Latest news with #KateTurner
The Independent
12 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Experts reveal 10 things you can do to keep your lawn lush in summer
The summer can be hard on your lawn - and by the end of the season, you may well be wondering if you'll have any grass left. Children and animals can cause havoc - with toys, sandpits and paddling pools taking up significant space and leaving your lawn suffocated. However, there are things you can do to minimise the damage. Kate Turner, horticulturist for Evergreen Garden Care, who has worked behind the scenes on BBC Gardeners' World, Love Your Garden and Garden Rescue has some tips. 'The biggest obstacles are kids with trampolines and paddling pools. All the toys come out and they stay on the lawn. You might go on to websites which say 'Move your trampoline every day' but that's just not realistic. 'So we have to accept that during the summer just enjoy your lawn, don't get too upset about it.' However, there are things you can do to minimise the damage, she suggests. 1. Be waterwise 'If there isn't a hosepipe ban and you want to water the lawn, give it a deep soak one evening a week, or early morning if you're an early riser,' she advises. 'But the lawn is the most hard-wearing plant in your garden. So even if the dry weather continues, once the autumn rain comes, usually the lawn will bounce back.' 2. Let your grass grow longer Over the summer, don't mow your grass as frequently and if it goes brown stop mowing it completely, she advises. 'If you're not mowing the lawn, get the edges done because that makes the garden look so much smarter,' she suggests. 3. Sink your trampoline 'If you have young kids and you are going to have that trampoline for a few years, think about getting a sunken trampoline, because it's much safer,' she suggests. 'Dig a hole and line it with a weed membrane. You can get specialist companies that do it.' Once the hole has been dug, overseed the perimeter with a really hard-wearing shade-tolerant lawn seed, she advises. 'Now is a really good time to do it because the soil is warm. Rake over the area a bit, then throw some good hard-wearing drought-tolerant and shade-tolerant seed. You have to be prepared to water for the first few weeks.' Obviously you're not going to be able to move the trampoline once it is in, but at least when the children leave home you have a ready-made space for a wildlife pond, she adds. 4. Put up with the paddling pool 'There's not a lot you can do until after (summer), but get a ground sheet down first and put the pool on top of that,' she advises. 'If there's any stones or pebbles underneath the soil level it will stop it puncturing.' You could also make a feature of it, creating a path that leads to the paddling pool, which can reduce the mess around it, she adds. Once the season is over, use the pool water to water your lawn. Rake the area a little and then overseed some more to refresh the grass. If you have enough space and a small-enough paddling pool, move it once a week to give each area of lawn a break, she suggests. 5. Guard against football damage If you have a family of keen budding footballers, overseed the goal area now with hard-wearing seed – and you will need to water it until it starts to germinate – to help minimise damage later on in the summer, she advises. 'If you're not going to overseed because you already have a decent lawn, give it a slow-release feed to toughen it up.' However, like Wimbledon courts at the end of the tennis tournament, if that goal is in constant use over the summer you'll have to accept that it may be trashed during those months. 6. Feed regularly 'You can give the lawn a really good feed every six weeks and once we are into the summer proper, use something like a fast-acting green, which you can attach to your hose, spray it on and it greens the grass up and makes it stronger really quickly.' If there's a drought, don't use feeding granules, she advises, but go for a liquid feed because granules will need a lot more watering to dissolve and do the work. 7. Make a path Well-worn areas can soon appear on your lawn if you don't have a path, so create a simple pathway using, for instance, log edging and bark chip, she suggests. 'If you have kids, you could do a hopscotch effect with different pavers and put some plants in between them such as low-growing thyme and chamomile. Something temporary for the summer is a really good idea.' 8. Reduce pet damage 'Female dogs' wee is really acidic and what you'll find is that you'll get lots of little bare patches throughout your garden. 'Break it up with a fork and then add some special dog spot repair which incorporates seed, feed and calcium that neutralises the acid in the urine. 'It's either that, or when you see your dog peeing, you get a watering can and water it away straight away.' 9. Put toys away 'Always put the toys away every evening because just leaving that plastic tractor out will damage the lawn.' 10. Don't worry about the moss 'If you have a shady lawn that's full of moss, don't worry about it for the summer. It will be quite hard-wearing.'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘Abnormal' tides threaten state's coast
