In August this year, Daryl Davidson of IGFH volunteered his time to provide an educational, hands-on turf-keeping session for a small group of young people at the Reiby Youth Justice Centre in South Western Sydney.
The centre offers a range of health, educational, and spiritual services to young people, including training in job and living skills. Daryl and several members of his Sydney University grounds team provided equipment for the young people to practice using, including a line marker, cylinder mower, and fertiliser sprayer.
The NSW Department of Communities and Justice shared a highlight of the day’s events on Facebook, commenting:
“Vocational Education and Training can be a real game changer in transforming young people’s lives.
“For National Skills Week, young people at Reiby Youth Justice Centre in Tharawal Country, Airds, learned from greenkeeping experts how to create their own cricket pitch, and how to embed a logo design into a field.
“Greenkeepers are highly skilled and sought after for their expertise in establishing and maintaining fine turf, grassed areas, and synthetic surfaces used for sporting events.
Whether it’s a Certificate III in Sports Turf Management or one of the many other VET pathways, we’re showing young people how they can take control of their future with practical, real-world skills.
“Special thanks to Ben Gilles from Ground Logo Media, as well as Daryl Davidson, Founder of International Greenkeepers For Hire and Head groundsman at Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness for their time, equipment and products to bring an immersive hands-on activity, educational experience and a pathway to employment.”
Daryl reported that the session ran successfully, adding: “It was a rewarding experience to share our knowledge and skills with the young people at Reiby Youth Justice Centre.
“Giving them hands-on experience with the equipment helped them learn technical skills, and also showed them the kind of career opportunities that exist in turf management and groundskeeping. Our hope is that this session inspired some of them to pursue a positive path forward.”