School grounds across the county suffer from a lot of wear and tear during the course of the academic year. From Monday to Friday, thousands of little feet run, jump, and skip their way through the days - participating in sports, playing tag, and climbing on the equipment.
In areas of heavy traffic, the decision to lay down artificial grass in many Kent schools is becoming increasingly popular. While wanting to preserve natural grass in the main areas to encourage nature and biodiversity, specific areas where the grass quickly becomes eroded by heavy traffic can lead to muddy puddles in the winter and hard, dry, dusty patches in the summer.
Artificial grass in our Kent schools contributes to the aesthetics, safety, and low-maintenance properties of the buildings. Here are some schools that are currently reaping the benefits.
Bredhurst Primary School Artificial Grass Installation, Gillingham
The school had a small play area that was simply not fit for purpose. The climbing frame had no soft ground to make it safe for use, not that it got much use anyway, as the area was constantly muddy during the winter months. Although the school had tried to grow natural grass, it was constantly stymied by the hostile environment.
The school called in Artificial Lawn Company, and we completely transformed the area into a safe and attractive play garden where children could enjoy the fresh air all year round. Underneath the play area, we laid our 35mm Grassflex underlay, which provides a critical height of 1.5m for safer use and prevention of injuries.
Problem-Solving for Unusual Requests
Artificial grass was also the ideal solution for another Gillingham school during the pandemic months when they needed to create a one-way system to ensure the pupils stayed within their bubbles. The route took the children across the grass, which was becoming increasingly worn and muddy. A solution was needed.
We decided to create a network of pathways following the assigned route, using the ex-Crufts Pedigree Lawn, which kept costs low for the school, who had not accounted for this unexpected but important expense. The result was an artificial grass solution for the Gillingham school, which kept the pupils safe in their bubbles, kept their feet clean of mud, and saved the school’s natural grass areas from being eroded.
Keeping Children Safe and Preventing Injury
Artificial grass is helping to keep children safe in schools, from Dartford in the west of the country and beyond Canterbury in the east, Gravesend in the north and Ashford in the south, playgrounds have been kitted out with the company’s Grasflex underlay.
This underlay is impact absorbing, giving the finished surface a 1.5 metre fully certified critical fall height. This gives schools the reassurance they need that their pupils can safely play to their hearts’ content, protected against injury should they fall from the play equipment.
Low-Maintenance Artificial Grass in Maidstone Schools
While maintenance and mowing will still be necessary for larger areas of natural grass, using artificial grass in concentrated areas of play will help to significantly reduce the overtime spent on this job. In these areas, there is usually equipment and obstacles that make mowing more awkward and time-consuming. Installing artificial grass eliminates the need for regular mowing and will simply need an occasional brush down to keep it looking as fresh and green as the day it was first laid.
This frees up precious maintenance budget for other more important areas without compromising the overall look and safety of the play area.
Durability and Performance
Kids of all ages love indulging in rough and tumble play, and as well as needing a soft, springy surface to help break inevitable falls, artificial grass is also incredibly strong and durable.
When laid, Artificial Lawn Company gives all installations an automatic two yearguarantee. Chances are the area in which it is put down will undergo a significant number of comings and goings with kids.
For example, a recent artificial grass job in a Kent school transformed a 400m² play area from a muddy, uneven area with multiple trip hazards into a low-maintenance, natural-looking grass play area, which totally eliminated the mud and mess, smoothing out humps and bumps. The children at the school, which is located in Slade Green near Bexley, have access to a safe and clean play environment, while the school itself can rely on year after year of low-maintenance costs while still enjoying the attractive finished look, which is as fresh and green as the day it was first completed.
Creative Uses for Artificial Grass
The work completed by Artificial Lawn Company in schools across the Kent region is illustrative of the important role the product plays in maintaining the integrity of school premises. Utilised in a balanced and thoughtful way with the natural environment, the company endeavours to problem-solve a wide range of issues and challenges schools face in creating a safe and clean environment for its pupils while working within tight budgetary constraints and wanting to protect the biodiversity of their premises.
If you are responsible for school premises and would like to discuss a particular landscaping issue, please do not hesitate to drop us a line, and we would be happy to work on finding the best solution for you.