Scotch College

Maintaining the safety and beauty of the Scotch grounds

In the April issue of Great Scot we wrote about the beauty of the Scotch grounds, noting the colourful flower beds, the well-manicured ovals, and the stately native and exotic trees which are such prominent and valued features of the campus.

As we noted at the time, it’s a scene we can easily take for granted; and now, along with the rest of Melbourne and much of Australia, dwindling water supplies in a time of severe drought are posing an unprecedented threat to our famous and much-loved grounds.

Faced with water restrictions which may become more stringent if the dry conditions continue, the Grounds Department at Scotch is striving to maintain the safety and beauty of the grounds, while minimising water consumption. It’s a challenging task.

Curator Michael Smith (pictured below) told Great Scot that this year Scotch has introduced a range of water-saving measures. ‘We’ve really been quite proactive in our water conservation practices, and not just since water restrictions were introduced,’ Michael said. ‘Water is a precious commodity, and we are planning to permanently adopt many of the water conservation measures we’ve introduced under drought conditions.’

Water-saving measures at Scotch have included:

• turning off irrigation on all lawn areas
• monthly applications of wetting agents to ovals and garden beds and monthly aeration, to encourage water to penetrate deeply into the soil profile
• lifting mowing heights on ovals and reducing the frequency of mowing ovals and lawns
• introducing more drought-tolerant grasses and plants
• installing timers and rain sensors linked to rainfall shut-off valves
• installing water meters on ovals to monitor and record water use over 12 months
• installing drip irrigation in garden beds
• mulching around trees and on garden beds
• regularly inspecting all irrigation equipment to check for leaks

‘With stage 2 water restrictions in place at present, grassed areas are becoming noticeably stressed,’ Michael said. ‘We’re aware that stage 3 restrictions will probably be imposed in January, so even more stringent provisions will apply then.

‘We’ll continue to monitor the safety of the ovals for sport in the new school year, looking in particular at hardness and uneven grass cover. Safety will be a priority,’ he said.

David Ashton