Monday, 7 November 2011

Transplanting Dune Sod

A key process involved in the project work on holes 11 and 12 is the stripping and relaying of dune or rough grass sod from the out of play areas. To make best use of resources and to help give an instant "mature look" to the finished result we have been using the excavators to gently strip off sections of dune sod from areas which require re-contouring and then placing them back down with the greatest care and precision onto already completed areas. As the grass in this sod is often very fragile the contractor has developed a useful strategy to handle each piece. An excavator is used to strip a section of turf, the bucket from the excavator is then detached with the turf still inside and the whole thing is placed into one of the 9 tonne dumpers. The dumper then takes the turf section (still safely sat inside the detached excavator bucket) to the area where it is to be re-laid. At this point a second excavator attaches the bucket and then carefully lays the turf section onto the newly created dune area. This process ensures that despite the fragile nature of the grass each and every dune sod section is used and no wastage occurs. It takes considerable skill to make sure all the sods are stripped to the same thickness and they are all placed back down in exactly the correct position. The turf could not withstand being picked up a second time and repositioned as it would most likely disintegrate. The finished result looks fantastic. 

A short video showing one end of the process is shown below.

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