about the energy they use and implementing new waste saving measures
and recycling initiatives.
The club introduced 25 energy saving initiatives over
the period including double glazed windows, low energy lighting, replacing beer
chilling and bar heating systems, and loft insulation.
However by far the most impressive
initiatives included the installation of solar thermal panels to heat water,
installing solar light pipes in the roof to remove the need for electrical
lighting during daylight hours, and the installation of 51 solar photo voltaic
panels. These panels allow the
club to generate its own electricity not only for internal use but electricity
is actually sold back to the national grid by the club.