Winter is for the birdsso feed them.

Thats the advice of Curtis Stillwell at the Grass Pad, a nursery stock, seed, sod and wild bird enthusiast store in Olathe, Kansas.

Just get off your butt and do it, he jokes. Its not rocket science. You can buy a small hanging feeder and a 10 pound bag of wild birdseed for less than $10. Start small and sees who shows up.

And who might show up?

According to Stillwell, during the winter in northeast Kansas, blue jays, cardinals, house sparrows, song sparrows, mourning doves, house finches, house wrens, purple finches, American finches, tufted titmouses, chickadees, hairy and downy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, red wing black birds, grackles, nuthatches and flickers may pay a visit.

However, whether humans should feed wild birds, according to Stillwell, is a personal choice, akin, he says, to helping a homeless person on the street. Melody Weller at the Wild Bird House at the Brookwood Shopping Center in Topeka agrees, but adds that feeding birds doesnt make them dependent.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks apparently thinks its OK to feed feathered friends, as it provides information on feeding and attracting birds at kdwpt.state.ks.us/Services/Wildlife-Diversity/Bird-Feeders.

KDWP says birds have three simple needs: food, cover and water.

And for humans, Weller adds, a good viewing area from a window, with the feeder or birdhouse placed where predators cant harm the birds.

For cover as well as food that means habitat. The KDWP and Kansas State and Extension Forestry recommend a song bird bundle of shrubs, such as tartarian honeysuckle, eastern red cedar, Nanking cherry and aromatic sumac. They also suggest a woodpile or an old Christmas tree.

More here:
At Home Living: Winter feeding attracts variety of featured friends

A group of top women's soccer players have withdrawn a gender discrimination lawsuit aimed at not being forced to play this year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada on artificial turf.

Being forced to play the event on the surface, which has drawn complaints over injury worries and true rolls and bounces of the ball, irked the women given the men's World Cup is played on natural grass.

That sparked the lawsuit against world governing body FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) filed last year with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Attorneys for the players said they were forced to drop the lawsuit in part due to delaying tactics by FIFA and the CSA so the 24 teams - including Australia's Matildas - could have enough time to train on the proper surface for the global showdown that opens June 6.

"On behalf of the players, I want to thank all who aided our fight for natural grass fields at the 2015 World Cup including our volunteer lawyers from Canada and the United States," US star Abby Wambach said in a statement.

"Our legal action has ended but I am hopeful that the players' willingness to contest the unequal playing fields -- and the tremendous public support we received during the effort -- marks the start of even greater activism to ensure fair treatment when it comes to women's sports."

Wambach was joined in the complaint by several other top players, including US striker Alex Morgan, Germany's Nadine Angerer and Spain's Veronica Boquete.

Even actor Tom Hanks took up the players' cause, saying last year on Twitter: "Opinion: Women's World Cup is the best Soccer of the year. Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. Hanx."

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke praised the desire of the women even as his group had fought against their goal of natural grass for the event.

"Over the last months we, myself included, have personally engaged with players and technical staff from the qualified teams to address their concerns and doubts," he said.

Read more here:
Women's World Cup surface lawsuit dropped

A group of top women's football players have withdrawn a gender discrimination lawsuit aimed at not being forced to play this year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada on artificial turf.

Being forced to play the event on the surface, which has drawn complaints over injury worries and true rolls and bounces of the ball, irked the women given the men's World Cup is played on natural grass.

That sparked the lawsuit against world governing body FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) filed last year with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Attorneys for the players said they were forced to drop the lawsuit in part due to delaying tactics by FIFA and the CSA so the 24 teams - including Australia's Matildas - could have enough time to train on the proper surface for the global showdown that opens June 6.

"On behalf of the players, I want to thank all who aided our fight for natural grass fields at the 2015 World Cup including our volunteer lawyers from Canada and the United States," US star Abby Wambach said in a statement.

"Our legal action has ended but I am hopeful that the players' willingness to contest the unequal playing fields -- and the tremendous public support we received during the effort -- marks the start of even greater activism to ensure fair treatment when it comes to women's sports."