Residents in coastal Victoria are being urged to batten down the hatches ahead of Tuesday's expected storm surge, which is expected to bring with it abnormally high tides and possible flooding. A 'very strong' cold front is moving across Australia's southeast over the next few days and is forecasted to peak on Tuesday. Tides are forecast to exceed well above the highest astronomical tide of the year. Those living in the Gippsland and Central Districts areas are being warned to stay vigilant with sea water flooding of low lying areas expected. VICSES State Duty Officer Kate Turner said sandbag filling and collection points were open at the Lakes Entrance and Manns Beach on Monday, with preparation efforts already underway at several flood-prone areas. 'Community members should avoid swimming in beaches, tidal rivers and creeks as we go through this period of storm surge, and always keep away from any flooded drains, rivers, streams and other waterways,' she told NewsWire. 'Our volunteers are well trained and prepared for this weather, and are ready to respond to help their communities.' More than nine million people currently fall under a severe weather warning along Australia's south eastern coastline, he Bureau of Meteorology's senior meteorologist Jonathan How said. From Monday, damaging winds and hazardous coastal conditions are expected to extend into large parts of southeast Australia, he said. 'We can see a very strong cold front moving up from the south, reaching the mainland into Monday morning,' he added. 'Behind this cold front is a mass of cold air, and that's associated with vigorous winds as well as showers and thunderstorms. 'Waves are also building along the south coast … for Victoria, abnormally high tides over the few days, peaking on Tuesday.' Forecasted large waves will bring dangerous conditions both in the water and on the beaches. 'The latest computer model guidance shows that, for the rest of today, that cold front moving through towards the east, and the low pressure system behind it bringing very vigorous winds, showers, and isolated thunderstorms,' Mr How said. The wild weather is expected to ease by Wednesday afternoon.
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Climate
- News.com.au
Storm surge heads towards southeastern Victoria as residents brace for flooding
Residents in coastal Victoria are being urged to batten down the hatches ahead of Tuesday's expected storm surge, which is expected to bring with it abnormally high tides and possible flooding. A 'very strong' cold front is moving across Australia's southeast over the next few days and is forecasted to peak on Tuesday. Tides are forecast to exceed well above the highest astronomical tide of the year. Those living in the Gippsland and Central Districts areas are being warned to stay vigilant with sea water flooding of low lying areas expected. VICSES State Duty Officer Kate Turner said sandbag filling and collection points were open at the Lakes Entrance and Manns Beach on Monday, with preparation efforts already underway at several flood-prone areas. 'Community members should avoid swimming in beaches, tidal rivers and creeks as we go through this period of storm surge, and always keep away from any flooded drains, rivers, streams and other waterways,' she told NewsWire. 'Our volunteers are well trained and prepared for this weather, and are ready to respond to help their communities.' More than nine million people currently fall under a severe weather warning along Australia's south eastern coastline, he Bureau of Meteorology's senior meteorologist Jonathan How said. From Monday, damaging winds and hazardous coastal conditions are expected to extend into large parts of southeast Australia, he said. 'We can see a very strong cold front moving up from the south, reaching the mainland into Monday morning,' he added. 'Behind this cold front is a mass of cold air, and that's associated with vigorous winds as well as showers and thunderstorms. 'Waves are also building along the south coast … for Victoria, abnormally high tides over the few days, peaking on Tuesday.' Forecasted large waves will bring dangerous conditions both in the water and on the beaches. 'The latest computer model guidance shows that, for the rest of today, that cold front moving through towards the east, and the low pressure system behind it bringing very vigorous winds, showers, and isolated thunderstorms,' Mr How said. The wild weather is expected to ease by Wednesday afternoon.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Leeds beekeeper teaching children on World Bee Day and beyond
