CTRF Stakeholder Update

August 23, 2022

For immediate release:
Stakeholder Update – August 2022

Since 1973, CTRF and its member organizations have funded turf research projects aimed at advancing education and scientific knowledge associated with the safe, recreational and functional use of turfgrass.  Findings directly and positively impact soccer, rugby, lacrosse and cricket pitches, baseball and football fields, golf courses, lawn bowls, parks, home lawns and anywhere there is managed turfgrass.

As with many charities, fundraising has been a challenge for CTRF over the past two years.  Even prior to COVID, there was considerable strain on our turf research sponsorship resources, so much so, that we questioned the Foundation’s long-term viability.  While prudent to discuss all possibilities, our member organizations were quick to conclude that driving turf research remains important, relevant and worthy of our continued attention and efforts.

Our taking stock exercise has provided motivation to restructure CTRF governance, modernize the bylaws, explore new funding models and methods and review key issues like knowledge translation and transfer, among other things.

Transformation of the Foundation is a work in progress but efforts have already yielded results worth mentioning.  First came two new donor contribution pages, one at our own website www.turfresearchcanada.ca and the other called ‘A New Approach to the  Turf We Play On’, hosted by the Golf Canada Foundation. 

We’ve also created a new ‘Legacy Giving’ initiative, currently targeting golfers via the BC Golf Association and Golf Quebec websites with the goal of exposure on all provincial golf association websites in the near future.  

Meanwhile, renewed monetary support from the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association and Golf Canada could not come at a better time but we have long realized a huge potential for funding outside of golf, ie. soccer, football, baseball and other field sports.  With that in mind, every major Canadian amateur sport organization, along with respective provincial groups, has been solicited for turf research contributions, leveraging golf’s long-standing support of turf research with these new-to-us organizations while promoting the benefits of turf to all interested stakeholders.

Behind the scenes, work has been done to ensure our webpage is constantly up-to-date with project reports, CTRF news, announcements, etc. and we’re in the process of full French translation.  Our comm department’s once simple distribution list of turf researchers has been expanded to include hundreds of important contacts and continues growing.

As for research projects, the CTRF has provided well over $2.3 million in project funding and is currently supporting Laval University’s two year study called ‘Understanding and predicting pesticide use on golf courses using deep machine learning’ by Dr. Guillaume Gregoire for $59,225 and Oregon State University’s ‘Enhancing turfgrass carbon sequestration to improve sustainability and market access’ by Alec Kowalewski for $16,000.  Special thanks to the Quebec Turgrass Research Foundation for their additional funding support.  

In the short-term, we will be circulating our 2023 Research Funding Call for Proposals in early September.  In the medium term, watch for an educational opportunity in the form of a webinar for spring 2023 along with new opportunities to be involved with the CTRF. 

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‘Link for CTRF News, Updates and Turf Research Reports’

If you’re a professional golf or sportsfied manager, turf researcher, student or have any sort of stake in the turf management industry, consider signing up for the Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation’s e-news by clicking the following link:

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There’s no fee to receive timely and relevant turf research news and project reports.  Well, eventually you might see them but why wait for others to provide news about advancements in the turf management industry when you can get it straight from the source! 

About the CTRF
The Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation (CTRF) is a registered charity that raises funds for turfgrass research projects aimed at advancing education and scientific knowledge associated with the safe, recreational and functional use of turfgrass.

Contact:
email Jerry Rousseau, Executive Secretary
www.turfresearchCanada.ca
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