Wambach was joined in the complaint by several other top players, including US striker Alex Morgan, Germany's Nadine Angerer and Spain's Veronica Boquete.

Even actor Tom Hanks took up the players' cause, saying last year on Twitter: "Opinion: Women's World Cup is the best Soccer of the year. Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. Hanx."

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke praised the desire of the women even as his group had fought against their goal of natural grass for the event.

"Over the last months we, myself included, have personally engaged with players and technical staff from the qualified teams to address their concerns and doubts," he said.

Read more:
Women's World Cup artificial turf lawsuit dropped

U.S. forward Abby Wambach and a group of fellow players have withdrawn their complaint of gender discrimination over the artificial turf fields to be used for this years World Cup in Canada.

The artificial turf became a contentious issue with the players, who have claimed that the surface is less forgiving than natural grass and impacts play because of concerns over injury. They also claim that balls travel and bounce differently on turf.

But their overriding complaint was one of equity: The mens World Cup is held on real grass.

Our legal action has ended. But I am hopeful that the players willingness to contest the unequal playing fields and the tremendous public support we received during the effort marks the start of even greater activism to ensure fair treatment when it comes to womens sports, Wambach said in a statement Wednesday.

The players complaint was filed last fall with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. It named FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, and the Canadian Soccer Association. Neither budged in reconsidering the planned surface for the event.

The World Cup will be played in six Canadian cities starting in June, with an expanded field of 24 teams. The final is scheduled for July 5 at Vancouvers BC Place.

The players want to focus on their matches and not the controversy, attorney Hampton Dellinger said.

The players are doing what FIFA and CSA have proven incapable of: putting the sport of soccer first, he said.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke issued a statement saying that over the past several months he had met with players and the technical staffs from World Cup-qualified teams.

What was very clear from the meetings with the players was their desire and enthusiasm about making this the greatest FIFA Womens World Cup ever, and to ensure that they have the best possible conditions to perform well, he said. This is a goal they share with FIFA and we are totally committed to providing the best possible surface to enable everyone to enjoy a great footballing spectacle.

Go here to read the rest:
Players withdraw complaint in Canada over Women's World Cup turf

"My alarm goes off at 6 a.m.," said Jordan Treadway, Roger Dean Stadium director of grounds and facilities. "In Spring Training, I'm usually here around 6:45. We can't really get here much earlier because the sun doesn't come up. As soon as the sun is up, our guys are out."

Treadway oversees a full-time staff of 19.

For Spring Training, another five or six workers are added, assisting with the never-ending duties of maintaining the infield grass, dirt and mounds.

The crew's day begins before sunrise, and ends, as Treadway says, "when the job is done." That's usually when it's dark.

"We started our prep for Spring Training around the first of November," Treadway said.

Spring Training 2015: Cardinals | Marlins

There is no shortage of activity at Roger Dean Stadium, also the Minor League home for the Marlins and Cardinals' Class A Advanced affiliates. After Spring Training ends, the field readies for 140 Florida State League games for the Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals.

"Jordan and his crew do a tremendous job. The field is always immaculate," Marlins infield coach Perry Hill said. "You think about the pounding it takes for 45-50 days in a row. There is a game every day. Then, there are two teams taking batting practice every day.

"That field just gets torn up. I can't believe they keep it in the type of shape they keep it in."

The stadium's busy agenda also includes hosting numerous amateur baseball tournaments, such as Perfect Game and USA Baseball, plus college and instructional league games. Several years ago, the main field was the site of a football game.

Original post:
Jupiter crew works the grounds year-round

Imagine: Sitting before you is a scale model of the Rogers Centre, roughly the size of a round roasting pan. Your challenge: to put a real baseball field in the stadium natural grass with a dirt infield by opening day 2018.

Your research has been thorough. Experts at the University of Guelph have determined the ideal species of grass. They have it growing on an Ontario sod farm. They say it will flourish indoors with the roof closed.

Under the right conditions, that is. Your job is to create those conditions.

So open the roof, reach in and toss out that artificial turf, which was new for the 2015 season. Haul out your jackhammer. Rip up the concrete. Install plumbing for irrigation and drainage. Dig some more to accommodate the sod and the dirt infield.

