Sustainable Athletic Fields: Turf Management and Artificial Turf Options

Report and presentations completed by students enrolled in HORT 4061: Turfgrass Management, taught by Dr. Eric Watkins in fall 2016.This project was completed as part of the 2016-2017 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Brooklyn Park. Brooklyn Park wanted to better manage its existing athletic fields, and is considering converting some athletic fields to synthetic turf. Brooklyn Park project lead Brad Tullberg worked with four teams of students in Dr. Eric Watkins’s HORT 4061 course, each of which conducted an independent assessment of an athletic field, developed a set of best management practices, and assessed the benefits and drawbacks of converting the field to synthetic turf. The students' combined final report and presentations are available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance local sustainability and resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu