Calderdale Council Parks and Street Scene NRoSO training Update day 2009

Calderdale Council Parks and Street Scene Staff have recently taken part in a training NRoSO road show event which is part of the national voluntary initiative scheme to upgrade their awareness of Sprayers, stores and buffer zones the aims of the day were as follows;

Stores
· Identify the key features that need to be considered when designing a store
· Assess your store and its suitability for how you use it
· Managing your store safely
· Legal compliance of our stores
· Understand the importance of the store location and environmental risks

Sprayers - Ready for work
· Appreciate aspects affecting performance of our sprayers
· Finding solutions to Sprayer problems
· Identifying basic faults before NSTS test
· Managing Cleaning the sprayer

Buffer Zones
· Why are buffer zones important to the environment that we work in
· Identify the reasons for Buffers
· What is a LERAP

The training was provided by Geoff Wilson Training of York, who has established links with Calderdale Parks and Street scene by supplying machinery and equipment and also training Calderdale staff to various NPTC standards for a number of years. And also include a additional National Sprayer Test on the sections spraying tractor and quad.

The event was held at Manor Heath Park Halifax which is a Civic Trust Green Flag Park, the park won a civic trust intuitive award for environmental Sustainability, Mark Dempsey Calderdale MBC was very pleased with how the day went, the pace and course content covered by Geoff was just right, very informative and relevant for all those who attended and actively contributed to the day proceedings.

The venue at Manor Heath provides a classroom within a park setting. 10 Staff attended the course, of which 8 are members of NRoSO (National Register of Spray Operators). It is good that Calderdale Council and its staff can show such a commitment to the NRoSO scheme. The course had a value of 10 Continual Professional Points with a additional 3 points for observing the NSTS test which spray operators need to accrue on a rolling programme over a 3 year period.

NRoSO is part of the voluntary initiative which has been set up by various bodies in agriculture and pesticide users in agriculture and Local government, to try and encourage responsible use of pesticides by providing training events and keeping all spray operators to date with new legislation and application techniques responding in a positive way to recent European directives which are set to regulate pesticide useage

Currently there are approximately 22,500 NRoSO spray operators in the UK mainly in the agricultural sector with only 150 signed up from the amenity sector with 15 of those being Calderdale staff.