Close the roof. Strip that shiny skin from the four mammoth roof panels. Its the original PVC membrane, circa 1989, and its worn out. While youre at it, you might figure out a way to replace it with a material that lets in the light. Grass likes natural light, and right now, the closed dome shuts it out.

The scientists at Guelph say the grass will grow without natural light, but youll need lots of artificial light enormous banks of mobile grow lights that sit about 10 feet off the ground and nourish the sod when the field is not in use. Youll roll them around between games to focus on the worn spots, even after games played with the roof open.

One more thing. Grass sweats. (Scientists call it transpiration.). Water from the roots vaporizes from the leaf surface into the air. All of that grass will create a lot of humidity, and youve got to figure out a way to get rid of that sticky air or the Rogers Centre will become a sweatbox with the roof closed. So youll need a dehumidifier. Forget Home Depot; you need a really big one.

Now youre ready to install the grass.

Assuming, of course, that your engineers surmounted all of those challenges and you have the budget to make it happen.

Read more:
Real grass at Torontos Rogers Centre poses major challenges

Wild elephant grass, also know as Napier grass, is one of those wonder plants that needs little water and few nutrients to produce copious crops on fallow lands. Since it can be used for grazing, it has allowed farmers from Africa to Asia to amp up food supplies for their cattle herds.

But Philippine farmers in Bacolor, Pampanga, just north of the capital Manila, have now gone a step further. They are using the grass to produce renewable electricity for their meat factory. Everything we need is on-hand, says Bacolor Mayor Jomar Hizon.

The town has plenty of land to graze cattle and grow grass, but its processed meat factory, Pampangas Best, needs electricity. Hizon says that that the grass-powered power plant is like a three-point shot.

The sod growing in Pampanga is the so-called Super Napier grass, which is packed with energy. It can produce several crops per year and local experts estimate that an area smaller than a fifth of New Yorks Central Park, or about 150 acres, could yield 1 megawatt in grass power. The Philippines is a very appropriate place for a project such as this, where we have farmers in one community, and a power plant a few kilometers away that can provide up to perhaps 10 megawatts, says West Stewart, managing director of Advanced Energy Technologies, which builds distributed power plants across southeast Asia. Stewart says that the elephant grass power plant could help power towns and villages facing electricity shortages and lacking links to the electric grid.

The farmers, of course, are not burning the grass itself. That would be too inefficient. They gassify the cellulose in the grass blades by exposing it to very high heat, and break it down into energy-rich synthetic gas, or syngas, which contains methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. They use the syngas as fuel for massive Jenbacher gas engines, which GE manufactures in Austria. This can be replicated in other areas in the country, says John Alcordo, GEs regional general manager for Distributed Power in ASEAN. We believe that in an island grid such as [in Bacolor], and in a land where feedstock for biomass gasification can grow well, the opportunities will be significant.

The shift to distributed power is the latest trend in energy generation and distribution, akin to going from landlines to cell phones, a move that revolutionized telecommunications two decades ago. It gives people and businesses predictable and reliable access to electricity, regardless of whether the grid is working or whether it reaches their town.

GEs Distributed Power business, the companys newest unit, has already rolled out dozens of similar Jenbacher applications around the world. The gas engines are munching on everything from cheese whey and whisky mash to discarded school lunches and rice hulls.

For more stories like this, visit GE Reports.

More:
Philippine Farmers Harvest Power From Grass By The Acre

Smith criticized Pittsburgh's playing surface, complaining about its overuse.

The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night at Heinz Field, with the weather forecast calling for heavy rain set to fall on the stadium's natural grass. Baltimore receiver Torrey Smith is not happy about the playing surface, saying it is overused and generally not good for footing, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.

"It's terrible. They need to go ahead and put some turf up there or something," Smith said Thursday. "Apparently the field gets a lot of use. That's good for them [as a business], but it's terrible for us [as players on both teams] playing this late [in the season]. I'm sure they'll do a great job prepping it."

