When Logan Horne heard about the “Our Winning Green Space”
contest he decided to enter, but never thought he had a chance of winning. He
thought wrong.
Horne and the Louisa County (VA) School District, which is
located in central Virginia at the crossroads between Richmond, Fredericksburg
and Charlottesville, received an Exmark Lazer Z X-Series mower package this
past Tuesday that will help maintain the school district’s athletic fields and
grounds helping to create safer playing fields, as well as an athletic field
renovation.
The “Our Winning Green Space” contest is sponsored by Project EverGreen in partnership with Exmark Manufacturing, the Sports Turf Managers Association (SFMA) and The Foundation for Safer Athletic Fields for Everyone (SAFE).
Horne returned to his hometown of Mineral, VA to teach turf management
at Louisa County HS and oversee the care and maintenance of the district’s
athletic fields and grounds. The school district includes a high school, middle
school and five elementary schools, and the grounds and fields are used by both
students and residents for athletic competitions and recreation.
A professional turf manager by trade, Horne manages four
athletic fields, about 15 acres of landscape, 2.4 miles of walking trails and a
bee-keeping area. The students actively participate in the maintenance and have
come up with new ideas to enhance the grounds including building and installing
benches, clearing trails and helping to build an outdoor classroom. His love of
turf and managing sports fields drives him to recruit at least one high school
turf student a year to go into a career in sports turf management.
“Turf management is a unique program. Some kids would rather
work outside and it’s a great career opportunity,” says Horne. “The kids love
it. We have a very proud school and a lot of passion.”
“Louisa residents and the neighborhood are the real
winners,” says Cindy Code, executive director of Project Evergreen. “Healthy
and safe sports fields breathe new life into the environment and functions as
the lungs of the community. Project EverGreen and our partners at SFMA and
Exmark were impressed with the quality of the application and the passion of
Horne.”
The scope of the playing field renovation project is
currently being reviewed.
“We thank Project EverGreen and its partners for making this
project possible,” adds Horne. “It will leave a lasting footprint on our
community for a lifetime.”
Since 2015, Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Communities
renovation projects have revitalized more than 1 million sq. ft. of athletic
and recreational greens spaces in numerous cities across the United States.
