The Olds College Board of Governors has approved the designation of 7.4 hectares of college property east of the wetlands for the Prairie Turfgrass Research Centre.
Jason Dewling, vice-president of academic at Olds College, said the board wholeheartedly supported the designation and the partnership that exists between the college and the Prairie Turfgrass Research Centre.
“We've been partners with them since 1989 to add value to our program and it's a living lab for our students, so there's many good reasons why we want to continue the partnership,” Dewling said.
Jim Ross, executive director of the Prairie Turfgrass Research Centre, said he expects that more research will be able to be conducted as part of the designation. The 7.4 hectares will be at least double the land available for the centre to conduct research.
“It'll be designed so that we can conduct some specific research in specific areas within that … area. We can probably provide tighter controls when we're constructing it so we'll have a better site for testing various products,” he said.
The Prairie Turfgrass Research Council is an independent group that Olds College hosts on campus, adding value to the programs of the college. Staff from the council regularly instruct Olds College students on various aspects of turfgrass management.
Ross said centre staff sometimes take the research they are doing and share that with turfgrass students. Currently, more work is being done on exactly what types of research can be shared with the students and how that might be done.
“We get involved (with) the degree students and some of their research projects that they conduct. We will work with them … (on how) they are conducting their experiments … interpretation of the results,” he said.
Prairie Turfgrass Research Council does research on different types of seed, drainage and irrigation research related to the turfgrass industry.
"We've been partners with them since 1989 to add value to our program and it's a living lab for our students, so there's many good reasons why we want to continue the partnership."Jason Dewling, vice-president, academic, Olds College