A four-year veteran, Smith has had no issues in the past playing in Pittsburgh. In Baltimore's trip to the Steel City this year, Smith amassed 63 yards and a touchdown. In 2013, Smith had 61 yards and in 2011 as a rookie, caught five passes for 71 yards and a score. In fairness, bad footing is a major problem for his style of play. Smith is a burner who wants to take the top off defenses, something which can be negated by turf flying up and soggy grass.

This is not the first time complaints have been made against the Heinz Field grass. Former NFLPA president Gene Upshaw called attention to the issue after a players survey in 2006 rated the field second-worst behind Gillette Stadium, which received FieldTurf soon thereafter, per FieldTurf.com.

"I actually sent the results to Dan Rooney because we were having dinner one night and he said his players all told him that they like that field," Upshaw said. "I said, 'I bet I get a different result than you get. Were you handing them their checks when you asked them?' We would like to see them go to a different surface."

There is even history with the turf and these two teams specifically. Last year, Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore 19-16 with the help of some bad field conditions. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker explained what a nightmare it is to kick in Pittsburgh, telling Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the following:

[Ravens kicker Justin] Tucker said he works with the grounds crew at Baltimore's practice facility in Owings Mills, Md., purposefully destroying perfectly good sod in order to mimic conditions at Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

"It's tough on this field because the turf is so poor," Tucker said. "You can't really practice that type of kick on this turf."

See original here:
Torrey Smith is angry about the 'terrible' grass at Heinz Field

The natural grass surface at Bank of America Stadium will receive a makeover before the second of two games at the facility in a five-day span.

Workers were scheduled to begin resodding the middle of the field about two hours after the end of Tuesdays Belk Bowl matchup between Georgia and Louisville.

With favorable weather forecast for the next two days, Carolina Panthers officials are confident theyll have time to lay the sod a 16-yard-wide swath stretching the length of the field and get the field marked and painted with NFL hash marks and logos before the Panthers playoff game Saturday against Arizona.

Were honestly just doing it now because its a playoff game. We want everything to be as good as it can be, head groundskeeper Tom Vaughan said of the resodding. Playoff games are a big deal.

With rain in the forecast Friday and Saturday, the Panthers grounds crew expects to cover the field with tarps Friday afternoon, per NFL rules. Officials say the turf will be in good shape.

Workers laid 70,000-square feet of new sod at the stadium after the Democratic National Convention in 2012, six days before the Panthers home opener.

Vaughan is not concerned about players losing their footing on the heavy, durable sod.

When its down, its down, he said. The products designed for this. Thats the good thing about it.

The Charlotte Observer welcomes your comments on news of the day. The more voices engaged in conversation, the better for us all, but do keep it civil. Please refrain from profanity, obscenity, spam, name-calling or attacking others for their views.

Have a news tip? You can send it to a local news editor; email local@charlotteobserver.com to send us your tip - or - consider joining the Public Insight Network and become a source for The Charlotte Observer.

Read more here:
Will BofA stadium field be ready for Carolina Panthers playoff game after Belk Bowl?

Atlanta, Georgia (PRWEB) December 30, 2014

Early in December, 2014, Super-Sod's second solar farm went on-line in partnership with Georgia Power and Hannah Solar. The photovoltaic cells span five acres of their sod farm in Marshallville, Georgia.

Their new solar farm produces 1 megawatt of electricity a year. All the green energy harvested from the sun at the turf company's solar farm goes directly into the grid. The number of homes 1 MW will power varies by region and according to the Solar Energy Industry Association's calculations, this is enough energy to power 92 homes in Georgia.

Their first solar farm went on-line in 2013 in Lakeland, GA. It's a 10 acre solar farm producing 2 MW in partnership with Invenergy, LLC.

Both solar farms are part of Super-Sod's commitment to green technology and sustainable development.

Super-Sod is a family-run business that employs experts in turf and horticulture. One of their most popular products has been their Soil3 organic compost, delivered in a cubic yard BigYellowBag, which they make partially from composted grass clippings from their sod production. Super-Sod continues to develop new garden products, foster gardening and landscaping, and always seeks to improve their farming practices, technology, environmental stewardship, and employee knowledge.

Visit link:
Super-Sod Produces Green Power with their Second Solar Farm in Georgia