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Lacrosse " moms and dads" educated on natural turfgrass  sports field establishment

On July 10, 2008, the Rutgers University -- New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station -- Snyder Research and Extension Farm hosted a group of 125 youth lacrosse playing three fields developed at the Snyder Research Farm for natural turfgrass educational programs. The program focused on parents, coaches, league organizers and players regarding development of natural turfgrass "utility" athletic fields incorporating basic farmingprinciples. The audience during a break heard speakers from Rutgers Cooperative Extension offer information on development of the fields being played on. The presentation included a step-by-step analysis of everything from site selection to basic farming principles in the development of the fields. A cost analysis of each step of the project along with the timeframe of development was presented to the audience. Additionally, a survey was handed out that will be used by the turfgrass specialist to better understand the issues that are currently of interest to the program participants.

The overall goal of the project is to provide basic sports field turfgrass educational information for parents, coaches and league organizers so they can better interact with township officials and school administrators in discussions involving the development of sports field sites.