A beekeeper from Leeds is inspiring a generation of schoolchildren from urban parts of the city to love the winged insects. Kate Turner took up beekeeping during lockdown and began cultivating her own 30,000-strong hive after taking an online course. Ms Turner set up Bee Inspired Eco Education, a community interest company which aims to educate young people about the natural world, last ahead of World Bee Day on Tuesday, Ms Turner said the creatures were "vital" for the future of the planet. The species' powers of pollination keep the world's eco-system and food chain thriving, but the United Nations has warned that bees are increasingly under threat from human activities."I started learning about bees with a view to then teaching and talking to others about them and inspiring people to love nature," Ms Turner said. "Our young people are our protectors of the future and it's really important that we inspire them to love the world around them and care for it." With the help of a Leeds City Council grant, Bee Inspired now has a partnership with 10 inner city schools, most of them primaries from deprived neighbourhoods where children may struggle to regularly access green space and Turner, 51, will regularly take a colony to the schools so pupils can learn about the lives of bees. In addition, she runs a hive at the CATCH community centre in Harehills where children from an after-school club get a buzz from observing the insects in their own habitat. "The kids absolutely love it and their enthusiasm is really infectious," she added."We do other activities around the importance of planting for bees all year round. We make wildflower seed bombs and talk about the simple things everyone can do, regardless of whether or not they have a garden, to help conserve our bees."Ms Turner said beekeeping was a "fascinating hobby", but warned that due to its cost and complexities it is not one "you can just jump into without thinking about it". She added: "If you want to save bees and help them, the big thing to do is to plant for them. "Even if you've not got a garden, you can just use a window box and plant flowers in it and that's a brilliant thing to do." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Subtle roadside detail that poses danger to Aussie drivers: 'Easy to spot'
Tiny dirt tracks on the side of the road are easily missed by motorists in Australia. But knowing where they are in your suburb or town could help lessen the odds of a costly collision with a large native animal like a kangaroo, wallaby or wombat. Wildlife tends to habituate the same paths, and rescuer Kate Turner estimates 80 per cent of vehicle strikes occur within 100 metres of established road crossings as native animals tread the well-worn path. 'It's incredibly frustrating. I can remember once removing a dead wombat off the road, only to find three other bodies that had been dragged off in the same spot,' she told Yahoo News. 'Even birds tend to get hit in the same spots.' Related: 🚗 Costly insurance claims for Aussies hitting kangaroos on the rise As the founder of Murrindindi Ranges Wildlife Shelter, Kate's experience has been focused around roads northeast of Melbourne. But the same principles apply across Australia. While many councils erect wildlife warning signs close to known crossings, Kate doesn't think they're the answer. She wants drivers to get to know where their pathways are and to slow down. 'People just need to pay attention… I've moved bodies from directly underneath the signs warning about wildlife,' she said. 'Maybe flashing signs with words saying 'slow down' might work, but people just do what they want without regard.' 🐕, Rare discovery in Aussie bush by sniffer dog 😳 'Incredible' 500-year-old discovery hidden behind invasive weed 🐠 Fisherman shocked by 'unfathomable' scene at beaches While not all motorists care about wildlife, hitting an animal can be expensive, and when it comes to kangaroos they can cause enough damage to write off a vehicle. "If you pay attention these paths are easy to spot. Learn them, slow down around them, and expect roos to come out at those spots. Treat them like zebra crossings," she advised on social media. Kate recommends drivers get to know worn paths that resemble bike or horse tracks. If you're driving long distances, it can be impossible to spot all of them, but knowing where they are in your local area is an easy task. 'This month I've already euthanised at least eight animals due to injuries sustained from motor vehicle accidents, and had three enter care,' she told Yahoo. 'Plus I found a live wombat joey in a deceased mum who was killed by a car.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
