5,500 Pieces of Grass
Briggs & Stratton’s Yard Doctor, Trey Rogers is still in Beijing and he’s started the monumental task of moving 5,500 modules of grass. See how it’s going.
Day 2: August 10, 2008
When I got up this morning I was greeted by fog and 77 degrees F. It is still hot and humid, and it’s as close to raining without rain as you can get. We went to the construction site first thing this morning. This is the site where the modular field was originally planted and cared for as it waited to be placed in the stadium. Part of our job as consultants was to provide specifications on how to prepare a turf module and grass establishment site. We gave them ideas on asphalt surface and its slope as well as accessibility and irrigation standards. I could see the move had started, as the first row of grass modules had been removed. I was happy to see the grass looks very good. My graduate student, Alec Kowalewski, and Mr. Gao, the Chinese appointed field manager, have done a very good job, given the extremely challenging weather.
Next, we headed for the Bird’s Nest. Every other time I have been here this stadium and the surrounding area has been a dust bowl due to construction. It is good to see it finished and looking very nice. As we move close to the entrance, I can see the Chinese Army trucks lined up to enter the stadium, each with 10 turf modules. At 10 modules per truck, and 5,500 modules, that is 550 trips!
Inside the magnificent stadium the place is filled with workers moving in modules. The process is going smoothly. The grass looks good. Everyone is taking great care to place the modules correctly.
One highlight of the day was the fact that NBC Sports was on hand to do a story on the field. They took lots of pictures and interviewed a couple of us about the story behind these very important pieces of grass. I wonder if they’ll show it on air later!
The modules will continue to be placed into the stadium from August 10 through 12, and the move has to be finished by the 12th. So far, everything is on schedule, but I’ll let you know if that’s still the case tomorrow.
Trey Rogers, the Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor
Read more of Trey's blog posts from China.
Day 2: August 10, 2008
When I got up this morning I was greeted by fog and 77 degrees F. It is still hot and humid, and it’s as close to raining without rain as you can get. We went to the construction site first thing this morning. This is the site where the modular field was originally planted and cared for as it waited to be placed in the stadium. Part of our job as consultants was to provide specifications on how to prepare a turf module and grass establishment site. We gave them ideas on asphalt surface and its slope as well as accessibility and irrigation standards. I could see the move had started, as the first row of grass modules had been removed. I was happy to see the grass looks very good. My graduate student, Alec Kowalewski, and Mr. Gao, the Chinese appointed field manager, have done a very good job, given the extremely challenging weather.
Next, we headed for the Bird’s Nest. Every other time I have been here this stadium and the surrounding area has been a dust bowl due to construction. It is good to see it finished and looking very nice. As we move close to the entrance, I can see the Chinese Army trucks lined up to enter the stadium, each with 10 turf modules. At 10 modules per truck, and 5,500 modules, that is 550 trips!
Inside the magnificent stadium the place is filled with workers moving in modules. The process is going smoothly. The grass looks good. Everyone is taking great care to place the modules correctly.
One highlight of the day was the fact that NBC Sports was on hand to do a story on the field. They took lots of pictures and interviewed a couple of us about the story behind these very important pieces of grass. I wonder if they’ll show it on air later!
The modules will continue to be placed into the stadium from August 10 through 12, and the move has to be finished by the 12th. So far, everything is on schedule, but I’ll let you know if that’s still the case tomorrow.
Trey Rogers, the Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor
Read more of Trey's blog posts from China.
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